The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, establishes deficit targets to lead to a balanced unified budget by fiscal year 1993. If the Office of Management and Budget projects a deficit in excess of the target amount plus $10 billion, the President must issue a sequester order to reduce budget resources…

Passage of the Toy Safety Act of 1984 (S.2650) would allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to order the immediate recall of toys and children's articles that create a substantial risk of injury to children. The CPSC would no longer be required to issue a final rule banning a hazardous toy or article before it may begin a recall…

This annual report describes the activities of the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control in 1983 and makes recommendations to the House of Representatives to control the worldwide problem of drug abuse and drug trafficking. An initial section of the report describes the jurisdiction, authority, funding, and organization of the…

This paper examines the need for telecommunications and international trade policies in the Information Age and presents a model for developing such policies. The first of seven sections discusses the need for an Information Age Model, and the technological changes that are giving rise to increasingly integrated Information Age networks are…

This paper investigates how recent changes in the telecommunications industry are likely to affect government research and development policies by analyzing how changes in the market structure--in particular, increased competition in the industry due to domestic deregulation and international competition--change the political economy of government…

Deregulation of the cable industry has been based largely on the assumption of existing diversity and competition and on the promise of promoting diversity within the industry. To test this assumption, a study examined levels of channel diversity for a sample of cable systems at three stages of the deregulation process. A random sample of 326…

The major policy issues raised by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations with regard to the year-round nature of political media campaigns and the emergence of political action committees (PACs) are explored in this paper. The first part of the paper introduces the major policy issues, specifically who should have an affirmative right…

For nearly half a century, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been exercising its authority to grant and deny applications for broadcast licenses. In the process of comparison used by the FCC to assess qualified new applicants, two considerations weigh heavily: (1) the best practicable service to the public, and (2) maximum diffusion…

The United States federal government, through a combination of statutes and regulations, has imposed restrictions on the activities of photojournalists that are not equally applicable to those of their print colleagues. For example, two statutes of the United States Code prohibit the photographing of defense installations and military equipment…

Disclosure of information to the investing public is a primary purpose of federal regulation of the securities industry and one of the primary duties and responsibilities of financial public relations practitioners. Disclosure requirements are numerous, with most mandating publicly held corporations to disclose information. Some requirements,…

This document presents the transcript of the September 18, 1980, oversight hearing of the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the House Committee on Education and Labor regarding section 431 of the General Education Provisions Act, which gives Congress the authority to disapprove U.S. Department of Education…

Broadcasters should aim for diversity and excellence in programing rather than basing programing decisions on the Nielsen ratings and aiming for maximized profits. Broadcasting reflects, shapes, alters, and informs the national consciousness; entertainment programs as well as newscasts have tremendous impact on the public, and the effect of…

Implications of the 1976 General Revision of the Copyright Act for the retransmission of television programs by cable systems are investigated. Discussion of the history and shortcomings of the compulsory licensing provisions for distant signal importation includes a description of the cable provisions of the bill, along with the judicial,…

Four propositions and their policy consequences are advanced in this paper to identify pitfalls endemic to making policy in the rapidly changing area of telecommunications. The major point made in the discussion of these propositions and consequences is that any policy involving restrictive regulation of the rapidly changing field of…

Of all the mass media, radio is the most abundant, both in terms of the number of radio stations in operation and the number of radio receivers in use. Unfortunately, given the dynamics of a competitive market and the Federal Communications Commission's reluctance to interfere with a licensee's discretion in the choice of format, format…