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Speakers of the House: Elections

Description: This report provides data on elections of the Speaker in each Congress since 1913, when the House first reached its present size of 435 Members. During that period (63rd through 114th Congresses), a Speaker was elected five times with the votes of less than a majority of the full membership.
Date: January 7, 2015
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2015

Description: This report provides data on elections of the Speaker in each Congress since 1913, when the House first reached its present size of 435 Members. During that period (63rd through 114th Congresses), a Speaker was elected five times with the votes of less than a majority of the full membership.
Date: January 7, 2015
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA): Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report provides background information Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), and discusses U.S. trade negotiating objectives, procedures for congressional-executive notification and consultation, and expedited legislative procedures.
Date: April 21, 2014
Creator: Cooper, William H.; Fergusson, Ian F. & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court Nominations: Senate Floor Procedure and Practice, 1789-2011

Description: This report examines the ways in which the Senate has handled the 160 Supreme Court nominations the President has sent to the Senate. As the purpose of this report is to examine the forms taken by Senate proceedings on these 160 nominations, it treats each nomination as a separate case. It is not couched in terms of the smaller number of different individuals nominated or the ultimate outcome the confirmation process may have had for each individual.
Date: March 11, 2011
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Palmer, Betsy
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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Obtaining a Record Vote on the House Floor

Description: The House of Representatives uses two kinds of votes in which the names and positions of individual Members are recorded: (1) the recorded vote, used chiefly in Committee of the Whole, though also in order in the House, and (2) the yea and nay vote, in order only in the House proper. Both kinds together are referred to as record votes or, more informally, as “roll call votes,” and both are normally taken by electronic device. This report illustrates forms commonly used for obtaining each kind o… more
Date: December 8, 2006
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act

Description: This report outlines how the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (BCTPAA) regulates the eligibility of covered trade agreements for expedited consideration, describes the operation of the statutory expedited procedures for considering implementing bills, and discusses how Congress may use the procedural mechanisms established by the act, as well as other pertinent rules of each chamber, to retain a substantial measure of control over legislation to implement… more
Date: August 12, 2016
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Procedures for Congressional Action in Relation to a Nuclear Agreement with Iran: In Brief

Description: This report provides, in brief, analysis of the congressional procedural provisions laid out in the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-17). The act establishes a period for Congress to review any comprehensive agreement, during which certain presidential actions to provide relief from sanctions on Iran are barred.
Date: September 11, 2015
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sessions, Adjournments, and Recesses of Congress

Description: This report first describes how pertinent rules and practices regulate the daily sessions of Congress and their adjournments and recesses, including discussion of the "legislative day." It then develops a corresponding discussion for the annual sessions of Congress, which addresses, among other things, the use of "pro forma sessions." The report clarifies certain situations in which terms may simultaneously apply in different ways in relation to the daily session and to the annual session. Fina… more
Date: February 27, 2013
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Tollestrup, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with Russia: Statutory Procedures for Congressional Consideration

Description: This report first sketches the procedures prescribed by the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) for congressional action in relation to agreements of this kind, then summarizes legislative proceedings occurring in relation to the proposed agreement with Russia, beginning with its recent submission. Thereafter, the report addresses several questions of the implementation and intent of these statutory requirements that are raised by their application to the proposed agreement with the Russian Federation. Spe… more
Date: June 20, 2008
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Review Act: Disapproval of Rules in a Subsequent Session of Congress

Description: This report addresses some of the implications of the CRA with regard to agency rulemaking in the final months of a presidential administration. It first notes the practice of increased rulemaking activity during this period, and describes how this practice has been addressed by two White House memoranda issued during the current Bush Administration. The report then briefly identifies key elements of the complex set of time periods established by the CRA — elements that define points during the… more
Date: September 3, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W. & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2012 (74th-112th Congresses)

Description: This report discusses how lame duck sessions occur, and the background of the lame duck sessions between 1940 and 2012. 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: September 19, 2014
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Tollestrup, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate

Description: This report discusses filibusters and the use of cloture to end them in the Senate. In regards to cloture it concentrates on the operation of cloture under the general provisions of Senate Rule XXII, paragraph 2, though it also identifies key modifications to its application in recent years.
Date: April 7, 2017
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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How Special Rules Regulate Calling up Measures for Consideration in the House

Description: This fact sheet describes how a special rule -- a House resolution that regulates consideration of a specific legislative measure named in the resolution -- may set terms for consideration by Representatives. It includes information about the system of privilege, forms of consideration, and how the rules are used to manage the agenda.
Date: December 5, 2005
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Private Bills: Procedure in the House

Description: This report briefly discusses private bills, which are bills providing benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies). Individuals sometimes request relief through private law when administrative or legal remedies are exhausted, but Congress seems more often to view private legislation as appropriate when no other remedy is available, and when enactment would, in a broad sense, afford equity.
Date: October 21, 2004
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Bills and Resolutions: Examples of How Each Kind Is Used

Description: This report briefly describes the process by which Congress seeks to pass a law. During this process Congress uses a bill or joint resolution, which must be passed by both houses in identical form, that is then presented to the President for his approval or disapproval.
Date: December 7, 2004
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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