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Temporary Emergency Court Of Appeals

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

The United States Congress established the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals in December 1971 (85 Stat. 474) and granted it exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decisions of the U.S. district courts in cases arising under the wage and price control program of the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970. Congress authorized the Chief Justice of the United States to appoint to the temporary court three or more district and appeals court judges, each of whom was to serve on a part-time basis for an indefinite term. The court exercised the same powers as a U.S. court of appeals, and it was authorized to prescribe its own rules of practice, which it did when its three district and six circuit court judges convened for the first time in February 1972. The Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals was modeled on the Emergency Court of Appeals, which was established in 1942 to hear appeals in cases involving various wartime price control measures and which heard its last case in 1961. Although the Economic Stabilization Act expired in 1974, Congress extended the operation of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals in the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 (82 Stat. 627). The court exercised the judicial review provisions of the energy price stabilization program established by the act. The temporary court’s jurisdiction was further expanded in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (89 Stat. 871) and the Emergency Natural Gas Act of 1977 (91 Stat. 4). In 1992 Congress abolished the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals and transferred both its jurisdiction and its pending cases to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (106 Stat. 4506). Category:Judicial Branch of the United States Government

United States/Congress

The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. Both representatives and senators are directly elected by the people, but in some states the governor may appoint a temporary replacement when a Senate seat is vacant. The United States Constitution vests all legislative powers of the federal government in the Congress. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The enumerated powers of Congress include the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, to levy taxes, to establish federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, to maintain the armed forces, and to declare war. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers." The general purposes expressed in the Preamble have also been interpreted as authorizing Acts of Congress. The Senate is fully equal to the House of Representatives, and is not a "chamber of review," as is the case with the upper houses of the bicameral legislatures of many other nations. However, there are some special powers granted to one chamber only. On the one hand, the Senate's advice and consent is required for presidential appointments to high-level executive and judicial positions, and for the ratification of treaties. On the other hand, bills for raising revenue may originate in the House of Representatives alone. Both chambers meet in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.]

History

The Congress of the United States derives from First Continental Congress, a meeting of representatives of twelve of Great Britain's seventeen North American colonies, in the autumn of 1774. On 4 July 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared thirteen former colonies independent states, referring to them as the "United States of America." Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was a unicameral body in which each state was equally represented, and in which each state had a veto over most action. The ineffectiveness of the federal government under the Articles led Congress to summon the Convention of 1787. Originally intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, it ended up writing a completely new constitution. James Madison called for a bicameral Congress: the lower house elected directly by the people, and the upper house elected by the lower house. The smaller states, however, favored a unicameral Congress with equal representation for the states. Eventually, a compromise was reached; the House of Representatives to provide proportional representation, whereas the Senate would provide equal representation. In order to preserve further the authority of the states, it was provided that state legislatures, rather than the people, would elect senators. The post Civil War Gilded Age was marked by Republican dominance of Congress. Senate elections were tainted by corruption, bribery and gridlock preventing the election of a senator. These issues were addressed by the Seventeenth Amendment (ratified in 1913), which provided for the direct election of senators. The early twentieth century witnessed the rise of party leadership in both houses of Congress. In the House of Representatives, the office of Speaker became extremely powerful. Leaders in the Senate were somewhat less powerful; individual senators still retained much of their influence. In particular, committee chairmen remained particularly strong in both houses until the reforms of the 1970s. During the long administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–45), the Democratic Party controlled both houses of Congress. Both the Republicans and the Democrats were in control at various points during the next decade. However, after winning the elections of 1954, the Democratic Party was the majority party in both houses of Congress for most of the next forty years. The Republicans finally returned to a majority position, in both houses of Congress, in the election of 1994. The Republicans have controlled both houses since, except that the Democrats held the Senate briefly from 2001 to 2003.

Composition

2003 The House of Representatives consists of 435 members representing the fifty states. Seats are apportioned among the states on the basis of population, but every state, regardless of size, is guaranteed at least one seat. Representatives are directly elected by single-member constituencies known as congressional districts. Each state may draw the boundaries of its districts, subject to certain legal requirements; for instance, districts must have approximately equal populations. Representatives serve for two-year terms. The Senate consists of 100 members, two representing each state regardless of population. A senator is elected not by a district, but by a state as a whole. Senators serve for terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the Senate seats are up for election every two years and so that both seats from a given state are never contested in the same general election (except for the first election of Senators upon admission of a new state). The District of Columbia and the territories are not represented in the Senate in any manner. The Constitution makes no provision for representation in Congress for citizens of the District of Columbia or the territories. Attempts to change the situation, regarding lack of District of Columbia voting rights, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. Currently, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are represented by a single delegate each, while Puerto Rico elects a Resident Commissioner. Delegates and Resident Commissioners may participate in debates and vote in committees, but may not vote on the floor of the full House. Delegates serve for two-year terms; the Resident Commissioner serves for a four-year term. Generally, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their candidates in primary elections. Ballot access rules for independent and third party candidates vary from state to state. General elections are held in every even-numbered year, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (Election Day). Special elections are held whenever vacancies arise; in the case of the Senate, however, the Governor of a state normally holds the power to temporarily appoint a senator until a special election can be held. In almost all cases, general and special elections are conducted by the first-past-the-post electoral system. Louisiana, however, uses runoff voting for congressional elections.

