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The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress

Description: This report looks at how Article V of the Constitution allows Congress to propose amendments -- specifically the process of organizing an Article V Convention, a method that has never been used and which is only briefly outlined in the Constitution.
Date: May 7, 2014
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Selected Issues

Description: This report describes the declaration process and the types of declarations that can be issued under the Stafford Act: (1) emergency and major disaster declarations, and (2) Fire Management Assistance Grants. The report also examines how the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is financed and analyzes the issues related to the DRF, including the debate over supplemental appropriations, how the DRF is budgeted, and the influence the Budget Control Act has had on the DRF.
Date: May 7, 2014
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Low-Income Assistance Programs: Trends in Federal Spending

Description: This report examines the spending trends of 10 major need-tested benefit programs or groups of programs: (1) health care from Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) the refundable portion of the health insurance tax credit enacted in the 2010 health care reform law; (3) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); (4) assisted housing; (5) financial assistance for post-secondary students (Pell Grants); (6) compensatory education grants to school districts; (7)… more
Date: May 7, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC): Selection of Judges

Description: This report surveys the process of "designation," an alternative method used by Congress that allows current federal judges to serve temporarily on another federal court without undergoing a separate constitutional appointment. It explores how a reviewing court might evaluate the constitutionality of these proposals that would shift the authority to select Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) judges away from the Chief Justice alone, and vest it in other officials within the judicial, e… more
Date: May 7, 2014
Creator: Chu, Vivian S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Sanctions

Description: This report discusses the recent development regarding the negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program. It provides background information on Iranian nuclear program and debates the November 24 Joint Plan of Action Elements.
Date: May 7, 2014
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lobbying Regulations on Non-Profit Organizations

Description: Public charities, religious groups, social welfare organizations, and other nonprofit organizations which are exempt from federal income taxation are not generally prohibited from engaging in all lobbying or public policy advocacy activities merely because of their tax-exempt status. There may, however, be some lobbying limitations on certain organizations, depending. This report discusses this issue at length, including related legislation, relevant passages in the Internal Revenue Code, and o… more
Date: May 7, 2008
Creator: Maskell, Jack H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Alert Systems for Missing Adults in Eleven States: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the emerging development of nationwide alert systems to recover missing adults, such as those with mental impairment (such as Alzheimer's disease), developmental disabilities, or suicidal tendencies. This report provides an overview of such alert systems in 11 states: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. This report also provides a discussion of issues for Congress to consider with respect to the… more
Date: May 7, 2009
Creator: Fernandes, Adrienne L. & Colello, Kirsten J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Covert Action and Clandestine Activities of the Intelligence Community: Selected Notification Requirements in Brief

Description: This report discusses the requirements for notifying Congress of covert action and clandestine activities of the intelligence community and activities of the military. These requirements originated from instances in the 1970s when media disclosure of past intelligence abuses underscored reasons for Congress taking a more active role in oversight. Over time, these requirements were written into statute or became custom.
Date: May 7, 2018
Creator: DeVine, Michael E. & Peters, Heidi M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards

Description: This report discusses the current corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard of 35 miles per gallon (mpg), and the major issues on the CAFE debate. The report also offers an overview of Congressional interest in CAFE (1991-2005), and explains the CAFE and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
Date: May 7, 2008
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D. & Bamberger, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Basic Sources

Description: This report is a guide to basic sources useful in tracking federal legislation and regulations. It has been prepared primarily for the use of constituents who wish to follow the federal government's legislative or regulatory activities at the local level. Brief annotations for the selected printed, telephone, electronic, and related sources describe their scope, focus, and frequency, include publisher contact information, and provide Internet addresses where available.
Date: May 7, 1998
Creator: Davis, Carol D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wildfire Funding

Description: This report briefly describes the three categories of federal programs for wildfire protection. One is to protect the federal lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS), and by the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose wildfire programs are coordinated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A second category assists state and local governments and communities in protecting nonfederal lands; these programs are used to reduce wildland fuels, to otherwise prepare fo… more
Date: May 7, 2007
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Additional Standard Tax Deduction for the Blind: A Description and Assessment

Description: This report covers the history, reasoning, and current policy that surrounds tax deductions for the blind. Moreover, the report highlights the current policy (as of May 7th 2008) as one that recognizes the higher cost of living for a blind person because many blind taxpayers have low incomes. However, the report points out that because of this many of them have access to an additional deduction for being in a lower income bracket.
Date: May 7, 2008
Creator: Jackson, Pamela J. & Teefy, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Requiring Individuals to Obtain Health Insurance: A Constitutional Analysis

Description: This report first analyzes the authority of Congress to pass a law of this nature, as well as how a court could analyze this provision in light of a constitutional challenge based on various provisions of the Fifth and Tenth Amendments. Finally, this report discusses whether the exceptions to the individual responsibility requirement to purchase health insurance satisfy First Amendment freedom of religion protections.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Staman, Jennifer; Brougher, Cynthia; Liu, Edward C.; Lunder, Erika K. & Thomas, Kenneth R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Revenue Reconciliation Directives in the FY2004 Budget Resolution

Description: This report discusses the proposed levels of revenue reduction in the President’s budget and the congressional budget resolution for FY2004, the features of the budget reconciliation process, the inclusion of revenue reconciliation directives in the FY2004 budget resolution, and selected procedural issues pertaining to the consideration of the resultant reconciliation legislation.
Date: May 7, 2003
Creator: Keith, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Enrollment of Legislation: Relevant Congressional Procedures

Description: This report describes the congressional procedure in the enrollment of legislation, which occurs in the chamber where the measure originated and is carried out by enrolling clerks under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and Secretary of the Senate.
Date: May 7, 2008
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization: An Overview of Legislative Action in the 111th Congress

Description: This report tracks the status of ongoing legislative action and debate related to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization. It is organized into six major program areas: aviation system finance; airport financing; FAA management and organizational issues; system capacity and safety; environmental issues; and airline industry issues. In several cases, provisions that appear in various unrelated sections of proposed legislation have been rearranged in this report in an effort to grou… more
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Elias, Bart
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy SSBN(X) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Navy's plan to develop and design a class of 12 next-generation ballistic missile submarines, or SSBN(X)s, as replacements for the 14 Ohio class SSBNs currently in operation. The report explores certain related issues for Congress, including the affordability of the project and its potential impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, alternatives to the program, and which shipyard or shipyards will build the proposed ships.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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