The Evolving Congress

The Evolving Congress
Author: Congressional Research Congressional Research Service Library of Congress
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2015-05-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781512234244

For 100 years, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has been charged with providing nonpartisan and authoritative research and analysis to inform the legislative debate in Congress. This has involved a wide range of services, such as written reports on issues and the legislative process, consultations with Members and their staff, seminars on policy and procedural matters, and congressional testimony. The Government and Finance Division at CRS took a step back from its intensive day-to-day service to Congress to analyze important trends in the evolution of the institution-its organization and policymaking process-over the last many decades. Changes in the political landscape, technology, and representational norms have required Congress to evolve as the Nation's most democratic national institution of governance. The essays in this print demonstrate that Congress has been a flexible institution that has changed markedly in recent years in response to the social and political environment.

A Failure of Initiative

A Failure of Initiative
Author: United States. Congress. House. Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina
Publisher:
Total Pages: 588
Release: 2006
Genre: Disaster relief
ISBN:

The Federal Budget

The Federal Budget
Author: Allen Schick
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2008-05-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0815777329

The federal budget impacts American policies both at home and abroad, and recent concern over the exploding budgetary deficit has experts calling our nation's policies "unsustainable" and "system-dooming." As the deficit continues to grow, will America be fully able to fund its priorities, such as an effective military and looking after its aging population? In this third edition of his classic book The Federal Budget, Allen Schick examines how surpluses projected during the final years of the Clinton presidency turned into oversized deficits under George W. Bush. In his detailed analysis of the politics and practices surrounding the federal budget, Schick addresses issues such as the collapse of the congressional budgetary process and the threat posed by the termination of discretionary spending caps. This edition updates and expands his assessment of the long-term budgetary outlook, and it concludes with a look at how the nation's deficit will affect America now and in the future. "A clear explanation of the federal budget... [Allen Schick] has captured the politics of federal budgeting from the original lofty goals to the stark realities of today."—Pete V. Domenici, U.S. Senate

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel
Author: Jeremy M. Sharp
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2010-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1437927475

Contents: (1) U.S.-Israeli Relations and the Role of Foreign Aid; (2) U.S. Bilateral Military Aid to Israel: A 10-Year Military Aid Agreement; Foreign Military Financing; Ongoing U.S.-Israeli Defense Procurement Negotiations; (3) Defense Budget Appropriations for U.S.-Israeli Missile Defense Programs: Multi-Layered Missile Defense; High Altitude Missile Defense System; (4) Aid Restrictions and Possible Violations: Israeli Arms Sales to China; Israeli Settlements; (5) Other Ongoing Assistance and Cooperative Programs: Migration and Refugee Assistance; Loan Guarantees for Economic Recovery; American Schools and Hospitals Abroad Program; U.S.-Israeli Scientific and Business Cooperation; (6) Historical Background. Illustrations.

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
Author: Department Justice
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-10-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9781500783945

(a) Design and construction. (1) Each facility or part of a facility constructed by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public entity shall be designed and constructed in such manner that the facility or part of the facility is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, if the construction was commenced after January 26, 1992. (2) Exception for structural impracticability. (i) Full compliance with the requirements of this section is not required where a public entity can demonstrate that it is structurally impracticable to meet the requirements. Full compliance will be considered structurally impracticable only in those rare circumstances when the unique characteristics of terrain prevent the incorporation of accessibility features. (ii) If full compliance with this section would be structurally impracticable, compliance with this section is required to the extent that it is not structurally impracticable. In that case, any portion of the facility that can be made accessible shall be made accessible to the extent that it is not structurally impracticable. (iii) If providing accessibility in conformance with this section to individuals with certain disabilities (e.g., those who use wheelchairs) would be structurally impracticable, accessibility shall nonetheless be ensured to persons with other types of disabilities, (e.g., those who use crutches or who have sight, hearing, or mental impairments) in accordance with this section.

Hitching a Ride

Hitching a Ride
Author: Glen S. Krutz
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2001
Genre: Legislation
ISBN: 9780814208700

Omnibus legislating is the controversial practice of combining disparate measures in one massive bill. Omnibus packages are "must-pass" bills because they have a nucleus that enjoys widespread support but they also contain a variety of often unrelated measures that are simply "hitching a ride". Why are omnibus bills employed? Why the increase in their use? Why do leaders attach certain bills to omnibus packages and not others? Glen Krutz addresses these and other questions in this original and insightful study of an important change in the legislative process. Many view omnibus packages as political vehicles and therefore attribute their rise to politics, but Krutz finds that, whatever their political value, omnibus packages are institutionally efficient. Omnibus legislating improves congressional capability by providing a tool for circumventing the gridlock of committee turf wars and presidential veto threats. In addition to furnishing a fascinating look at law-making, Hitching a Ride: Omnibus Legislating in the U.S. Congress provides a challenge to recent studies of congressional change that focus on political factors. Political and institutional factors together, Krutz argues, explain congressional evolution.