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The Financial CHOICE Act in the 115th Congress: Selected Policy Issues

Description: This report highlights major proposals included in the Financial CHOICE Act (FCA) but is not a comprehensive summary. In general, the bill proposes changes that can be divided into two categories: (1) changes to financial policies and regulations and (2) changes to the regulatory structure and rulemaking process. Major policy-related changes proposed by the FCA include the following: Leverage Ratio, Regulatory Relief, To Big To Fail, Funding, Rulemaking, Judicial Review, Enforcement, the Consum… more
Date: September 8, 2017
Creator: Labonte, Marc; Carpenter, David H.; Davis, Christopher M.; Perkins, David W.; Shorter, Gary & Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Credit: Institutions and Issues

Description: The federal government has a long history of providing credit assistance to farmers by issuing direct loans and guarantees, and creating rural lending institutions. These institutions include the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which makes or guarantees loans to farmers who cannot qualify at other lenders, and the Farm Credit System (FCS), which is a network of borrower-owned lending institutions operating as a government-sponsored enterprise. This report… more
Date: March 8, 2007
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Gap: Proposals in the 110th Congress to Require Brokers to Report Basis on Publicly Traded Securities

Description: Recent and projected large deficits and the need for revenue to offset spending or tax reduction proposals generated congressional and executive branch interest in different proposals to reduce the tax gap; and consequently, raise additional revenue. Proposals in the 110th Congress to require brokers to report adjusted basis on publicly traded securities sold by individuals are examined in this report.
Date: October 8, 2008
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Capital Markets, Securities Offerings, and Related Policy Issues

Description: This report analyzes legislative proposals that would generally affect the terms and amounts of capital provided to companies by investors. It analyzes a number of current legislative proposals and agency actions to expand both public and private securities offerings through amendments to program design, investor access, and disclosure requirements, among other provisions.
Date: June 8, 2018
Creator: Su, Eva
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization: An Overview of Legislative Action in the 111th Congress

Description: This report tracks the status of ongoing legislative action and debate related to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization. It is organized into six major program areas: aviation system finance; airport financing; FAA management and organizational issues; system capacity and safety; environmental issues; and airline industry issues. In several cases, provisions that appear in various unrelated sections of proposed legislation have been rearranged in this report in an effort to grou… more
Date: October 8, 2009
Creator: Elias, Bart
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Extraordinary Measures" and the Debt Limit

Description: This report briefly examines the statutory debt limit and the use of extraordinary measures by the Treasury Department when Congress does not modify the debt limit by the deadline.
Date: December 8, 2017
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Hughes, Joseph S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2016 G-20 Summit

Description: This report discusses the 2016 G-20 summit where the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries met in Hangzhou, China.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interest Payments on the Federal Debt: A Primer

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the federal debt and net interest payments. Of the three broad categories of federal spending, the only category that cannot be reduced by legislative action is net interest payments. The report provides information about federal debt, interest payments on the federal dept, and determinants of net interest payments.
Date: January 8, 2009
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Key Issues in Derivatives Reform

Description: This report provides background related to financial derivatives. It also analyzes market structure and regulation, derivatives reform, legislative proposals and exemptions for end users, safeguards for uncleared over-the-counter (OTC) swaps, and hypothetical examples.
Date: April 8, 2010
Creator: Miller, Rena S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Electronic Banking: The Check Truncation Issue

Description: This report discusses legislative issues regarding check truncation, which occurs when the check is stopped before it reaches the paying bank and the check clearing process is completed electronically. The United States banking system processes approximately 42.5 billion checks annually, but only a fraction of these checks is processed electronically by check truncation.
Date: November 8, 2003
Creator: Eubanks, Walter W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the financial harm caused by data breaches and the impact of EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) chip cards on fraud. It provides information about the effect of the transition in selected foreign countries and discusses resolved and remaining impediments to completing the EMV transition in the United States. It also identifies areas of potential congressional interest.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Housing Issues in the 113th Congress

