Congressional Research Service Reports - 36 Matching Results

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Clean Water Act and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) of Pollutants

Description: This report discusses the section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, which requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. For those waters, states must establish a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained. Implementation of this provision has been dormant until recently, when states and EPA were prodded by numerous lawsuits. The TMDL issue has become controversial, in part b… more
Date: October 25, 2006
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Death Penalty: Capital Punishment Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses legislation regarding the death penalty in the 109th Congress. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (Reauthorization Act) contains a number of death penalty related provisions. Some create new federal capital offenses; some add the death penalty as a sentencing option in the case of preexisting federal crimes; some alter the procedural attributes of federal capital cases. Other proposals offered during the 109th Congress would have followed the same pattern:… more
Date: December 11, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Death Penalty: Capital Punishment Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses legislation regarding the death penalty in the 109th Congress. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (Reauthorization Act) contains a number of death penalty related provisions. Some create new federal capital offenses; some add the death penalty as a sentencing option in the case of preexisting federal crimes; some alter the procedural attributes of federal capital cases. Other proposals offered during the 109th Congress would have followed the same pattern:… more
Date: April 26, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fatah and Hamas: the New Palestinian Factional Reality

Description: For the first time in its history, the Palestinian parliament is set to be led by Hamas, which the United States and European Union have designated a foreign terrorist organization. Although some lauded the generally free and fair election in January 2006, others criticized the outcome and accused Hamas of “hijacking” democracy. This report provides an overview of the new political realities in the West Bank and Gaza after the election, the challenges Fatah and Hamas face, and possible implicat… more
Date: March 3, 2006
Creator: Pina, Aaron D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Counter-Terrorism Training: Issues for Congressional Oversight

Description: This report is an overview of the major training activities and facilities of the federal departments and agencies that provide counter-terrorism training. It identifies some of the issues associated with the training, including the following: possible duplication of federal counter-terrorism training programs; determination of Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism training priorities; and possible redundancy and coordination of DHS counter-terrorism training programs.
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Habeas Corpus: A Brief Legal Overview

Description: This report discusses Federal habeas corpus, which is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual’s incarceration. It is most often the stage of the criminal appellate process that follows direct appeal and any available state collateral review.
Date: April 26, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Habeas Corpus: An Abridged Sketch

Description: This report discusses federal habeas corpus, which is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual’s incarceration. It is most often invoked after conviction and the exhaustion of the ordinary means of appeal. It is at once the last refuge of scoundrels and the last hope of the innocent. It is an intricate weave of statute and case law whose reach has flowed and ebbed over time.
Date: April 28, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Habeas Corpus Relief: Background, Legislation, and Issues

Description: This report examines the issues surrounding the debate on whether to further restrict state prisoners’ access to federal habeas corpus filings. This report does not discuss issues related to federalism and the proper role of the federal court system in overseeing the actions of state courts pertaining to prisoners’ constitutional rights. The report opens with a discussion of a commission that was established in 1988 to study and make recommendations of the then-current federal habeas corpus sys… more
Date: February 1, 2006
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M. & James, Nathan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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FY2006 Homeland Security Grant Distribution Methods: Issues for the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses issues regarding homeland security assistance to states and localities, which is available from three primary sources — the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP), the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP), and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI).
Date: January 20, 2006
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate over the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition. The report provides background information and analysis over the pros and cons of the debate and gun related statistics.
Date: May 6, 2006
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate over the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition. The report provides background information and analysis over the pros and cons of the debate and gun related statistics.
Date: May 15, 2006
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate over the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition. The report provides background information and analysis over the pros and cons of the debate and gun related statistics. It is a contentious debate, with strong advocates for and against the further federal regulation of firearms.
Date: August 4, 2006
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate over the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition. The report provides background information and analysis over the pros and cons of the debate and gun related statistics. It is a contentious debate, with strong advocates for and against the further federal regulation of firearms.
Date: September 15, 2006
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the gun legislation in the 190th Congress. It presents the views of a contentious debate, with strong advocates for and against the further federal regulation of firearms.
Date: August 4, 2006
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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H.R. 5825 (109th Congress): "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act"

Description: This report discusses the National Security Agency’s “Terrorist Surveillance Program,” a program in which international communications of persons within the United States have been the subject of electronic surveillance without a warrant or a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order.
Date: September 8, 2006
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Homeland Security: Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles

Description: Recent events have focused attention on the threat that terrorists with shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), referred to as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), pose to commercial airliners. This report discusses SAMs and examines options for mitigating missile threats.
Date: February 16, 2006
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher & Elias, Bartholomew
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity

Description: This report discusses the potential immigration consequences of criminal activity. “Criminal activity” generally refers to conduct for which an alien has been found or plead guilty before a court of law, though in limited circumstances consequences may attach to the commission of a crime or admission of acts constituting the essential elements of a crime. Consequences may flow from violations of either federal, state or, in many circumstances, foreign criminal law. Some federal crimes are set o… more
Date: October 23, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Eig, Larry M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan: Effects and Countermeasures

Description: This report discusses Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs, or roadside bombs) in Iraq and Afghanistan. IEDs have been responsible for many of the more than 2,000 combat deaths in Iraq, and 178 combat deaths in Afghanistan. IEDs are hidden behind signs and guardrails, under roadside debris, or inside animal carcasses, and encounters with these bombs are becoming more numerous and deadly in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The threat includes vehicle-borne IEDs, in which extremists drive cars laden wit… more
Date: September 25, 2006
Creator: Wilson, Clay
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Small Arms and Light Weapons Transfers: U.S. Policy

Description: This report provides general background on U.S. policy regarding the international trade in small arms and light weapons (SA/LW). It outlines major questions associated with the international trade in these items, and reviews United States efforts to assist in controlling the illicit transfers of these items. This report will be revised as developments warrant.
Date: June 27, 2006
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Terrorism: Threat, Policy, and Response

Description: This report examines international terrorist actions, threats, U.S. policies and responses. It reviews the nation’s use of tools at its disposal to combat terrorism, from diplomacy, international cooperation, and constructive engagement to physical security enhancement, economic sanctions, covert action, and military force.
Date: August 9, 2006
Creator: Perl, Raphael F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Terrorism: Threat, Policy, and Response

Description: This report examines international terrorist actions, threats, U.S. policies and responses. It reviews the nation’s use of tools at its disposal to combat terrorism, from diplomacy, international cooperation, and constructive engagement to physical security enhancement, economic sanctions, covert action, and military force.
Date: August 16, 2006
Creator: Perl, Raphael F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment

Description: This report discusses the recent controversy that has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Congress recently approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees. The Department of Defense, Emergency… more
Date: January 24, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael John
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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