The history of copyright law in the United States since 1909 is outlined, with emphasis on educational television's unique position and concerns. The problems which ETV raises are illuminated by an account of the proceedings in the House of Representatives and in the Senate on a 1965 bill dealing with copyright law revision. (LS)

This legislative analysis of the actions of the 92nd Congress concerning consumer product safety bills, current as of March 20, 1972, presents briefly the background of Congressional investigations in this area. Describing in detail four major bills which focus on the establishment of an independent government agency regulating consumer products…

Arguments for and against opening federal advisory committees to the public are discussed. Certain key questions dealing with the effectiveness of this decision, sizes of the loopholes, and effects on the science advisory process are considered. (DF)

Revenue sharing, the keystone of the responsible decentralization objective of the Nixon Administration, is both an economic and a political reform. (Author)

The former secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare discusses his opposition to the creation of a separate department of education and describes how the Carter administration pushed the legislation through Congress. (JOW)

Explains the USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act, passed after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and its implications for libraries and patron records. Considers past dealings with the FBI; court orders; search warrants; wiretaps; and subpoenas. Includes:…

Explores the nature of the political ideology that justified and sustained conservative efforts to prevent the passage of the Library Services Act of 1956 and discusses implications for current efforts to secure reauthorization of the Library Services and Construction Act. Highlights include a historical account of actions by Congress and state…

Identifies flaws in the new Carl Perkins Act: mismatch between purpose and funding; micromanagement; attempts to legislate learning by specifying courses; legislation of methodology such as academic-vocational integration; failure to consider restructuring of the vocational education system; and failure to address the important federal role in…

While the economic downturn has appropriately become the top priority of policy makers, one element of the crisis has gone largely unnoticed: its impact on children and youth. Largely due to the economic and housing crises, many school districts across the country report increases in the number of homeless students in the classroom. "The Economic…

In this article, Harvey Kantor and Robert Lowe explore the progression of American social policy and its relation to educational reform from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal to President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The authors assert that this progression has been marked by the federal government's gradual…

This excerpt from the Congressional Record contains the final debate in the House of Representatives before passage of the Metric Conversion act of 1975. (SD)

Congress enacted the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to help assure economic security in retirement. This analysis includes description of the growth, operation, and inequities within the private pension system and analysis of ERISA: (1) participation, vesting and joint and survivor annuities; (2) funding and plan…

This document contains the text of a Congressional oversight hearing on Public Law 98-621, the St. Elizabeths Hospital and District of Columbia Mental Health Services Act, which became law in November 1984 and which transferred St. Elizabeths Hospital from federal control to that of the government of the District of Columbia. The text of Public…