Description: This report begins by providing an overview of the current state of housing markets (both homeownership and rental) and the mortgage market in order to provide context for the policy issues that have been active during the 113th Congress. It then provides a brief description of issues that the 113th Congress has been considering. These issues are broadly divided into two categories: issues related to homeownership and housing finance, and issues related to housing assistance for low-income hous… more
Date: July 8, 2014
Creator: Jones, Katie; Carpenter, David H.; Hoskins, Sean M.; Keightley, Mark P.; McCarty, Maggie & Weiss, N. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition

Description: This report analyzes China's mixed record on human rights: major human rights problems, new human rights legislation, and the development of civil society, legal awareness, and social and political activism. This report discusses major areas of interest but does not provide an exhaustive account of all human rights abuses or related incidents.
Date: July 8, 2009
Creator: Kirchoff, Suzanne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Multilateral Development Banks: Overview and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and highlights major issues for Congress. The first section discusses how the MDBs operate, including the history of the MDBs, their operations and organizational structure, and the effectiveness of MDB financial assistance. The second section discusses the role of Congress in the MDBs, including congressional legislation authorizing and appropriating U.S. contributions to the MDBs; congressional oversight; and U.S. comme… more
Date: November 8, 2013
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Proposals to Eliminate Public Financing of Presidential Campaigns

Description: This report discusses Presidential campaign funding and provides a brief policy overview and raises potential issues for congressional consideration.
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Garrett, R. S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of U.S. Financial Supervision

Description: This report provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions, activities, and markets, and what kinds of authority they have. Some agencies regulate particular types of institutions for risky behavior or conflicts of interest, some agencies promulgate rules for certain financial transactions no matter what kind of institution engages in it, and other agencies enforce existing rules for some institutions, but not for others. These r… more
Date: December 8, 2010
Creator: Jickling, Mark & Murphy, Edward V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Reserve: Emergency Lending

Description: This report provides a review of the history of Section 13(3) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act; P.L. 111-203), including its use in 2008. It discusses the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) authority under Section 13(3) before and after the Dodd-Frank Act. It then discusses policy issues and legislation to amend Section 13(3).
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Haiti Earthquake: Crisis and Response

Description: The largest earthquake ever recorded in Haiti devastated parts of the country, including the capital, on January 12, 2010. This report discusses the disaster and various responses, ranging from the Haitian government's initial response to foreign humanitarian and financial aid.
Date: March 8, 2010
Creator: Margesson, Rhoda & Taft-Morales, Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Ownership of U.S. Financial Assets: Implications of a Withdrawal

Description: This report provides an overview of the role foreign investment plays in the U.S. economy and an assessment of possible actions a foreign investor or a group of foreign investors might choose to take to liquidate their investments in the United States.
Date: April 8, 2013
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment

Description: This report covers the recent background of the Exon-Florio provision with special regards to issues faced in the 112th Congress. The Exon-Florio provision grants the President the authority to block proposed or pending foreign acquisitions of "persons engaged in interstate commerce in the United States" that threaten to impair the national security.
Date: April 8, 2008
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Cost of Government Financial Interventions, Past and Present

Description: The results of previous government financial interventions are summarized in this report. In response to ongoing financial turmoil that began in the subprime mortgage-backed securities market, the federal government has intervened with private corporations on a large scale and in an ad hoc manner three times from the beginning of 2008 through September 19, 2008.
Date: January 8, 2009
Creator: Webel, Baird; Labonte, Marc & Weiss, N. E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Survivors Benefits

Description: This report describes how a person becomes covered by Survivors Insurance. It outlines the types and amounts of benefits available to survivors, eligibility for those benefits, and the benefit application process. It provides statistics on survivor beneficiaries and a legislative history of Survivors Insurance, including legislative activity in the 110th Congress.
Date: January 8, 2008
Creator: Romig, Kathleen & Szymendera, Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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