Officers

The Constitution authorizes the House of Representatives to elect its own Speaker. The Speaker's powers as presiding officer are extensive; he or she controls the course of debate and enforces the rules of the House. Normally, the Speaker does not personally preside over debates; instead, the task is delegated to other members. The Speaker is also the head of the majority party, outranking the Majority Leader. The Vice President of the United States is ex officio the President of the Senate; he or she has no vote except in the case of a tie. The Senate also elects a President pro tempore, or "temporary President," to preside when the Vice President is absent. The President pro tempore, by custom, is the most senior senator of the majority party. Neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore regularly presides; instead, the duty is performed by other senators. The powers of the President pro tempore are much less extensive than those of the Speaker. He or she does not head the majority party in the Senate; rather, the Majority Leader is the full head of the Senate majority party.

Women, ethnic and racial minorities

Congress has historically not reflected the full diversity of the United States, despite the fact that the Constitution has never excluded persons from membership in Congress on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex. The early Congresses were composed largely of upper-class White men. This changed briefly during the post-Civil War era of Reconstruction. The passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments expanded suffrage to former slaves. This, combined with the temporary exclusion of former members of the government of the Confederate States of America, permitted a number of African Americans to win seats. This movement reversed when Reconstruction ended and Southern states began disenfranchising blacks through the use of Jim Crow laws. During the remainder of the 19th century, and into the 20th century, racial, economic, and ethnic prejudice in the rest of the country largely kept out non-Protestants and the new waves of immigrants from southern Europe. This slowly began to change in the 20th century as these groups gained more political clout. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s 60s again enfranchised African-Americans, who gained more seats as a consequence. Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress, in 1916. Women could not vote or be elected in most of the United States until the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. Rebecca Felton was the first woman to become a Senator in 1922, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy left by Georgia Senator Thomas E. Watson. As of 2005, there are 69 women serving the U.S. House and 14 in the U.S. Senate. This is the highest number of women to hold Congressional office at one time.

Restrictions on office holding

Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits members of Congress from also holding a federal civil office, thus differentiating the U.S. from parliamentary systems where cabinet members are drawn from and continue to sit in the legislature. The same section also prohibits members from being appointed to offices created, or granted increased salary, during their term. This is intended to prevent the creation of sinecure positions. The Constitution does not prohibit Representatives or Senators from simultaneously holding a state post. During the eighteenth century, some members of Congress did also serve as state legislators and other state officials. Such cross-federal dual office holding is now prohibited by state constitutions or statutes, or by general custom. It also does not explicitly prohibit a particular person from serving in both the House and Senate at the same time or, for that matter, from simultaneously holding two or more seats in the House of Representatives. However, no person has ever done so; a member holding a seat in one house has always resigned that seat before starting their term in the other house.

Powers

Section 8 of Article One of the United States Constitution sets forth the powers of Congress. The most important powers are the powers to levy and collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states, coin money, establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court, raise and maintain the armed forces, and declare war. There are additional powers other parts of the Constitution grant. For instance, Congress has the power to admit new states to the Union (Article Four). Other powers have been granted, or confirmed, by constitutional amendments. Congress has the power to break deadlocks in the electoral college. If no presidential candidate achieves an electoral majority, the House may elect the President from the three candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. Similarly, if no vice presidential candidate achieves an electoral majority, the Senate may elect the Vice President from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. Several of the members of the Constitutional Convention expected that, while George Washington would be overwhelmingly elected as first President under the Constitution, selection by the House would be the normal method after him. The "necessary and proper clause" of the Constitution permits Congress to make "all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution" its other powers and the rest of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has interpreted the necessary and proper clause broadly, which has permitted the Congress wide authority. One of the foremost non-legislative functions of the Congress is the power to investigate and to oversee the executive branch. This power is usually delegated to committees—standing committees, special committees, select committees, or joint committees composed of members of both houses. Investigations are conducted to gather information on the need for future legislation, to test the effectiveness of laws already passed, and to inquire into the qualifications and performance of members and officials of the other branches. Committees may hold hearings, and, if necessary, compel individuals to testify by issuing subpoenas. Witnesses who refuse to testify may be cited for contempt of Congress, and those who testify falsely may be charged with perjury. Most committee hearings are open to the public; important hearings are widely reported in the mass media. Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution places certain limits of congressional authority. For instance, Congress may not suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (except in extreme cases of rebellion or invasion), pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws, or grant titles of nobility. Several other restrictions are specified by constitutional amendments, especially the Bill of Rights. The last clause of the Bill of Rights, the Tenth Amendment, provides that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Checks and balances

The constitution provides certain checks and balances among the three branches of the federal government. The influence of Congress on the presidency has varied from one period to another; it depends largely on the leadership and the political influence of the President. The authors of the Constitution expected the greater power to lie with Congress and that is one reason they are described in Article One. Under the first half-dozen Presidents, power seems to have been evenly divided between the President and Congress, in part because early Presidents largely restricted their vetoes to claims of unconstitutionality. Andrew Jackson (1829-37) dominated his Congresses; his successors were weaker men (excluding Abraham Lincoln (1861-65), and perhaps James K. Polk (1845-49) and Martin van Buren (1837-41)). Senators ruled, including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, Thomas Hart Benton, Stephen Douglas, and Thaddeus Stevens. The impeachment of Andrew Johnson completed this trend, making the presidency much less powerful than Congress. During the late nineteenth century, President Grover Cleveland aggressively attempted to restore the executive branch's power, vetoing over four hundred bills during his first term. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen the rise of the power of the Presidency under Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45), Richard Nixon (1969-74), Ronald Reagan (1981-89), and George W. Bush (2001–) (see Imperial Presidency). In recent years, Congress has restricted the powers of the President with laws such as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the War Powers Resolution; nevertheless, the Presidency remains considerably more powerful than during the nineteenth century. The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials (both executive and judicial) for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." The Senate is constitutionally empowered to try all impeachments. A simple majority in the House is required to impeach an official; however, a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required for conviction. A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office in the future. Impeachment proceedings may not inflict more than this; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law. In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another resigned before the Senate could complete the trial). Only two Presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999. Both trials ended in acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction. The Constitution entrusts certain powers to the Senate alone. The President may only appoint Cabinet officials, judges, and other high officers with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. The Senate confirms most presidential nominees, but rejections are not uncommon. Furthermore, treaties negotiated by the President must be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to take effect. The House of Representatives has no formal role in either the appointment of federal officials or the ratification of treaties. The Constitution does not explicitly state that the courts may exercise judicial review (the power to strike down laws on the grounds of unconstitutionality). However, the notion that courts could declare laws unconstitutional was accepted by several delegates; for example, Alexander Hamilton mentioned and expounded the doctrine in Federalist No. 78. In 1803, the Supreme Court, established judicial review of Federal legislation in Marbury v. Madison; Marbury made the particular holding, however, that Congress could not grant unconstitutional power to the Court itself—the general power of judicial review was not exercised until the Dred Scott decision of 1857.

