Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol (open access)

Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol

This report addresses legal issues after the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol is not yet in effect internationally and cannot be legally binding on the U.S. unless and until the Senate gives its advice and consent.
Date: October 1, 2002
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change (open access)

Global Climate Change

This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.
Date: October 10, 2002
Creator: Justus, John R. & Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change (open access)

Global Climate Change

This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.
Date: October 29, 2004
Creator: Justus, John R. & Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol (open access)

Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol

This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six “greenhouse gases.”
Date: October 27, 2004
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Legislative Issues (open access)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Legislative Issues

This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for energy development. The report discusses arguments for and against such development and focuses especially on related pieces of legislation that directly affects the future of the ANWR.
Date: October 22, 2002
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne; Gelb, Bernard A. & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress (open access)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress

This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge. This report addresses several legislative options on the issue, as well as policymakers' arguments for and against development, especially in the wake of increasing terrorism since 2000-2001.
Date: October 10, 2003
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne; Gelb, Bernard A. & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mad Cow Disease: Agricultural Issues for Congress (open access)

Mad Cow Disease: Agricultural Issues for Congress

This report discuses lumber imports from Canada and provides a concise historical account of the dispute, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses the current issues and events.
Date: October 27, 2004
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues (open access)

The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues

This report discusses the funding authorizations for programs in the Higher Education Act (HEA). This legislation, administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), authorizes the federal government’s major student aid programs, as well as other significant initiatives.
Date: October 2, 2003
Creator: Stedman, James B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues (open access)

The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues

This report provides an overview of postsecondary education (institutions and students), an overview of the Higher Education Act (HEA) with a focus on its most significant programs and provisions, and a discussion of major issues that have been, or may be, of interest to the Congress during the HEA reauthorization process.
Date: October 20, 2004
Creator: Stedman, James B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Brief History (open access)

Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Brief History

This report discusses the history of the federal grants-in-aid system, which predates the Constitution. he grants-in-aid system assumed its current form when President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated his New Deal programs. Since Roosevelt, the grants-in-aid system has expanded, especially in the number and dollar amount of categorical grant programs.
Date: October 10, 2000
Creator: Canada, Ben
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options (open access)

First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options

Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, Congress has given considerable attention to the role of first responders in the nation’s homeland security efforts. This report discusses the “First Responder Initiative”, a recent proposal by the Bush Administration to help state and local first responders prepare for possible terrorist attacks.
Date: October 7, 2002
Creator: Canada, Ben
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Internet and E-Commerce Statistics: What They Mean and Where to Find Them on the Web (open access)

Internet and E-Commerce Statistics: What They Mean and Where to Find Them on the Web

Statistics indicating Internet usage are imprecise. It is difficult to measure the scale of the Internet (or the World Wide Web), calculate the number and types of users (age, sex, race, gender, location, etc.), or forecast future growth. This report discusses the inherent complexities of estimating Internet and electronic commerce growth and describes various types of Internet statistics, discussing how to evaluate them and providing Web addresses for locating them. In addressing these topics, it is important to understand how the statistics are compiled, how they are used, and what their limitations are.
Date: October 24, 2000
Creator: Tehan, Rita
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Final Rule (open access)

Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Final Rule

This report discusses the issue facing Congress on whether to continue to support the executive branch’s prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medical use of botanical cannabis products by seriously ill persons, especially in states that have created medical marijuana programs under state law.
Date: October 3, 2002
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction (open access)

The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction

This report discusses the complicated body of rules, precedents, and practices that governs the legislative process on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Date: October 2, 2003
Creator: Rybicki, Elizabeth & Bach, Stanley
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2003 (open access)

Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2003

This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Congress since 1789.
Date: October 29, 2003
Creator: Dwyer, Paul E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Grants Work in a Congressional Office (open access)

