Endangered Species: Difficult Choices (open access)

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including significant changes to ESA regulations made during the Clinton Administration in the law itself.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Possible Voucher Issues (open access)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Possible Voucher Issues

Congress is considering reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program (the main federal program providing special education and related services to children with disabilities). Among the options being discussed is increasing parental choice under IDEA. This report provides background on current federal choice programs and on the Florida McKay Scholarship program, which provides scholarships for children with disabilities enrolled in the state’s public schools to attend other public schools or to attend participating private schools. The report concludes with a discussion of possible issues that a federal special education voucher program might raise.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Apling, Richard N.; Jones, Nancy L. & Smole, David P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Naming Post Offices Through Legislation (open access)

Naming Post Offices Through Legislation

This report describes how the practice of naming post offices through public law originated and how it is commonly done today. House and Senate practices for approving such legislation, and procedures followed by the U.S. Postal Service in organizing a dedication ceremony, are also described.
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Stevens, Nye
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Nonproliferation Issues (open access)

Nuclear Nonproliferation Issues

None
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Protection Issues in the 107th Congress (open access)

Environmental Protection Issues in the 107th Congress

This report discuss issues that received congressional attention in the 107th Congress, such as The impact of air quality regulations, key water quality issues, superfund, solid/hazardous wastes, multibillion dollar cleanup and compliance programs, climate change, pesticides, EPA budget, and Science and Technology.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Isler, Margaret M. & Lee, Martin R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress (open access)

Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress

In this report several other Clean Water Act issues are likely to receive congressional attention, through oversight hearings and possibly in legislative proposals. Among the topics of interest is whether and how the Administration will revise the current program for restoration of pollution-impaired waters (the Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL program), in view of controversy over regulatory changes made during the Clinton Administration and continuing disagreement among states, cities, industry, and environmental advocates about program effectiveness and efficiency.
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues (open access)

Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues

None
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program: Issues for Congress (open access)

Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program: Issues for Congress

This report presents the issues considered by the 108th Congress related to the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Corps plans, constructs, and operates water resources facilities primarily for flood control, navigation, and environmental purposes.
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Carter, Nicole T. & Sheikh, Pervaze A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electronic Banking: The Check Truncation Issue (open access)

Electronic Banking: The Check Truncation Issue

If all checks were replaced by electronic transactions, the exact cost savings would still be unknown, because estimates of the cost of using a check and the number of checks written each year remain in dispute. Consequently, estimates of cost savings range from $1.4 billion annually for truncation alone to $68 billion for replacing checks with electronic payments. A significant part of the savings comes from eliminating the handling, sorting, and physically transporting of checks to the paying bank. To clear checks electronically, banks must negotiate processing agreements thatmake it unnecessary to physically present the paper check. Since the benefits are not uniformly dispersed among the participants, banks have found it difficult to obtain these agreements, thus constraining the widespread adoption of electronic check clearing.
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Eubanks, Walter W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues (open access)

Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Copson, Raymond W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues (open access)

Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues

None
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Prados, Alfred B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues (open access)

Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues

None
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Prados, Alfred B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations (open access)

Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations

None
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Prados, Alfred B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pakistan-U.S. Relations (open access)

Pakistan-U.S. Relations

None
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Kronstadt, K. Alan
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Haiti: Issues for Congress (open access)

Haiti: Issues for Congress

In the last few years, Congress has been concerned about a number of developments in Haiti, with attention shifting from concern with the flow of refugees to concern for the cost and safety of U.S. troops in Haiti and to the stalled democratic process there. This report contains information on the Haitian government, U.S. congressional concerns, and related legislation in the 106th Congress.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Taft-Morales, Maureen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Kosovo and U.S. Policy (open access)

Kosovo and U.S. Policy

None
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Woehrel, Steven & Kim, Julie
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Superfund and Brownfields in the 107th Congress (open access)

Superfund and Brownfields in the 107th Congress

None
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Reisch, Mark
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Coming to Washington, D.C.? Sources of Information on Temporary Housing (open access)

Coming to Washington, D.C.? Sources of Information on Temporary Housing

This report will introduce a newcomer to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to sources of general interest, neighborhoods, housing, and public transportation. The intended audience is congressional staff needing short-term or summer housing, although many of the sources given may also be helpful for those needing more than a three- to six-month lease. Sources suggested are often accessible by their Internet addresses.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Anderson, J. Michael
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mining on Federal Lands (open access)

Mining on Federal Lands

None
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: Humphries, Marc
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Compendium of Precedents Involving Evidentiary Rulings and Applications of Evidentiary Principles from Selected Impeachment Trials (open access)

Compendium of Precedents Involving Evidentiary Rulings and Applications of Evidentiary Principles from Selected Impeachment Trials

At the present time, there are no binding rules of evidence or set of evidentiary principles to be applied in Senate impeachment trials. Rather, recourse is taken to the evidentiary rules and principles applicable in contemporaneous court proceedings and to precedents from past impeachment trial to provide guidance for Senate Impeachment Trial Committees or for the full Senate on evidentiary questions which arise in the impeachment context. This report compiles evidentiary precedents from the Senate impeachment trials of Judges Harry E. Claiborne, Halsted Ritter, Harold Louderback, and Charles Swayne. The evidentiary rulings and principles gleaned from this examination are arranged in subject matter categories, and within those categories, in reverse chronological order by trial.
Date: July 3, 1989
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.; Shampansky, Jay R.; Crump, Karen & Nicholson, Maribel
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Services Block Grant (Title XX of the Social Security Act) (open access)

Social Services Block Grant (Title XX of the Social Security Act)

The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is a flexible source of funds that states may use to support a wide variety of social services activities. States have broad discretion over the use of these funds. This short report provides background information on the SSBG and tracks relevant legislation and appropriations measures.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Gish, Melinda
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Safe Drinking Water Act: State Revolving Fund Program (open access)

Safe Drinking Water Act: State Revolving Fund Program

None
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
F-22 Raptor Aircraft Program (open access)

F-22 Raptor Aircraft Program

This report discusses the background information, analysis and the recent developments in the F-22 Raptor Aircraft Program. The F-22 program raises questions about its cost and the need for this aircraft, the capabilities it would have, and the number of these planes needed to meet military requirements. The F-22 has had strong congressional support, although some have criticized the program on grounds of cost, requirements, and coordination with other tactical aircraft programs. Deletion of procurement funds in the FY2000 defense appropriation bill passed by the House made the future of the program a major issue for House and Senate conferees in 1999.
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress (open access)

Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress

None
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library