Legislative procedure

1857

Term

Under the Twentieth Amendment, congressional terms begin at noon on January 3 of every odd-numbered year. It is conventional to refer to each Congress by the ordinal number of its term. Thus, the current Congress (whose term lasts from 2005 to 2007) is known as the "109th Congress"; the previous Congress (whose term lasted from 2003 to 2005) was the "108th Congress," and so forth. At the beginning of each new term, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate (those who were chosen in the election the previous November) are sworn in. The oath taken is provided by statute: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." The House of Representatives also elects a Speaker to preside over debates. The President pro tempore of the Senate, by contrast, holds office continuously; normally, a new President pro tempore is only elected if the previous one retires, or if there is a change in the majority party. A term of Congress is divided into two "sessions," one for each year; Congress has occasionally also been called into an extra, (or special) session. (The Constitution requires Congress to meet at least once each year.) A new session commences on January 3 (or another date, if Congress so chooses) each year. Before the Twentieth Amendment, Congress met from the first Monday in December to April or May in the first session of their term (the "long session"); and from December to March 4 in the second "short session". (The new Congress would then meet for some days, for the inauguration, swearing in new members, and organization.) The Constitution forbids either house from meeting any place outside the Capitol, or from adjourning for more than three days, without the consent of the other house. The provision was intended to prevent one house from thwarting legislative business simply by refusing to meet. To avoid obtaining consent during long recesses, the House or Senate may sometimes hold pro forma meetings, sometimes only minutes long, every three days. The consent of both bodies is required for Congress's final adjournment, or adjournment sine die, at the end of each congressional session. If the two houses cannot agree on a date, the Constitution permits the President to settle the dispute.

Joint sessions

Joint Sessions of the United States Congress occur on special occasions that require a concurrent resolution from both House and Senate. These sessions include the counting of electoral votes following a Presidential election and the President's State of the Union address. Other meetings of both House and Senate are called Joint Meetings of Congress, held after unanimous consent agreements to recess and meet. Meetings of Congress for Presidential Inaugurations may also be Joint Sessions, if both House and Senate are in session at the time, otherwise they are formal joint gatherings. At some time during the first two months of each session, the President customarily delivers the State of the Union Address, a speech in which he or she assesses the situation of the country and outlines his or her legislative proposals for the congressional session. The speech is modeled on the Speech from the Throne given by the British monarch, and is mandated by the Constitution of the United States. Thomas Jefferson discontinued the original practice of delivering the speech in person before both houses of Congress, deeming it too monarchical. Instead, Jefferson and his successors sent a written message to Congress each year. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson reestablished the practice of personally attending to deliver the speech; few Presidents have deviated from this custom since. Joint Sessions and Joint Meetings are traditionally presided over by the Speaker of the House. However, the Constitution requires the President of the Senate to preside over the counting of electoral votes.

