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Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions

Description: This report discusses how the Federal Reserve (Fed) handles monetary policy, including background information about the execution of monetary policy, the recent and current stance of monetary policy, and current legislation and Congressional oversight that would affect the Fed's practices.
Date: July 6, 2012
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy

Description: This report looks at how Congress has been proactive in helping the economy recover after the 2008-2009 recession, as well as how it can help to keep recessions at bay in the future. Issues include typical post-war recessions, insufficient pace of private spending, and the long-term debt problem.
Date: December 2, 2010
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Higher Education Tax Benefits: Brief Overview and Budgetary Effects

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the higher education tax benefits that are currently available to students and their families. The report contrasts higher education tax benefits with traditional student aid, presents a brief history of higher education tax policy over the past 60 years, summarizes key features of the available tax benefits, and provides JCT estimates of revenue losses resulting from individual tax provisions.
Date: July 10, 2012
Creator: Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Analysis of the Distribution of Wealth Across Households, 1989-2010

Description: The distribution of wealth (net worth) across households has been an underlying consideration in congressional deliberations on various issues, including taxation and social welfare. This report analyzes the change over time in the concentration of net worth (assets minus liabilities) to help inform those policy deliberations.
Date: July 17, 2012
Creator: Levine, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy

Description: This report describes the open economy and society of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as U.S. concern over proliferation of advanced technology due to said open economy and the UAE's lax export controls. It discusses these issues in relation to a recently-signed U.S.-UAE civilian nuclear agreement and also provides a general description of the UAE's government and political structure, as well as the effects of the recent global economic downturn on the UAE in general and on the city of … more
Date: July 17, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2001 and 2003 Bush Tax Cuts and Deficit Reduction

Description: This report uses the context of the current and long-term economic environment to examine the tax cuts implemented by the George W. Bush Administration, including the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.
Date: July 18, 2012
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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LIBOR: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report answers frequently asked questions about the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR), which is an estimate of prevailing interest rates in London money market. In particular, it addresses the effects of individual institutions, in response to an admission by Barclays (a British bank) that the bank had submitted false reports to manipulate the index.
Date: July 16, 2012
Creator: Murphy, Edward V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases

Description: This report discusses how the total debt of the federal government can increase, including an historical overview of debt limits, and how the current economic slowdown has led to higher deficits and thereby a series of debt limit increases, as well as legislation related to these increases.
Date: April 5, 2011
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew & Levit, Mindy R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

Description: This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in the country of Panama, which has made notable political and economic progress since the 1989 U.S. military intervention that ousted the regime of General Manuel Noriega from power. The United States has close relations with Panama, stemming in large part from the extensive linkages developed when the canal was under U.S. control. This report describes the U.S.-Panama relationship at length, including trade relations.
Date: March 1, 2011
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S.-Japan Economic Relations: Significance, Prospects, and Policy Options

Description: This report discusses issues regarding U.S.-Japan economic relations, since the economic condition of each nation can affect the world economy and a U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship could influence economic conditions in other countries. U.S. and Japanese leaders have several options on how to manage their relationship, including stronger reliance on the World Trade Organization; special bilateral negotiating frameworks and agreements; or a free trade agreement.
Date: March 31, 2011
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress

Description: This report discusses the background of the G-20 (an international forum for discussing and coordinating economic policies) and some of the issues that it has addressed. It includes historic background on the work of the G-20, information about how the group operates, overviews of G-20 summits, major issues that the group is likely to address and the likely effectiveness of the G-20 in the near future. The members of the G-20 include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germa… more
Date: March 31, 2011
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP): Implementation and Status

Description: The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was created by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) enacted on October 3, 2008 to address the ongoing financial crisis. This report provides a brief outline of the programs created under TARP, recent changes made by Congress, and a summary of the current status and estimated costs of the program. It also provides an Appendix that contains detailed discussions of the individual TARP programs.
Date: January 31, 2011
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade Preferences: Economic Issues and Policy Options

Description: This report discusses programs designed to foster growth in less developed countries, the major U.S. trade preference programs, their possible economic effects, stakeholder interests, and legislative options.
Date: February 24, 2011
Creator: Jones, Vivian C.; Hornbeck, J. F. & Villarreal, M. Angeles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changing the Federal Reserve's Mandate: An Economic Analysis

Description: This report discusses a number of implementation issues surrounding an economic inflation target. These include what rate of inflation to target, what inflation measure to use, whether to set a point target or range, and what penalties to impose if a target is missed.
Date: February 25, 2011
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Belarus: Background and U.S. Policy Concerns

Description: This report provides an overview of the history of U.S. - Belarus relations. Current issues include U.S. and international attempts to influence Aleksandr Lukashenko, the Belarusian President, toward making the Belarusian government more democratic and open.
Date: February 1, 2011
Creator: Woehrel, Steven
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act and Pollutant Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

Description: This report discusses the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program which regulates pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained; section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. The report focuses on new challenges facing the TMDL program, including more complex TMDLs, larger scale impairments, and nonpoint sources.
Date: September 21, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. International Trade: Trends and Forecasts

Description: This report provides an overview of the current status, trends, and forecasts for U.S. import and export flows as well as certain trade balances. The purpose of this report is to provide current data and brief explanations for the various types of trade flows, along with a brief discussion of trends that help inform the discussion of the various policy issues mentioned above.
Date: October 19, 2012
Creator: Williams, Brock R. & Donnelly, J. Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Job Growth During the Recovery

Description: This report analyzes employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from December 2007 to September 2012, including characteristics of job loss and gain within several industries.
Date: October 16, 2012
Creator: Levine, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unemployment: Issues in the 112th Congress

Description: This report briefly reviews the situation in the 2012 labor market, expands on the policy steps taken to date, and analyzes policy issues that typically arise during consideration of stimulus legislation. Three policy issues are examined: whether to take additional measures to increase jobs, what measures might be most effective, and how job creation proposals should be financed.
Date: October 5, 2012
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.; Hungerford, Thomas L. & Levine, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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