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Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile

Description: This report presents a profile of the membership of the 112th Congress (2011-2012). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
Date: March 1, 2011
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile

Description: This report presents a profile of the membership of the 112th Congress (2011-2012). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
Date: April 11, 2011
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Murder or Attempted Murder of a Member of Congress and Other Federal Officials and Employees: Implications in Federal Criminal Law and Procedure of Events in Tucson

Description: Report describing the federal procedures and attendant legal provisions generally associated with the prosecution of cases regarding the killing and attempted killing of federal officers and employees in the performance of their official duties.
Date: January 25, 2011
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2011

Description: This report identifies the names, committee assignments, dates of service, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 274 women who have served in Congress. It will be updated when there are relevant changes in the makeup of Congress.
Date: September 27, 2011
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E. & Shogan, Colleen J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2011

Description: This report identifies the names, committee assignments, dates of service, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 274 women who have served in Congress.
Date: February 24, 2011
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E.; Shogan, Colleen J. & Smelcer, Susan Navarro
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage

Description: This report provides a history and overview of the MRA and examines spending patterns in the 109th Congress (2005 and 2006). The data exclude non-voting Members, including Delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Members who were not in Congress for all of 2005, whether the Member left Congress prior to the end of the year or entered any time after the beginning of the session, were also excluded.
Date: January 5, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Selected Examples and Congressional Responses

Description: This report describes legislation introduced in the 112th Congress related to violence against members and congressional staff, provides examples of violence in which members of Congress were the apparent target, and some actions Congress has taken based in part on those incidents. This report comes in the aftermath of a recent attack in Tucson, Arizona, in which congressional staff and several constituents were injured or killed.
Date: January 25, 2011
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric; Manning, Jennifer E. & Hemlin, Erin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Authority to Limit Military Operations

Description: This report begins by discussing constitutional provisions allocating war powers between Congress and the President, and presenting a historical overview of relevant court cases. It considers Congress's constitutional authority to end a military conflict via legislative action. The report discusses Congress's ability to limit funding for U.S. participation in hostilities, examining relevant court cases and prior measures taken by Congress to restrict military operations, as well as possible alt… more
Date: September 8, 2011
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.; Garcia, Michael John & Nicola, Thomas J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress

Description: The ongoing uprising in Libya against the government of Muammar al Qadhafi has been the subject of ongoing domestic and international debate about potential international military intervention, including the proposed establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya. This report discusses several related issues for Congress surrounding the strategy, international authorization, congressional authorization, operations, and costs of establishing and maintaining no-fly zones.
Date: March 18, 2011
Creator: Gertler, Jeremiah; Blanchard, Christopher M.; Daggett, Stephen; Dale, Catherine; Elsea, Jennifer K. & Grimmett, Richard F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress

Description: This report discusses the establishment of no-fly zones and several related issues for Congress surrounding the strategy, including international authorization, congressional authorization, operations, and costs of establishing and maintaining no-fly zones.
Date: April 4, 2011
Creator: Gertler, Jeremiah; Blanchard, Christopher M.; Daggett, Stephen; Dale, Catherine; Elsea, Jennifer K. & Grimmett, Richard F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Oversight Manual

Description: Throughout its history, Congress has engaged in oversight of the executive branch - the review, monitoring, and supervision of the implementation of public policy. The first several Congresses inaugurated such important oversight techniques as special investigations, reporting requirements, resolutions of inquiry, and use of the appropriations process to review executive activity. Contemporary developments, moreover, have increased the legislature's capacity and capabilities to check on and ch… more
Date: May 19, 2011
Creator: Kaiser, Frederick M.; Oleszek, Walter J. & Tatelman, Todd B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Lawmaking: A Perspective On Secrecy and Transparency

Description: The objectives of this report are four-fold: first, to outline briefly the historical and inherent tension between secrecy and transparency in the congressional process; second, to review several common and recurring secrecy/transparency issues that emerged again with the 2011 formation of the Joint Select Deficit Reduction Committee; third, to identify various lawmaking stages typically imbued with closed door activities; and fourth, to close with several summary observations.
Date: November 30, 2011
Creator: Oleszek, Walter J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables

Description: Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its own pay. Prior to 1969, Congress did so by enacting stand-alone legislation. Stand-alone legislation may still be used to raise Member pay but two other methods-including an automatic annual adjustment procedure and a commission process-are now also available. This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Con… more
Date: February 9, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2010

Description: The U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 6, authorizes compensation for Members of Congress "ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States." Throughout American history, Congress has relied on three different methods in adjusting salaries for Members. Standalone legislation was last used to provide increases in 1990 and 1991. It was the only method used by Congress for many years. The second method, under which annual adjustments took effect automatically unless disa… more
Date: February 9, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Committee Types and Roles

Description: This report briefly describes the structure of the congressional committee system and the types of congressional committees, as well as congressional subcommittees.
Date: February 11, 2011
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pages of the United States Congress: History, Background Information, and Program Administration

Description: For more than 180 years, messengers known as pages have served the United States Congress. Several incumbent and former Members of Congress as well as other prominent Americans have served as congressional pages. This report takes a look at the history and current status of Congressional pages. It also details how a student can apply to be a page, and what factors lead to a successful application.
Date: August 30, 2011
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing

Description: One or both houses of Congress may formally express opinions about subjects of current national interest through freestanding simple or concurrent resolutions (called generically "sense of the House," "sense of the Senate," or "sense of the Congress" resolutions). These opinions may also be added to pending legislative measures by amendments expressing the views of one or both chambers. This report identifies the various forms these expressions may take and the procedures governing such actions. more
Date: May 20, 2011
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Gold Medals, 1776-2010

Description: Members of Congress and their staff frequently ask questions concerning the nature, history, and contemporary application of the process for awarding Gold Medals. This report responds to congressional inquiries concerning this process, and includes a historical examination and chronological list of these awards. It is intended to assist Members of Congress and staff in their consideration of future Gold Medal proposals, and will be updated as Gold Medals are approved.
Date: March 14, 2011
Creator: Glassman, Matthew Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Congressional Budget Process: A Brief Overview

Description: The term "budget process," when applied to the federal government, actually refers to a number of processes that have evolved separately and that occur with varying degrees of coordination. This overview, and the accompanying flow chart, are intended to describe in brief each of the parts of the budget process that involve Congress, clarify the role played by each, and explain how they operate together. They include the President's budget submission, the budget resolution, reconciliation, seque… more
Date: March 3, 2011
Creator: Saturno, James V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2010 (74th-111th Congresses)

Description: This report discusses how lame duck sessions occur, and the background of the lame duck sessions between 1940 and 2010. A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the term of the current Congress ends.
Date: August 30, 2011
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Tollestrup, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insourcing Functions Performed by Federal Contractors: An Overview of the Legal Issues

Description: This report provides a brief overview of key legal issues related to recent insourcing initiatives. Recent Congresses and the Obama Administration have taken numerous actions to promote "insourcing," or the use of government personnel to perform functions that contractors previously performed on behalf of federal agencies. Among other things, the 109th through the 111th Congresses enacted several statutes requiring the development of policies and guidelines to ensure that agencies "consider" us… more
Date: June 8, 2011
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Maskell, Jack
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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