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Continuity of Operations (COOP) in the Executive Branch: Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Spurred in part by occasional warnings of potential terrorist threats in the post- 9/11 era, some policymakers have intensified their focus on continuity of operations (COOP) issues. COOP planning is a segment of federal government contingency planning linked to continuity of government (COG). Together, COOP and COG are designed to ensure survival of a constitutional form of government and the continuity of essential federal functions. This report focuses primarily on executive branch COOP acti… more
Date: January 31, 2005
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Public Relations and Propaganda: Restrictions on Executive Agency Activities

Description: Controversies recently have arisen over certain executive branch agencies’ expenditures of appropriated funds on public relations activities, some of which have been characterized as propagandistic. Generally speaking, there are two legal restrictions on agency public relations activities and propaganda. 5 U.S.C. 3107 prohibits the use of appropriated funds to hire publicity experts. Appropriations law “publicity and propaganda” clauses restrict the use of funds for puffery of an agency, purely… more
Date: May 24, 2005
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Peer Review: OMB's Proposed, Revised, and Final Bulletins

Description: In September 2003, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed bulletin on “Peer Review and Information Quality” in the Federal Register that sought to establish a process by which all “significant regulatory information” would be peer reviewed. The scope of the proposed bulletin was very broad,
Date: February 3, 2005
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W. & Fischer, Eric A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA): Origin, Characteristics, and Institutional Authorities

Description: The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA or “the authority”) was established approximately one month after United States and coalition forces took control of Baghdad in Iraq on April 9, 2003.1 The authority’s mission was “to restore conditions of security and stability, to create conditions in which the Iraqi people can freely determine their own political future, (including by advancing efforts to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative governance) and facilita… more
Date: June 6, 2005
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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CFTC Reauthorization in 2005

Description: This report provides brief summaries of the issues in the 2005 reauthorization legislation, including (1) the market in security futures, or futures contracts based on single stocks, which were authorized by the CFMA, but trade in much lower volumes than their proponents had hoped, (2) regulation of energy derivatives markets, where some see excessive price volatility and a lack of effective regulation, and (3) the legality of futures-like contracts based on foreign currency prices offered to r… more
Date: January 19, 2005
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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CFTC Reauthorization in 2005

Description: This report provides brief summaries of the issues in the 2005 reauthorization legislation, including (1) the market in security futures, or futures contracts based on single stocks, which were authorized by the CFMA, but trade in much lower volumes than their proponents had hoped, (2) regulation of energy derivatives markets, where some see excessive price volatility and a lack of effective regulation, and (3) the legality of futures-like contracts based on foreign currency prices offered to r… more
Date: October 20, 2005
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program: Issues for the 109th Congress

Description: This report presents the issues considered by the 109th Congress related to the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Corps plans, constructs, and operates water resources facilities primarily for flood control, navigation, and environmental purposes.
Date: June 9, 2005
Creator: Carter, Nicole T.; Hughes, H. Steven & Sheikh, Pervaze A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: 109th Congress Proposed Refinements

Description: Among the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) in its final report was the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government. This report examines the realization of this recommendation with the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and efforts in the 109th Congress to refine the mandate and t… more
Date: June 14, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: 109th Congress Proposed Refinements

Description: Among the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) in its final report was the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government. This report examines the realization of this recommendation with the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and efforts in the 109th Congress to refine the mandate and t… more
Date: May 16, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Proposals for a Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA) and “Results Commissions”: Analysis and Issues for Congress

Description: y In the 108th Congress, companion bills were introduced (S. 1668/H.R. 3213) that, if enacted, would have established a Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA). The proposed CARFA Act would have required this 12-member presidentially appointed commission to review non-defense, non-entitlement federal agencies and programs to determine if any agencies or programs are duplicative, wasteful, inefficient, outdated, irrelevant, or failed.
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: Brass, Clinton T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation

Description: This report compares and contrasts the differences in House and Senate action on a FY2006 budget resolution. The report details that both bills would require cuts to mandatory programs within each committee's jurisdiction. Although no cuts will be required until a conference agreement on the resolution is reached.
Date: March 22, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Transformation: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress

Description: This report addresses defense transformation from a DOD-wide perspective. The Bush Administration identified transformation as a major goal for the Department of Defense (DOD) soon after taking office and has since worked to refine and implement its plans for defense transformation. Defense transformation can be defined as large-scale, discontinuous, and possibly disruptive changes in military weapons, concepts of operations (i.e., approaches to warfighting) and organization. The issue for the … more
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Performance Management and Budgeting in the Federal Government: Brief History and Recent Developments

Description: The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-62), known as GPRA or the Results Act, sought to promote greater efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in federal spending by establishing a new framework for performance management and budgeting in federal agencies. GPRA represents the latest in a series of initiatives in the last 55 years attempting to link budget levels with expected results, so that spending decisions can be better aligned with anticipated performance, an … more
Date: March 16, 2005
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The President's Management Agenda: A Brief Introduction

Description: This report provides an overview of the President’s Management Agenda, announced in August 2001, and comprising five government-wide initiatives, including strategic management of human capital, competitive sourcing, improved financial performance, expanded electronic government, and budget and performance integration. Related developments, such as introduction of a Management Scorecard for gauging agency achievement on the initiatives and development of a program assessment rating tool (PART) … more
Date: February 14, 2005
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Sunset Commission for the Federal Government: Recent Developments

Description: The sunset concept provides for programs and agencies to terminate automatically on a periodic basis unless explicitly renewed by law. In recent years bills to create a federal sunset commission, modeled on the sunset review process in Texas, have been introduced. President Bush called for creation of a federal sunset commission in his FY2006 budget submission. Bills reflecting an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) draft proposal have been introduced (S. 1399, H.R. 3276, H.R. 3277). This rep… more
Date: August 11, 2005
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2006 Appropriations

Description: This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
Date: November 8, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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