Refugee Law and Policy In Selected Countries

"This report describes the law and policy on refugees and other asylum seekers in twenty-two geographically dispersed countries and, at the supranational level, in the European Union (EU). The individual surveys cover such topics as participation in relevant international conventions; laws and regulations governing the admission of refugees and handling refugee claims; processes for handling refugees arriving at the border; procedures for evaluating whether an applicant is entitled to refugee status; the accommodations and assistance provided to refugees in the jurisdiction; requirements for naturalization; and whether asylum policy has been affected by international emergencies, such as the current refugee crisis in Europe..."
Refugee law

Federal Register Volumes Now Available Online

"Where can you get back issues of the Federal Register online? The Law Library of Congress has now completed thecollection of historical volumes of the Federal Register available online.

The Law Library acquired this collection from William S. Hein & Co., Inc. to make all volumes of the Federal Register available in open access to researchers.  The collection starts with the first Federal Register in 1936 and contains all volumes through 1993. For more recent volumes, see federalregister.gov and FDSys (volumes 1994-2015). The Law Library website for the collection is//www.loc.gov/collections/federal-register/.

The Federal Register is published every business day and contains executive orders and proclamations as well as federal agency public notices, proposed rules, and regulations. The final rules are codifiedin the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which is published annually..."
Federal Register

Legal Resources on Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan
Selected legal resources on Elena Kagan compiled by the Law Library of Congress.

State Legislation on Comprehensive Health Care Coverage
"The United States government, unlike Canada and many Western European countries, does not have legislation mandating universal health care coverage to its citizens. While the elderly, persons with disabilities, veterans, military service families and the poor are often eligible for government health care assistance, health insurance is often obtained through the work place. In a few instances, states have attempted to pass their own laws to provide health care to cover all residents or all uninsured residents. Four states--Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont--provide examples of differing legislative approaches to providing such broad based care.

These states have taken diverse approaches toward achieving their goals. Hawaii requires most employers to offer insurance, while Massachusetts mandates most individuals to obtain some health coverage. Maine and Vermont have partnered with private companies to provide coverage with subsidized rates for those with incomes 300% and below of the federal poverty level. What follows is a brief description of those laws, the coverage they offer, employer and individual contributions, and exemptions from the laws. Citations are to given state sources of law and legislative or executive information about these programs. As the current debate on health care reform continues, these states programs provide experimental models of government comprehensive health care legislation."

Sonia Sotomayor, Law Libray of Congress Resources
"President Barack Obama was given an early opportunity to leave his stamp on the United States Supreme Court after Justice David Souter's retirement announcement on May 1, 2009. His first choice is Sonia Sotomayor, a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 1998. While Sotomayor is unlikely to change the court's current dynamic, the nomination and confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice has become a ritual of critical importance to many Americans, requiring a exhaustive review of the nominees lifetime of legal work and an examination of their views of judicial decision making and the Constitution."