Bills and resolutions

A proposal may be introduced in Congress as a bill, a joint resolution, a concurrent resolution, or a simple resolution. Most legislative proposals are introduced as bills, but some are introduced as joint resolutions. There is little practical difference between the two, except that joint resolutions may include preambles but bills may not. Joint resolutions are the normal method used to propose a constitutional amendment or to declare war. On the other hand, concurrent resolutions (passed by both houses) and simple resolutions (passed by only one house) do not have the force of law. Instead, they serve to express the opinion of Congress, or to regulate procedure. Members of Congress often introduce legislation at the behest of lobbyists. Lobbyists advocate the passage (or rejection) of bills affecting the interest of a particular group (such as a corporation or a labor union). In many cases, the lobbyists write legislation and submit it to a member for introduction. Congressional lobbyists are legally required to be registered in a central database, and are employed by political organizations, corporations, state governments, foreign governments, and numerous other groups. In 2005, there are almost 35,000 registered Congressional lobbyists, representing a doubling since 2000. Some of the most prominent lobbyists are ex-members of Congress, others are family members of sitting members. As an example, Dennis Hastert, Tom DeLay, and Roy Blunt all have immediate family members who are (or were) lobbyists. Bills (and other proposals) may be introduced by any member of either house. However, the Constitution provides that: "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate appropriation bills, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal funds. Historically, the Senate has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House. However, whenever the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. Although it cannot originate revenue and appropriation bills, the Senate retains the power to amend or reject them. Each bill goes through several stages in each house; the first stage involves consideration by a committee. Most legislation is considered by standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a particular subject matter, such as Agriculture or Appropriations. The House has twenty standing committees; the Senate has sixteen. In some cases, bills may be sent to select committees (which tend to have more narrow jurisdictions than standing committees. Each standing and select committee is led by a chairman (who belongs to the majority party) and a ranking member (who belongs to the minority party). Committees are permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence when considering bills. They may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments. After considering and debating a measure, the committee votes on whether it wishes to report the measure to the full house. A decision not to report a bill amounts to a rejection of the proposal. Both houses provide for procedures under which the committee can be bypassed or overruled, but they are rarely used. If reported by the committee, the bill reaches the floor of the full house. The house may debate and amend the bill; the precise procedures used by the House of Representatives and the Senate differ. A final vote on the bill follows. Central party discipline is not as strong in Congress as it is in parliamentary systems, and in the Senate it is weaker than in the House. However, the leadership does have certain powers to sway reluctant legistators to vote with the party. Party leaders derive most of their powers from the ability to fundraise, to control the flow of legislation, and to assign desireable positions; a rebel Congressman may be threatened with a cutoff of funds for his/her campaign, a reduction of pork for his/her district, thwarting of his/her pet legislation, and/or denial of a future committee chairmanship. The party leadership may use the "catch and release" strategy in order to ensure the passage of important legislation with the support of reluctant members. The leaders "catch" a member, pressuring him or her to vote in favor of the legislation even if it is unpopular in the member's constituency. Then, if the bill has sufficient support to pass anyway, the member may be "released," that is, permitted to vote as he or she pleases. Hence, members may avoid alienating influential special interest groups, while remaining loyal to the party. Once a bill is approved by one house, it is sent to the other, which may pass, reject, or amend it. In order for the bill to become law, both houses must agree to identical versions of the bill. If the second house amends the bill, then the differences between the two versions must be reconciled in a conference committee, an ad hoc committee that includes both senators and representatives. In many cases, conference committees have introduced substantial changes to bills and added unrequested spending, significantly departing from both the House and Senate versions. President Ronald Reagan once quipped, "If an orange and an apple went into conference consultations, it might come out a pear." If both houses agree to the version reported by the conference committee, the bill passes; otherwise, it fails. After passage by both houses, a bill is submitted to the President. The President may choose to sign the bill, thereby making it law. The President may also choose to veto the bill, returning it to Congress with his or her objections. In such a case, the bill only becomes law if each house of Congress votes to override the veto with a two-thirds majority. Finally, the President may choose to take no action, neither signing nor vetoing the bill. In such a case, the Constitution states that the bill automatically becomes law after ten days (excluding Sundays). However, if Congress adjourns (ends a legislative session) during the ten day period, then the bill does not become law. Thus, the President may veto legislation passed at the end of a congressional session simply by ignoring it; the maneuver is known as a pocket veto, and cannot be overridden by the adjourned Congress. Every Act of Congress or joint resolution begins with an enacting formula or resolving formula stipulated by law. These are:
- Act of Congress: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."
- Joint resolution: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."

Quorum and voting

The Constitution specifies that a majority of members constitutes a quorum to do business in each house. The rules of each house provide that a quorum is assumed to be present unless a quorum call demonstrates the contrary. Representatives and senators rarely force the presence of a quorum by demanding quorum calls; thus, in most cases, debates continue even if a majority is not present. Both houses use voice voting to decide most matters; members shout out "aye" or "no," and the presiding officer announces the result. The Constitution, however, requires a recorded vote on the demand of one-fifth of the members present. If the result of the voice vote is unclear, or if the matter is controversial, a recorded vote usually ensues. The Senate uses roll call votes; a clerk calls out the names of all the senators, each senator stating "aye" or "no" when his or her name is announced. The House reserves roll call votes for the most formal matters; normally, members vote by electronic device. In the case of a tie, the motion in question fails. In the Senate, the Vice President may (if present) cast the tiebreaking vote.

Privileges

Under the Constitution, members of both houses enjoy the privilege of being free from arrest in all cases, except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace. This immunity applies to members "during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same." The term "arrest" has been interpreted broadly, and includes any detention or delay in the course of law enforcement, including court summons and subpoenas. The rules of the House very strictly guard this privilege; a member may not waive the privilege on his or her own, but must seek the permission of the whole house to do so. Senate rules, on the other hand, are less strict, and permit individual senators to waive the privilege as they see fit. The Constitution also guarantees absolute freedom of debate in both houses, providing, "for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place." Hence, a member of Congress may not be sued for slander because of remarks made in either house. However, each house has its own rules restricting offensive speeches, and may punish members who transgress them. Obstructing the work of Congress is a crime under federal law, and is known as contempt of Congress. Each house of Congress has the power to cite individuals for contempt, but may not impose any punishment. Instead, after a house issues a contempt citation, the judicial system pursues the matter like a normal criminal case. If convicted in court, an individual found guilty of contempt of Congress may be imprisoned for up to one year. Another privilege is the use of the Library of Congress. The Library's primary mission is to serve the Congress and its staff. To do this, the Congressional Research Service provides detailed, up-to-date and non-partisan research for Senators, Representatives, and their staff to help them carry out their functions as national servants.

