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Disaster Relief Funding and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations

Description: This report describes the various components of the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including (1) what authorities have shaped it over the years; (2) how FEMA determines the amount of the appropriation requested to Congress (pertaining to the DRF); and (3) how emergency supplemental appropriations are requested. In addition to the DRF, information is provided on funds appropriated in supplemental appropriations legislation to agencies other than… more
Date: May 24, 2010
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R. & Murray, Justin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Military Commissions Act of 2009: Overview and Legal Issues

Description: This report provides an analysis of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and its financial status, summarizes the major challenges facing the program, including issues affecting its long-term financial solvency, presents some alternative approaches for managing and financing the flood losses and describes pending legislation on this issue.
Date: April 6, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Disaster Relief Funding and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations

Description: This report describes the various components of the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including (1) what authorities have shaped it over the years; (2) how FEMA determines the amount of the appropriation requested to Congress (pertaining to the DRF); and (3) how emergency supplemental appropriations are requested. In addition to the DRF, information is provided on funds appropriated in supplemental appropriations legislation to agencies other than… more
Date: January 26, 2010
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R. & Murray, Justin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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FEMA's Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer

Description: This report discusses the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (referred to as the Stafford Act - 42 U.S.C. 5721 et seq.), which authorizes the President to issue "major disaster" or "emergency" declarations before or after catastrophes occur. It includes a description of the declaration process, Presidential and gubernatorial discretion, preliminary damage assessments, and factors for public or individual assistance in major disaster declarations, with concluding obs… more
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: McCarthy, Francis X.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program: Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), "Project Impact," and related legislative issues that Congress currently faces. PDM, as federal law and a program activity, began in 1997. Congress established a pilot program, which FEMA named "Project Impact," to test the concept of investing prior to disasters to reduce the vulnerability of communities to future disasters. From its beginnings as "Project Impact" to its current state, the PDM program has grown in its level of appropriated r… more
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: McCarthy, Francis X.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and All-Hazard Warnings

Description: This report discusses the mainstays of the U.S. capacity to issue warnings: the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which relies primarily on broadcasting media, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio All-Hazards Network.
Date: January 21, 2010
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pandemic Flu and Medical Biodefense Countermeasure Liability Limitation

Description: This report analyzes Division C of the Department of Defense Emergency Supplemental Appropriations, P.L. 109-148, which was signed into law on December 30, 2005, and which limits liability with respect to pandemic flu and other public health countermeasures.
Date: February 12, 2010
Creator: Liu, Edward C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Disaster Response, Recovery, and Mitigation Projects

Description: This report discusses the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as it applies to projects for which federal funding to recover from or prepare for a disaster has been requested by local, tribal, or state grant applicants.
Date: February 3, 2010
Creator: Luther, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Communications: The Future of 911

Description: This report discusses possible paths toward the modernization of the 911 infrastructure. Efforts to splice newer, digital technologies onto the aging infrastructure have created points of failure where a call can be dropped or misdirected, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Date: January 26, 2010
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces: Facts and Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task forces that has been designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide specialized assistance after buildings or other structures collapse.
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Bea, Keith
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquake Risk, Insurance, and Recovery: Issues for Congress

Description: This report examines earthquake catastrophe risk and insurance in the United States in light of recent developments, particularly the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. It examines both traditional and non-traditional approaches for financing recovery from earthquake losses as well as challenges in financing catastrophe losses with insurance.
Date: March 12, 2010
Creator: King, Rawle O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Communications: Broadband and the Future of 911

Description: This report discusses the current 911 infrastructure and possible options for modernizing the system to Next Generation 911 technology (NG9-1-1). It includes information about relevant legislation and policy, funding and grants, ways to create a base for change, the potential role of the Department of Homeland Security, and Congressional policy.
Date: April 27, 2010
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Communications: The Future of 911

Description: This report discusses possible paths toward the modernization of the 911 infrastructure. Efforts to splice newer, digital technologies onto the aging infrastructure have created points of failure where a call can be dropped or misdirected, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Date: March 16, 2010
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Charitable Contributions for Haiti's Earthquake Victims

Description: This report discusses the Haiti Assistance Income Tax Incentive Act (HAITI Act; H.R. 4462), a bill passed on January 20, 2010 to accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of earthquake victims.
Date: January 22, 2010
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Commercial Fishery Disaster Assistance

Description: This report discusses disaster relief for commercial fishery, which be provided by the federal government to assist the fishing industry when it is affected by a commercial fishery failure. A commercial fishery failure occurs when fishermen endure economic hardships resulting from fish population declines or other disruptions to the fishery.
Date: July 29, 2010
Creator: Upton, Harold F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Communications: Broadband and the Future of 911

Description: Today's 911 system is built on an infrastructure of analog technology that does not support many of the features that most Americans expect to be part of an emergency response. Efforts to splice newer, digital technologies onto this aging infrastructure have created points of failure where a call can be dropped or misdirected, sometimes with tragic consequences. Callers to 911, however, generally assume that the newer technologies they are using to place a call are matched by the same level of … more
Date: August 25, 2010
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces: Facts and Issues

Description: This report discusses Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Forces, which have been certified, trained, and funded by the federal government. The task forces represent a partnership involving federal, local government, and private sector experts. Most recently, USAR teams received considerable publicity, and reportedly achieved life-saving results, in their mission to Haiti after the earthquakes of early 2010.
Date: March 16, 2010
Creator: Bea, Keith
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

Description: This report discusses: The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program NEHRP; earthquake hazards and risk in the United States; federal programs that support earthquake monitoring; the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings; and federally supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability.
Date: March 3, 2010
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

Description: This report discusses earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, federal programs that support earthquake monitoring, the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings, and federally-supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability.
Date: January 22, 2010
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Americans with Disabilities Act and Emergency Preparedness and Response

Description: This report discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides broad nondiscrimination protection for individuals with disabilities in employment, public services, and public accommodations and services operated by private entities. Although the ADA does not include provisions specifically discussing its application to disasters, its nondiscrimination provisions are applicable to emergency preparedness and responses to disasters.
Date: January 5, 2010
Creator: Jones, Nancy Lee
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

Description: This report discusses earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, federal programs that support earthquake monitoring, the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings, and federally-supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability.
Date: January 14, 2010
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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