Grants Work in a Congressional Office

Members of Congress often get requests from constituents for information and help in obtaining funds for projects. Many state and local governments, nonprofit social service and community action organizations, private research groups, small businesses, and individuals approach congressional offices to find out about funding, both from the federal government and from the private sector. The success rate in obtaining federal assistance is not high, given the competition for federal funds. A grants staff’s effectiveness often depends on both an understanding of the grants process and on the relations it establishes with agency and other contacts. The following report does not constitute a blueprint for every office involved in grants and projects activity, nor does it present in-depth information about all aspects of staff activity in this area. The discussion is aimed at describing some basics about the grants process and some of the approaches and techniques used by congressional offices in dealing with this type of constituent service.
Date: October 14, 2002
Creator: Gerli, Merete F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The House Apportionment Formula in Theory and Practice (open access)

The House Apportionment Formula in Theory and Practice

This report has four major purposes: to summarize the constitutional and statutory requirements governing apportionment; to explain how the current apportionment formula works in theory and in practice; to summarize recent challenges to it on grounds of unfairness; and to explain the reasoning underlying the choice of the equal proportions method over its chief alternative, major fractions.
Date: October 10, 2000
Creator: Huckabee, David C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
House and Senate Chaplains (open access)

House and Senate Chaplains

This report discusses the two chaplains, one in the House, the other in the Senate, who are the official clergy of Congress. At the beginning of each Congress, the House chaplain is elected for a 2-year term. The Senate chaplain does not have to be reelected at the beginning of a new Congress. There have been 61 Senate chaplains and 59 House chaplains.
Date: October 9, 2001
Creator: Amer, Mildred
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Party Leaders in the House: Election, Duties, and Responsibilities (open access)

Party Leaders in the House: Election, Duties, and Responsibilities

This report discusses the roles and duties of party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Date: October 5, 2001
Creator: Carr, Thomas P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Defending U.S. Airspace (open access)

Homeland Security: Defending U.S. Airspace

This report discusses about Air Defense Challenge, Command & Control, Intercept and Surveillance.
Date: October 13, 2004
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation (open access)

Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation

This report opens with an overview of visa issuances, with sections on procedures for aliens coming to live in the United States permanently and on procedures for aliens admitted for temporary stays. It includes a discussion of visa screening policies, including inadmissibility, databases, an analysis of visa refusals, biometric visas and other major visa policy procedures. Summaries of key laws revising visa policy enacted in the 107th Congress follows. The final section analyzes selected issues in the 108th Congress, notably the 9/11 Commission recommendations, visa revocation and removal, new technologies, potential impact on business, and other security concerns.
Date: October 13, 2004
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Copyright Law: Digital Rights Management Legislation (open access)

Copyright Law: Digital Rights Management Legislation

Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to the technology that copyright owners use to protect digital media. This report surveys several of the DRM bills that were introduced in the 107th Congress and those that are pending in the 108th Congress. Generally, the bills are directed at two separate goals. One goal is to increase access to digitally-protected media for lawful purposes. The other attempts to thwart digital piracy and would do so by enhancing civil and criminal sanctions for digital (and traditional) copyright infringement and educating the public about the rights of copyright holders.
Date: October 1, 2004
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telemarketing: Dealing with Unwanted Telemarketing Calls (open access)

Telemarketing: Dealing with Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

This report provides summaries of the federal laws and regulations particular to telemarketing, the establishment of a national do-not-call registry, and the options that are available to consumers to limit the calls that they receive from telemarketers and to report questionable telemarketing practices to local or federal authorities. The report also lists sources of additional information with addresses, phone numbers, and Internet sites (if available).
Date: October 9, 2003
Creator: Riehl, James R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telemarketing: Dealing With Unwanted Telemarketing Calls (open access)

Telemarketing: Dealing With Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

This report provides summaries of the federal laws and regulations particular to telemarketing, the establishment of a national do-not-call registry, and the options that are available to consumers to limit the calls that they receive from telemarketers and to report questionable telemarketing practices to local or federal authorities. The report also lists sources of additional information with addresses, phone numbers, and Internet sites (if available).
Date: October 8, 2002
Creator: Riehl, James R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library