Member groups


- Congressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American members of Congress
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a group representing Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a group representing Asian Pacific Americans

See also


- List of United States Congresses
- Current members: House of Representatives
- Current members: Senate
- Library of Congress

References


- Baker, Ross K. (2000). House and Senate, 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton.
- Berg-Andersson, Richard E. (2001). [http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Hx/SessionsExplanation.html Explanation of the types of Sessions of Congress]
- Berman, Daniel M. (1964). In Congress Assembled: The Legislative Process in the National Government. London: The Macmillan Company.
- Davidson, Roger H., and Walter J. Oleszek. (1998). Congress and Its Members, 6th ed. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly.
- Herrick, Rebekah. (2001). "Gender effects on job satisfaction in the House of Representatives." Women and Politics, 23 (4), 85–98.
- Hunt, Richard. (1998). "Using the Records of Congress in the Classroom," OAH Magazine of History, 12 (Summer): 34–37.
- Imbornoni, Ann-Marie, David Johnson, and Elissa Haney. (2005). [http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womensfirsts1.html "Famous Firsts by American Women." Infoplease.]
- Lee, Frances and Bruce Oppenheimer. (1999). Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
- Rimmerman, Craig A. (1990). "Teaching Legislative Politics and Policy Making." Political Science Teacher, 3 (Winter): 16–18.
- Ritchie, Donald A. (1997). "What Makes a Successful Congressional Investigation." OAH Magazine of History, 11 (Spring): 6–8.
- Story, Joseph. (1891). Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. (2 vols). Boston: Brown & Little.
- Wilson, Woodrow. (1885). Congressional Government. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
- Some information in this article has been provided by the [http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Senate_Historical_Office.htm Senate Historical Office].

External links


- [http://www.house.gov/ U.S. House of Representatives]
- [http://www.senate.gov/ U.S. Senate]
- [http://thomas.loc.gov/ Library of Congress: Thomas Legislative Information]
- [http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=Vontz&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=authors&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&objectId=0900000b801b5845 Teaching about the U.S. Congress]
- [http://www.govtrack.us/ GovTrack.us] United States ja:アメリカ合衆国連邦議会

1971

1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar).

Events

January


- January 1 - British Divorce Reform Act comes into force
- January 2 - 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster.
- January 2 - A ban on television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States.
- January 3 - BBC Open University begins in the United Kingdom
- January 7 - Howard Hughes breaks his silence to announce that his supposed biography is a forgery.
- January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo; they keep him captive until September
- January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings and receives them the next day
- January 14 – 70 Brazilian political prisoners released in Santiago. Giovanni Enrico Bucher is released January 16
- January 15 - Aswan Dam officially opened
- January 18 – Strikes in Poland demand resignation of interior minister Kazimierz Switala. He resigns January 23 and is replaced by Franciszek Szlachcic
- January 19 – Representatives of 23 western oil companies begin negotiations with OPEC in Tehran to stabilize oil prices. February 14 they sign a treaty with six Persian Gulf countries
- January 19 - No, No Nanette premieres (46th Street Theatre, New York City)
- January 24 – Guinean government sentences to death 92 Guineans who helped Portuguese troops in the failed landing attempts in November 1970. 72 are sentenced to hard labor for life. 58 of the sentenced are hanged the next day
- January 25 - Charles Manson and three female "family members" are found guilty of the 1969 murder of Sharon Tate and others at Sharon's house
- January 25 - Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda's president
- January 25 - Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state
- January 31 - Apollo program: US spaceflight Apollo 14, commanded by Alan Shepard, lifts off on the third successful lunar landing mission

February


- February 2 - Idi Amin ousts Milton Obote and assumes power in Uganda
- February 4 - In Britain, Rolls Royce goes bankrupt - state takes over
- February 5 - Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.
- February 7 - Tuscany, Italy, wrecked in an earthquake
- February 7 - Men of Switzerland vote for giving voting rights to women in state elections - but not in all canton-specific ones.
- February 7 – Wladyslaw Gomulka is expelled from central council of the Polish communist party
- February 8 - A new stock market index called the Nasdaq debuts
- February 9 - The 6.4 on the Richter Scale Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
- February 9 - Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to become voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
- February 9 - Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing
- February 11 - US, UK, USSR, others sign Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons.
- February 11-12 – Palestinian and Jordanian fighters clash in Amman
- February 13 - Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
- February 15 - "Decimalisation Day" - United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency. See also decimalisation.
- February 15 – Angry Belgian farmers crash the EEC meeting in Brussels with three live cows with them
- February 16 – In Italy, local parliament elects the city of Catanzaro as the capital of Calabria – residents of Reggio di Calabria riot for five days because of the decision
- February 20 – 50 tornadoes rage in Mississippi – 74 dead
- February 20 - US Emergency Broadcast System sends an erroneous warning - many radio stations just ignore it
- February 21 - The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
- February 26 - Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
- February 27 - Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform abortus provocatus

March


- March 1 - Bomb explodes in men's room in the White House - Weather Underground claims responsibility.
- March 1 - Pakistani President Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
- March 1 - Canadian John Robarts ends his term of office as 17th premier of Ontario
- March 5 – Pakistani army occupies the East Pakistan
- March 7 – Strike of British postal workers ends after 47 days
- March 10 - Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lowers voting age to 18.
- March 12 - Hafez al-Assad becomes president of Syria.
- March 16 – Government of Trygve Bratteli in Norway
- March 18 - A landslide at Chungar, Peru crashes into Lake Yanahuani killing 200
- March 23 – Military coup in Argentina – general Alejandro Lanusse takes power
- March 25 – Pakistani army starts massive killing in East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh, after an open, non-democratic denial by Pakistani president Yahiya Khan, a military ruler, of election results that gave Awami League an overwhelming majority in the parliament.
- March 26 - The Independence Day of Bangladesh.
- March 29 - Filming begins on The Godfather. Shooting starts on Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. The movie, released in 1972, won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.
- March 29 - William Calley is found guilty of 22 murders in My Lai massacre and sentenced to life in prison. He is later pardoned.
- March 29 - A Los Angeles, California jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers.

