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The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions
The U.S. Secret Service has two missions: criminal investigations and protection. This report looks at the history of the organization and purpose as it relates to Congress.
Presidential Travel: Policy and Costs
This report discusses the issues regarding the President, Vice President, and First Lady travels, official and political, or unofficial. Whether a trip is for official or political purposes, the Air Force pays all operational and other costs incurred by the use of the aircraft.
Federal Funding of Presidential Nominating Conventions: Overview and Policy Options
No Description Available.
Gifts to the President of the United States
Report that addresses provisions of federal law and regulation restricting the acceptance of personal gifts by the President of the United States.
Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections
This report considers contemporary developments in presidential elections. It emphasizes three topics chosen for their recurring importance and notable recent developments: (1) nominating procedures; (2) campaign finance; and (3) the electoral college. The report highlights significant developments in these areas, particularly for the 2008 and 2012 elections. It also provides background information about the presidential election process in general.
Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege: History, Law, Practice, and Recent Developments
This report discusses the background of claims of executive privilege, ending with a look into how President Obama has used them.
Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress
Report that describes the steps which precede the joint session and the procedures set in the Constitution and statute by which the House and Senate jointly certify the results of the electoral vote. It also discusses the procedures set in law governing challenges to the validity of an electoral vote, and makes reference to the procedures followed during the joint session in 2005 by which the election of George W. Bush was certified.
The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections
This report provides information about the electoral college, its origins, who makes up the college today, the 2012 presidental election, and calls for the reform of the electoral college.
The Presidential Records Act: Background and Recent Issues for Congress
Report discussing the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and examines policy options related to the capture, maintenance, and use of presidential records.
Recess Appointments: A Legal Overview
This report provides an overview of the Recess Appointments Clause, exploring its historical application and legal interpretation by the executive branch, the courts, and the Comptroller General. Furthermore, congressional legislation designed to prevent the President's overuse or misuse of the Clause is also explored.
Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions
This report supplies brief answers to some frequently asked questions regarding recess appointments. These are appointments to high-level policy-making positions in federal departments which are generally confirmed by the Senate. When the Senate is in recess, the President may make a temporary appointment, called a recess appointment, to any such position without Senate approval.
2012-2013 Presidential Election Period: National Security Considerations and Options
This report discusses historical national security-related presidential transition activities, provides a representative sampling of national security issues a new Administration may encounter, and offers considerations and options relevant to each of the five phases of the presidential election period. Each phase has distinct challenges and opportunities for the incoming Administration, the outgoing Administration, and Congress. This report is intended to provide a framework for national security considerations during the current election period and will be updated to reflect the election outcome.
Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations
Report that identifies, by Senate committee, presidentially appointed positions requiring Senate confirmation based on referrals as of the date of passage of S. 679, which became P.L. 112-166 on August 10, 2012. It begins with a brief description of the referral process and identify, for each committee to which referrals have been made, the positions that fall within the committee's jurisdiction.
Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies
This list of about 150 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies
This list of about 150 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies
This list of about 200 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. In each case, the information was supplied by the agency itself and is current as of the date of publication. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
War Powers Resolution: Presidential Compliance
This report discusses two separate but closely-related issues regarding the introduction of U.S. armed forces abroad that conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and Congress, whether the use of armed forces falls within the purview of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers Resolution. The other issue is whether or not Congress concurs in the wisdom of the action. A longer-term issue is whether the War Powers Resolution is an appropriate and effective means of assuring congressional participation in actions that might get the United States involved in war.
Presidential Appointments, the Senate's Confirmation Process, and Changes Made in the 112th Congress
This report provides information on presidential appointments in the executive and judicial branch including a brief background on advice and consent issues, an overview of the appointment process in both the executive and legislative branches, and a brief discussion of recent concerns about the system. Also, the report explores the events in the 112th Congress leading up to the introduction and passage of two measures purported to make the appointment process easier and quicker, and it concludes with an analysis of the two measures.
Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications
Presidential signing statements are official pronouncements issued by the President contemporaneously to the signing of a bill into law that, in addition to commenting on the law generally, have been used to forward the President's interpretation of the statutory language; to assert constitutional objections to the provisions contained therein; and, concordantly, to announce that the provisions of the law will be administered in a manner that comports with the administration's conception of the President's constitutional prerogatives. This report focuses on the use of signing statements by recent administrations, with particular emphasis on the Administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
President Obama’s January 4, 2012, Recess Appointments: Legal Issues
This report analyzes the legal issues associated with the President's asserted exercise of his Recess Appointments Clause power on January 4, 2012. The report begins with a general legal overview of the Recess Appointment Clause. This is followed by an analysis of two legal principles, standing and the political question doctrine, which may impede a reviewing court from reaching the merits of a potential legal challenge to the appointments.
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