Yet, when the hundreds of hours of legislative debate, on camera pleas, backroom negotiations and intense lobbying have ended, groups like the National Rifle Association may find that they have narrowed the scope of gun control legislation.

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Anna Macdonald, Oxfam's head of arms control, said the scope of the weapons covered in the latest draft is still too narrow.

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Lawmakers from both parties are also wary of losing more control over decisions on the scope and pace of infrastructure development, a key area of federal spending that they can direct to their states and districts.

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Peter Fleming from the Local Government Association, which represents local authorities, told BBC Radio 5 Live the government had not given councils enough control over the scope of cuts they could pass on.

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Any network, especially one the size and scope of the internet, needs a centralized control mechanism for operational stability.

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The scope of automation is circumscribed by the management systems that control equipment in the data center.

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It also set off a train of other initiatives that limited politicians' scope for action: three-quarters of the state's budget is now outside their control.

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