Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 107th 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: December 6, 2002
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
Object Type: Report
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: June 6, 2003
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Partial-Birth Abortion: Recent Developments in the Law (open access)

Partial-Birth Abortion: Recent Developments in the Law

None
Date: June 6, 2003
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm Economic Relief: Issues and Options for Congress (open access)

Farm Economic Relief: Issues and Options for Congress

This report discusses issues regarding Agriculture funding, specifically the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act (P.L. 104-127), which prescribed farm commodity support policy through 2002.
Date: December 6, 2000
Creator: Womach, Jasper & Becker, Geoffrey S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy (open access)

Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy

This report first explains why the nexus between farm labor shortages and immigration policy has again arisen. It next examines the composition of the seasonal agricultural labor force and presents the arguments of grower and farmworker advocates concerning its adequacy relative to employer demand. The report closes with an analysis of the trends in (un)employment, time worked and wages of legal and illegal farmworkers to determine if they are consistent with the existence of a nationwide shortage of domestically available farmworkers.
Date: September 6, 2001
Creator: Levine, Linda
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change Treaty: The Kyoto Protocol (open access)

Global Climate Change Treaty: The Kyoto Protocol

Negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) were completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six "greenhouse gases." This report discusses the major provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.
Date: March 6, 2000
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change Legislation in the 108th Congress (open access)

Climate Change Legislation in the 108th Congress

Climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been an issue in the 108th Congress, as they have been over the past decade. Bills directly addressing climate change issues range from those focused primarily on climate change research (H.R. 1578 and S. 1164) to comprehensive emissions cap and trading programs for all six greenhouse gases (S. 139 and H.R. 4067). This report briefly discusses basic concepts on which these bills are based, and compares major provisions of the bills in each of the following categories: climate change research, GHG reporting and registries, and cap and trade programs.
Date: January 6, 2005
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D. & Powers, Kyna
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Clean Coal Technology Program: Current Prospects (open access)

The Clean Coal Technology Program: Current Prospects

The Clean Coal Technology (CCT) program, started in the 1980's and funded generously in the early 1990's, has completed most of its surviving projects and has not funded any new ones since 1994. However, President Bush’s FY2002 budget outline proposed spending $2 billion over 10 years on a restructured CCT program. It is not clear what kind of projects would be included in the new program.
Date: April 6, 2001
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
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: November 6, 2002
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
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: December 6, 2002
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
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: October 6, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
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: May 6, 2003
Creator: Stedman, James B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Environmental Protection Agency's FY2003 Budget (open access)

The Environmental Protection Agency's FY2003 Budget

On April 9, 2001, the President requested $7.3 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for FY2002, $512.0 million (or 7%) less than the FY2001 funding level of $7.8 billion. The request would not have continued funding of about $500 million for activities earmarked for FY2001, and contained provisions shifting more enforcement responsibilities to the states. Popular wastewater infrastructure funding, state roles, and the future of Superfund were some of the predominant topics. On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee recommended $7.545 billion,$229 million more than requested (H.R. 2620, H. Rept. 107-159).
Date: December 6, 2002
Creator: Lee, Martin R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003 (open access)

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003

This report discusses the budget for fiscal year 2003. It debates issues such as budget action, receipts surpluses or deficits, and the economy
Date: December 6, 2002
Creator: Winters, Philip D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003 (open access)

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003

This report discusses the budget for fiscal year 2003. It debates issues such as budget action, receipts surpluses or deficits, and the economy.
Date: February 6, 2003
Creator: Winters, Philip D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent Practices (open access)

Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent Practices

This report provides information on the history of continuing resolutions; the nature, scope, and duration of CRs during the last 30 years; the various types of CRs that have been enacted; and an overview of those instances when budget authority has lapsed and a funding gap has resulted.
Date: December 6, 2002
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
ESEA Reauthorization Proposals: Comparison of Major Features of the House and Senate Versions of H.R. 1 (open access)

ESEA Reauthorization Proposals: Comparison of Major Features of the House and Senate Versions of H.R. 1

The authorizations of appropriations for most programs of federal aid to elementary and secondary (grades K-12) education, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), expired at the end of FY2000. While the 106th Congress extensively considered several bills which would have reauthorized and amended most of these programs, only legislation extending the Impact Aid (ESEA Title VIII) and Even Start Family Literacy (ESEA Title I, Part B) programs was enacted. Selected other programs, such as the Class Size Reduction program, have been initiated and continued solely through annual appropriations legislation.
Date: July 6, 2001
Creator: Riddle, Wayne C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Missing and Exploited Children: Overview and Policy Concerns (open access)

Missing and Exploited Children: Overview and Policy Concerns

This report presents an overview of two national incidence studies prepared by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to determine annually the number of reported missing and recovered children in the nation. It also discusses the AMBER Alert System created to help recover reported missing children, legislation introduced in the 108th Congresses to address the missing children issue, and questions that remain regarding concerns about missing children. S. 151, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act, which was signed into law (P.L. 108-21) by the President on April 30, 2003, contains provisions related to missing and exploited children. Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act, which was signed into law (P.L. 108-21) by the President on April 30, 2003, contains provisions related to missing and exploited children.
Date: August 6, 2003
Creator: Cooper, Edith Fairman
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Child Welfare Issues in the 108th Congress (open access)

Child Welfare Issues in the 108th Congress

The purpose of this report is to present a number of generally less broad legislative proposals related to child welfare financing have been introduced in the 108th Congress. Additional child welfare-related proposals designed to improve services, promote timely placement of children across state lines, and for other purposes, are described in this report.
Date: May 6, 2003
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment (open access)

Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some types of speech and only limited protection to others. This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment — of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech.
Date: May 6, 2003
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information (open access)

Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information

None
Date: August 6, 2002
Creator: Murphy, M. Maureen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendment (open access)

Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendment

This report is divided into two parts. The first gives a brief history of the flag protection issue, from the enactment of the Flag Protection Act in 1968 through current consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, that struck down the state and federal flag protection statutes as applied in the context punishing expressive conduct.
Date: May 6, 2003
Creator: Luckey, John R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction (open access)

The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

This report describes the annual appropriations cycle from the President’s submission of his annual budget through enactment of the appropriations measures. It describes the three types of appropriations measures—regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental bills. It explains the spending ceilings for appropriations bills that are associated with the budget resolution and the sequestration process, including a description of the mechanisms used to enforce the ceilings. It also explains the authorization appropriations process, which prohibits certain provisions in some of the appropriations bills.
Date: December 6, 2004
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context (open access)

The Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context

The discharge rule of the House of Representatives affords a way for Members to bring to the floor a measure not reported from committee. Before a motion to discharge may be made, 218 Members must sign a petition for that purpose. This report provides summary data on discharge petitions filed since adoption of the present form of discharge rule in 1931. It also identifies the 32 occasions since 1967 on which a committee report or floor action occurred on a measure against which a petition was filed (or an alternative measure on the same subject).
Date: August 6, 2001
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library