April


- April 1 - United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership
- April 5 – In Ceylon, group calling himself People’s Liberation Front begins a rebellion against Bandaranaike government
- April 5 – Chile and East Germany form diplomatic relations
- April 5 - Mount Etna erupts
- April 7 – Greece releases 261 political prisoners, 50 of which are sent to internal exile
- April 8 – Right-wing coup attempt exposed in Laos
- April 9 - Charles Manson is sentenced to death but the sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.
- April 12 – Palestinians retreat from Amman to north of Jordan
- April 17 – Bangladesh makes official declaration of independence but Pakistani troops continue the fighting
- April 17 - Libya, Syria and Egypt sign an agreement to form a confederation.
- April 19 – Government of Bangladesh flees to India
- April 19 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic
- April 19 – Unemployment in UK is 3.4%
- April 19 - Soviet Union launches Saljut I.
- April 19 - Followers of Charles Manson, the Manson Family, are sentenced to gas chamber.
- April 20 - Supreme Court of the United States rules unanimously that busing of students may be ordered to achieve racial desegregation.
- April 20 – Cambodian Prime Minister Lon Nol resigns
- April 21 – Siaka Stevens is elected the first president of Sierra Leone
- April 21 – François Duvalier, president of Haiti, dies—his son Jean-Claude Duvalier follows him as president-for-life
- April 24 – Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1
- April 24 – 500,000 people in Washington DC and 125,000 in San Francisco march against the Vietnam War
- April 24 - Tsunami 85 m high rises over Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It throws a 750-ton block of coral 2.5 km inland
- April 25 – Todor Zhivkov re-elected as the leader of the Bulgarian communist party
- April 25 – Franz Jonas re-elected as the new chancellor of Austria
- April 26 – Government of Turkey declares the state of siege in 11 provinces, Ankara included, because of violent demonstrations
- April 29 – Bolivia nationalizes American-owned zinc mine of Matilde
- April 29 - The third anniversary of the Broadway musical Hair was celebrated with a concert at a Central Park bandshell.

May


- May 1 - Amtrak begins operation of intercity rail passenger service in the United States
- May 1 – Ceylonese government promises amnesty for those guerillas who surrender before April 5
- May 2 – in Ceylon left-wing guerillas launch a series of assaults against public buildings
- May 3 – Harris public opinion poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam
- May 3 – East German leader Walter Ulbricht resigns as a party leader but retains the positions of the head of state
- May 3 - Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington, D.C.; police and military units arrest as many as 12,000, most of whom are later released.
- May 3 - All Things Considered, National Public Radio's flagship news program, broadcasts for the first time.
- May 5 – US dollar floods the European currency markets and threatens especially the Deutsche Mark – Central banks of Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland stop the currency trading
- May 6 – Ceylon government begins a major offensive against the People's Liberation Front
- May 9 – Launch of Mariner 8 fails
- May 12 – Earthquake in Turkey destroys most of the city of Burdur
- May 15 – Israeli ambassador to Turkey, Efraim Elrom, is kidnapped. He is found killed in Istanbul May 25
- May 16 – Coup attempt exposed and foiled in Egypt
- May 19 - Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union
- May 26 – Austria and People's Republic of China form diplomatic relations
- May 26 - Qantas agrees to pay $500,000 to Bomb hoaxer-extortionist Mr Brown (Peter Marcini) (Later Arrested)
- May 27 – Six armed passengers hijack Romanian passenger plane and force it to fly to Vienna
- May 27 - Christie's auctions diamond later known as Deepdene - it is later found to be artificially colored
- May 28 – Portugal resigns from UNESCO
- May 30 - Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars
- May 31 - The birth of a new country, Bangladesh, is declared by the government in exile from territory formerly part of Pakistan.

June


- June 1 - Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, claiming to represent the majority of U.S. veterans who served in southeast Asia, speak against war protests
- June 6 - Soyuz program: Soyuz 11 launches.
- June 6 - A midair collision between a Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom jet fighter near Duarte, California claims 50 lives.
- June 10 – USA ends trade embargo of China.
- June 13 - Vietnam War: The New York Times begins to publish the Pentagon Papers. [http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/48.htm].
- June 13 - Gijs van Lennep wins the 24 hours of Le Mans together with Helmet Marko.
- June 14 - Norway begins oil production in North Sea.
- June 17 - Representatives of Japan and the United States sign the Okinawa Reversion Agreement, setting out a plan where the U.S. would return control of Okinawa.[http://www.niraikanai.wwma.net/pages/archive/rev71.html]
- June 20 – Britain announces that Soviet space scientist Anatoli Fedosejev has been granted asylum.
- June 21 – Britain begins new negotiations for EEC membership in Luxembourg.
- June 25 – Madagascar accuses USA of being connected to the plot to oust the current government – USA recalls its ambassador.
- June 28 - Assassin Jerome A. Johnson shoots Joe Colombo to the head in a middle of a Italian-American rally. Colombo goes into coma.
- June 30 - After a successful mission aboard Salyut 1, the world's first manned space station, the crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply leaks out through a faulty valve.

