9/11 Commission Recommendations: The Senate Confirmation Process for Presidential Nominees (open access)

9/11 Commission Recommendations: The Senate Confirmation Process for Presidential Nominees

On July 22, 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, issued its final report, detailing the events up to and including the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks upon the United States. The 9/11 Commission recommended that the Senate adopt rules requiring hearings and votes to confirm or reject national security nominees within 30 days of their submission at the start of each new presidential administration. Implementing the commission's proposal would involve imposing new restrictions on both the power of committee chairs to control the agenda of their committees and the rights of Senators to delay or block nominations through holds and extended debate. This report discusses in detail this proposal, how it could be implemented, and the potential effects of its implementation.
Date: March 23, 2005
Creator: Palmer, Betsy
System: The UNT Digital Library
527 Organizations: Reporting Requirements Imposed on Political Organizations after the Enactment of P.L. 106-230 (open access)

527 Organizations: Reporting Requirements Imposed on Political Organizations after the Enactment of P.L. 106-230

On July 1, 2000, President Clinton signed H.R. 4762, P.L. 106-230. The law amended the Internal Revenue Code [IRC] to require political organizations described in IRC § 527 to disclose their political activities, if they were not already required to do so by the Federal Election Campaign Act [FECA]. This report summarizes the three major changes made by the law and some of the major responses to the legislation. First, all 527 organizations which expect to have over $25,000 in gross receipts during a taxable year and which are not required to report to the Federal Election Commission [FEC] are required to register with the IRS within 24 hours of their formation, whether they are involved in state, local, or federal elections. Second, 527 issue advocacy organizations, which previously reported neither to the IRS nor the FEC, are required to file regular disclosure statements with the IRS. Third, all 527 organizations with gross receipts in excess of $25,000 per year are required to file annual reports with the IRS. The registration statements, disclosure forms, and annual reports will be made public. H.R. 527 and S. 527 in the 107th Congress would exempt most state and local 527 organizations from the …
Date: March 19, 2001
Creator: Morris, Marie B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
527 Political Organizations: Legislation in the 109th Congress (open access)

527 Political Organizations: Legislation in the 109th Congress

The 109th Congress is examining the role of groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that are involved in federal elections but are not operating under the requirements and restrictions of federal election law. Although such groups only recently emerged into public awareness, in 2004, they were widely seen as major players in the presidential election, with more than $400 million spent seeking to influence the outcome. Strictly speaking, the term “527” refers to a section of the Internal Revenue Code, which was added in 1975 to provide tax-exempt status to federal, state, and local political organizations, as defined in that statute. The controversy over these 527 groups arises from two factors: the different definitions used in federal election law and tax law as to what constitutes election-related activity and, further, the lack of certainty as to what election law itself regulates or may permissibly regulate. This report discusses these groups in detail, as well as related legislation.
Date: March 31, 2006
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E. & Lunder, Erika
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2002 Farm Bill: Overview and Status (open access)

The 2002 Farm Bill: Overview and Status

This report provides an overview of the 2002 farm bill and an update status of the farm bill.
Date: March 13, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Womach, Jasper
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2006 Increase in U.S. Motor Vehicle Imports from Japan (open access)

The 2006 Increase in U.S. Motor Vehicle Imports from Japan

This report examines the increased imports of Japanese vehicles in context of a policy by the Japanese government to reduce the exchange rate of the yen. The report also examines other reasons for the increase in Japanese vehicle imports such as U.S. manufacturers not building the type of car primarily bought by consumers.
Date: March 13, 2007
Creator: Cooney, Stephen
System: The UNT Digital Library
21st Century Community Learning Centers in P.L. 107-110: Background and Funding (open access)

21st Century Community Learning Centers in P.L. 107-110: Background and Funding

This report summarizes the major provisions of the reauthorized 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program. It includes sections on fundings, national reservations, formula grants to states, competitive local grants, history, program effectiveness, and relevant legislation in the 107th Congress.
Date: March 16, 2004
Creator: McCallion, Gail
System: The UNT Digital Library
21st Century Community Learning Centers in P.L. 107-110: Background and Funding (open access)

21st Century Community Learning Centers in P.L. 107-110: Background and Funding

Most Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) programs, including the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, expired at the end of FY2000.1 Included in the No Child Left Behind Act is the reauthorization of the 21st CCLC, with, a new location (Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Schools), and several substantive changes. On December 13 and 18, 2001, respectively, the House and Senate adopted the conference version of H.R. 1, The No Child Left Behind Act. The President signed H.R. 1 into law (P.L. 107-110) on January 8, 2002. This report summarizes the major provisions of the reauthorized 21st CCLC program. The reauthorized program is structured as a formula grant program to states, in response to concerns that a program as large as the 21st CCLC could no longer be equitably administered as a competitive grant program. In addition, the reauthorized program formally endorses an exclusive focus for the 21st CCLC on after-school hours activities for children and youth.
Date: March 4, 2002
Creator: McCallion, Gail
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abandoned Mine Land Fund Reauthorization: Selected Issues (open access)

Abandoned Mine Land Fund Reauthorization: Selected Issues

This report provides a summary of the structure of the Abandon Mine Land (AML) program, distribution of funds, and discusses major proposals considered in the 108th Congress.
Date: March 8, 2005
Creator: Bamberger, Robert L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman's right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: March 19, 2004
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: March 20, 2003
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: March 28, 2003
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Broadband Networks (open access)

Access to Broadband Networks

The purpose of this report is to provide a more concrete discussion of access to wireline broadband networks. To that end, this report provides a discussion of what broadband networks look like; how both consumers and independent applications providers gain access to these networks; and the parameters available to network providers (such as their choices about network architecture, overall bandwidth capacity, bandwidth reserved for their own use, traffic prioritization, the terms and rates for access to their networks and for their retail services) that can affect end users’ and independent applications providers’ access to those networks.
Date: March 14, 2007
Creator: Goldfarb, Charles B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Government Information In the United States (open access)

Access to Government Information In the United States

The Constitution of the United States makes no specific allowance for any one of the co-equal branches to have access to information held by the others and contains no provision expressly establishing a procedure for, or a right of, public access to government information. Nonetheless, Congress has legislated various public access laws. These include two records access statutes — the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act — and two meetings access statutes — the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Government in the Sunshine Act. This report provides background on the issue of government transparency and examines relevant litigation.
Date: March 13, 2008
Creator: Relyea, Harold C. & Ginsberg, Wendy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Accreditation and the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (open access)

Accreditation and the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act

This report summarizes the issues with reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA) and highlights accreditation in particular. One consideration the report contains is the possibility of Congress changing the role accreditation plays in reference to financial aid for students. Moreover, the report considers the place of accreditation in reference to the overall quality of an academic institution.
Date: March 27, 2006
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R. & Feder, Jody
System: The UNT Digital Library
Across-the-Board Tax Cuts: Economic Issues (open access)

Across-the-Board Tax Cuts: Economic Issues

This report examines economic issues relating to across-the-board tax cuts, focusing primarily on distributional issues. The report is divided into four sections. The first section provides a general overview of the tax system. The next discusses recent proposals relating to across-the-board tax cuts. The third section discusses methods of evaluating alternative types of across-the-board tax cuts. The final section briefly discusses issues of efficiency, simplicity, and stabilization policy.
Date: March 30, 2001
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Brief Legal Analysis (open access)

Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Brief Legal Analysis

Administrative subpoena authority is the power vested in various administrative agencies to compel testimony or the production of documents or both in aid of the agencies’ performance of their duties. As a constitutional matter, the Fourth Amendment only demands that administrative subpoenas be "reasonable." Although more extensive proposals were offered in the 108th Congress, the law enforcement related administrative subpoena proposals in the 109th Congress appear in S. 600, relating to the Secretary of State’s responsibilities to protect U.S. foreign missions and foreign dignitaries visiting this country; in H.R. 3726, relating to federal obscenity investigations; and in H.R. 4170, relating to the apprehension of fugitives charged with, or convicted of, federal or state felonies. This report is available abridged – without footnotes, appendices, and most of the citations to authority – as CRS Report RS22407, Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Sketch, by Charles Doyle.
Date: March 17, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Sketch (open access)

Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Sketch

Administrative subpoena authority is the power vested in various administrative agencies to compel testimony or the production of documents or both in aid of the agencies’ performance of their duties. Proposals in the 109th Congress for greater use of administrative subpoenas in a law enforcement context appear in S. 600, relating to the Secretary of State’s responsibilities to protect U.S. foreign missions and foreign dignitaries visiting this country; in H.R. 3726, relating to federal obscenity investigations; and in H.R. 4170, relating to the apprehension of fugitives charged with, or convicted of, federal or state felonies. This is an abridged version — without footnotes, appendices, quotation marks and most citations to authority — of CRS Report RL33321, Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: Background and Proposed Adjustments, by Charles Doyle.
Date: March 17, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Advanced Spectroscopic Portal Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Advanced Spectroscopic Portal Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) program's history and outlines issues for Congress as the program moves forward. The ASP is an improved type of radiation detection device, meant to serve as part of new and existing programs to protect against terrorist nuclear or radiological attack.
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: Shea, Dana A.; Moteff, John D. & Morgan, Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Vehicle Technologies: Energy, Environment, and Development Issues (open access)

Advanced Vehicle Technologies: Energy, Environment, and Development Issues

This report provides an introduction to the research, development, and commercialization of alternative vehicle technologies, specifically electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. It provides a description of the technology, and discusses issues such as cost, maintenance and fueling infrastructure, and performance for each type of vehicle. The report also discusses current congressional action on issues affecting these vehicles, as well as actions by the Administration and state and local governments. It will be updated as events warrant.
Date: March 27, 2000
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (open access)

Afghanistan: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.
Date: March 31, 2003
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution, and Government (open access)

Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution, and Government

In 2004 and 2005, Afghanistan adopted a permanent constitution and elected a president and a parliament. The parliament is emerging as a significant force in Afghan politics, as shown in debate over a new cabinet proposed in March 2006. However, insurgent violence continues to threaten Afghan stability. See CRS Report RL30588, Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman.
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
Date: March 2, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy (open access)

Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy

This report provides current statistical information, profiles the Afghanistan narcotics trade's participants, explores linkages between narcotics, insecurity, and corruption, and reviews U.S. and international policy responses since late 2001. The report also considers ongoing policy debates regarding the counternarcotics role of coalition military forces, poppy eradication, alternative livelihoods, and funding issues for Congress.
Date: March 9, 2007
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
Date: March 23, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library