July


- July 3 - Doors musician Jim Morrison in found dead in his Paris apartment.
- July 5 - Right to vote: The voting age in the United States is reduced from 21 to 18 (provision of the 26th Amendment formally certified by President Richard Nixon on this day).
- July 9 - United Kingdom increases its troops in Northern Ireland to 11,000.
- July 10-11 – Coup attempt in Morocco - 1400 cadets take over the king's palace for three hours and kill 28 people; 158 rebels die when king's troops storm the palace. Ten high-ranking officers are later executed for involvement.
- July 13 – Ólafur Jóhannesson's government in Iceland.
- July 13 – Jordanian army troops launch offensive against Palestinian guerillas in Jordan.
- July 14 – Libya severs its diplomatic ties to Morocco.
- July 14 – Yugoslavian government allows foreign companies to take their profits from the country.
- July 16 - Francisco Franco makes Prince Juan Carlos his successor.
- July 16 - The four billionth baby was born. (see World Population).
- July 17 – Italy and Austria sign a treaty that ends the schism about South Tyrol.
- July 18 – Trucial States formed in the Persian Gulf.
- July 19-23 – Military coup in Sudan ousts Jaafar Muhammad al-Nemieri and major Hashem al-Atta takes over. Fighting continues until on July 22 pro-Nimeiri troops win. Al-Atta and 3 officers are executed July 23. Nimeiri launches an anti-communist campaign.
- July 26 - Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15. On July 31 the Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover a day after landing on the surface.
- July 28 - Abdel Madgoub, Sudanese communist leader, is hanged.
- July 29 - The United Kingdom opts out of the Space Race with the cancellation of its Black Arrow launch vehicle.
- July 30 – In Japan, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 collides with a Japanese fighter jet – 162 dead.

August


- August 9 - India signs a twenty year treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union.
- August 9 - British security forces in Northern Ireland detain hundreds of guerilla suspects and put them into Long Kesh - the beginning of an internment without trial policy. 20 die in riots that follow.
- August 12 – 3000 people from Belfast and Londonderry flee to Ireland because of the violence
- August 12 – Syria severs diplomatic relations to Jordan because of border clashes
- August 14 – British troops stationed on Ireland border to stop arms smuggling
- August 14 - Emirate of Bahrain declares independence
- August 15 – Number of British troops in Northern Ireland rises to 12,500
- August 15 - President Richard Nixon announces that the United States would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system
- August 18 - Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam
- August 18 – British troops in firefight in Londonderry
- August 19-22 – Right-wing coup ignites a rebellion in Bolivia. Miners and students join troops to support president Juan Jose Torres but eventually Hugo Banzer takes over
- August 25 – Border clashes between Tanzania and Uganda
- August 25 – Large flood in Bangladesh and eastern Bengal – thousands flee the area
- August 26 - Civilian government in Greece.
- August 30 - The Alberta Progressive Conservatives under Peter Lougheed defeat the Social Credit government under Harry E. Strom in a general election, ending 36 years of uninterrupted power for Social Credit in Alberta.

September


- September 3 - Qatar regains independence from the United Kingdom
- September 3 - Manlio Brosio resigns as secterary general of NATO
- September 4 - A Boeing 727 carrying Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashes into the side of a mountain near Juneau, Alaska killing all 111 people on board
- September 8 - In Washington, DC, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass
- September 9 - 13 - Attica Prison riots - Revolt at the maximum-security prison in Attica, New York. In the end, state police and National Guard storm the facility - 42 dead, 10 of them hostages
- September 21 - Pakistan declares state of emergency
- September 24 - Britain expels 90 KGB and GRU officials and 15 are not allowed to return
- September 27 - October 11 - Emperor Hirohito travels abroad.
- September 28 - Cardinal Mindszenty, who has resided in US embassy in Budapest from 1956 is allowed to move out of Hungary.
- September 29 - Cyclone and tsunami in the Bay of Bengal in Orissa State in India kills 10,000.

October


- October 1 - Walt Disney World opens.
- October 20 - Dannii Minogue born.
- October 21 - President Nixon nominated Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- October 21 - Gas explosion in Clarkston, Glasgow kills 20 people.
- October 25 - The United Nations General Assembly admits the People's Republic of China and expels the Republic of China (on Taiwan).
- October 27 - Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
- October 28 - British House of Commons votes in favour of joining the EEC by 356-244.
- October 28 - The United Kingdom becomes the 6th nation to launch a satellite into orbit, the Prospero X-3.
- October 29 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (lowest since January 1966)
- October 30 - Rev. Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party founded in Northern Ireland.
- October 31 - A bomb explodes at the top of the Post Office Tower in London.

November


- November 3 - The UNIX Programmer's Manual is published
- November 6 - US nuclear bomb test in Aleuts.
- November 10 - In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack the city Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging nine airplanes.
- November 12 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - US President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972 as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.
- November 13 - Mariner program: Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to enter Mars orbit successfully
- November 15 - Intel releases world's first microprocessor, the 4004.
- November 23 - The People's Republic of China is given the Republic of China's seat on the United Nations Security Council (see China and the United Nations)
- November 24 - During a severe thunderstorm over Washington, a man calling himself D.B. Cooper parachutes from the Northwest Orient Airlines plane he hijacked with US$200,000 in ransom money (he was never heard from again)
- November 24 - Brussels court sentences would-be-pretender Alexis Brimeyer to 18 months in jail for falsely using a noble title; Brimeyer has already fled to Greece

December


- December 1 - Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray, 10 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh
- December 2 - Six Sheikdoms in Persian Gulf founds United Arab Emirates.
- December 3 - The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 begins as Pakistan attacks eight India airbases. The next day India launches a massive invasion of East Pakistan.
- December 3- 4 night - Indian navy destroyer INS Rajput sinks Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi (former USS Diablo)
- December 8 - US President Richard Nixon orders the 7th Fleet to move towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
- December 14 - Facing defeat in the war, Pakistan Army kills hundreds of Bangladeshi Intellectuals.
- December 16 - Victory Day of Bangladesh (Pakistan Army surrenders to the Mitro Bahini, ending Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 simultaneously).
- December 18 - US dollar devalued for the second time in US history.
- December 18 - World's largest hydroelectric plant in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, begins operations.
- December 29 - The United Kingdom gives up its military bases in Malta.

unknown dates


- Don't Make A Wave Committee changes its name to Greenpeace.
- Ray Tomlinson sends the first e-mail.
- Libertarian party established in USA.
- Free State of Christiania is founded.
- Intelsat IV
- Seychelles International Airport in Victoria, Seychelles (Mahe) is completed.
- Knapp Commission
- Johnny Cash, the American country and western singer, writes a song titled The Man in Black.
- US 48 continental states crude oil production peaks at approximately 4.5 million barrels/day.
- Center for Science in the Public Interest established.
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism established.

Births

January-April


- January 2 - Lisa Harrison, American basketball player
- January 7 - Chavo Guerrero Jr., American professional wrestler
- January 8 - Jason Giambi, baseball player
- January 9 - Scott Thornton, Canadian hockey player
- January 11 - Mary J. Blige, American singer
- January 17 - Leonardo Ciampa, American composer
- January 17 - Kid Rock, American singer
- January 18 - Jon Davis, American singer (Korn)
- January 19 - Shawn Wayans, American actor, writer, and producer
- January 19 - John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
- January 21 - Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player
- January 25 - Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver
- January 27 - Fann Wong, Chinese actress, model, and singer (Shanghai Knights)
- February 1 - Jill Kelly, American actress
- February 3 - Sarah Kane, English playwright (d. 1999)
- February 5 - Sara Evans, American singer
- February 10 - Lisa Marie Varon, American professional wrestler
- February 17 - Denise Richards, American actress
- February 25 - Sean Astin, American actor
- February 26 - Erykah Badu, American singer
- February 28 - Tristan Louis, Internet entrepreneur
- March 5 - John Frusciante, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- March 10 - Ugonna Wachuku, Nigerian writer
- March 11 - Johnny Knoxville, American television personality
- March 23 - Karen McDougal, American model
- March 26 - Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian scientist
- March 27 - David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver
- March 31 - Pavel Bure, Russian hockey player
- March 31 - Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor
- April 1 - Method Man, American rapper
- April 2 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player
- April 12 - Shannon Doherty, American actress
- April 16 - Selena Quintanilla, American singer (d. 1995)
- April 20 - Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer

May-August


- May 8 - Candice Night, American singer
- May 20 - Tony Stewart, American race car driver
- May 25 - Sonya Smith, American actress
- May 26 - Matt Stone, American television producer
- May 27 - Paul Bettany, British actor
- June 2 - Anthony Montgomery, American actor
- June 5 - Mark Wahlberg, American actor and singer
- June 8 - Troy Vincent, American football player
- June 10 - Joel Hailey, American singer (Jodeci)
- June 16 - Derek R. Audette, Canadian musician, artist, and poet
- June 16 - Tupac Shakur, American rapper, poet, and actor (d. 1996)
- June 22 - Kurt Warner, American football player
- June 27 - Dipendra of Nepal, King of Nepal (d. 2001)
- June 28 - Norika Fujiwara, Japanese actress and television-personality
- July 1 - Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, American singer
- July 9 - Marc Andreessen, American software developer
- July 12 - Kristi Yamaguchi, American figure skater
- July 17 - Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
- July 23 - Dalvin DeGrate, American singer and producer (Jodeci)
- July 22 - Kristine Lilly, American soccer player
- August 4 - Jeff Gordon, American race car driver
- August 6 - Merrin Dungey, American actress
- August 10 - Roy Keane, Irish footballer
- August 10 - Mario César Kindelán Mesa, Cuban amateur boxer
- August 12 - Pete Sampras, American tennis player
- August 17 - Jorge Posada, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
- August 18 - Richard D James, Irish musician
- August 26 - Thalía, Mexican actress
- August 28 -

Statutes at Large

The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress. The Statutes at Large are generically referred to as the "session laws" of the Congress. They are part of a three-part model for publication of Federal statutes consisting of (1) slip laws, (2) session laws, and (3) codification (see generally Codification). Publication began in 1845 by the private firm of Little, Brown and Company under authority granted by a joint resolution of Congress. In 1874, Congress transferred the authority to publish the Statutes at Large to the Government Printing Office, which has been responsible for producing the set since that time. Every law, public and private, ever enacted by the Congress is published in the Statutes at Large in order of the date of its passage. Until 1948, all treaties and international agreements approved by the Senate were also published in the set. In addition, the Statutes at Large includes the text of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, amendments to the Constitution, treaties with Indians and foreign nations, and presidential proclamations.

External links


- [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsl.html Volumes 1 to 18 of the Statutes at Large] made available by the Library of Congress
- [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/index.html Public and private laws from 104th Congress to present] from the Government Printing Office, in slip law format with Statutes at Large page references Category:Statutory law Statutes at large Category:Legal research

Economic Stabilization Act of 1970

The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 was a United States law that authorized the President to stabilize prices, rents, wages, salaries, interest rates, dividends and similar transfers. It established priorities for use and allocation of supplies of petroleum products, including crude oil, and to issue standards to serve as a guide for determining levels of wages, prices, etc., which would allow for adjustments, exceptions and variations to prevent inequities, taking into account changes in productivity, cost of living and other pertinent factors. The Act provided for limitations on the exercise of Presidential authority and allowed delegation of the performance of any of the President's functions to appropriate officers, departments and agencies of the United States or to entities composed of members appointed to represent different sectors of the economy and the general public. The Act provided for disclosure of information, subpoena power, administrative procedure, criminal and civil sanctions, injunctions and suits for damages and other relief. The Act specified original jurisdiction for judicial review of cases or controversies arising under the Act or regulations issued thereunder in the district courts of the United States, and directed that appeals of final decisions or permitted interlocutory appeals be brought in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Act made specific provision for small business and mass transportation systems, required the President to issue periodic reports to Congress, authorized appropriations, and provided for its expiration on April 30,