Search Results

open access

Puerto Rico's Current Fiscal Challenges

Description: This report discusses multiple challenges the government of Puerto Rico faces in the fall of 2015. Concerns regarding the sustainability of Puerto Rico's public finances have intensified over the past year, despite several measures taken by the island's government to reduce spending, increase revenues, and restructure its obligations. The Puerto Rican government outlined a medium-term strategy to address those challenges in a fiscal plan put forth in mid-September 2015.
Date: September 25, 2015
Creator: Austin, D. A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Election Commission: Overview and Selected Issues for Congress

Description: The report provides background information about key areas of controversy and context that might be relevant for Congress as the House and Senate approach their oversight duties, appropriate funds, consider nominations, and explore options for restructuring the FEC or maintaining the status quo.
Date: December 22, 2015
Creator: Garrett, R. S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Securities Law: Insider Trading

Description: This report discusses various regulations regarding insider trading violations. Insider trading in securities may occur when a person in possession of material nonpublic information about a company trades in the company's securities and makes a profit or avoids a loss.
Date: June 1, 2015
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Evaluating the Current Stance of Monetary Policy Using a Taylor Rule

Description: Oversight of the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) monetary policy decisions rests with Congress. But oversight is encumbered by the absence of a straightforward relationship between interest rates and economic performance. Further, the Fed's policy decisions are discretionary, meaning there is no objective, transparent “yardstick” for evaluating their decisions. A simple rule of thumb guide to monetary policy decisions called a “Taylor rule” is an intuitive way to judge actual policy against some obje… more
Date: January 30, 2012
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Globalization, Worker Insecurity, and Policy Approaches

Description: Today's global economy, or what many call globalization, has a growing impact on the economic futures of American companies, workers, and families. The current wave of globalization is supported by three broad trends: technology, increase in world supply of labor, and reduced government policies to international trade and investment.
Date: December 22, 2011
Creator: Ahearn, Raymond J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Structure and Functions of the Federal Reserve System

Description: This report examines the structure and operations of the major components of the Federal Reserve System and provides an overview of congressional oversight activities. In addition, the report discusses the provisions of one of the pending pieces of legislation (S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010) that would affect the structure and operations of the System.
Date: May 4, 2010
Creator: Smale, Pauline
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Export-Import Bank Reauthorization: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report addresses frequently asked questions about Ex-Im Bank, grouped in the following categories: congressional interest and the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization debate; market context; international context; organizational structure and management; programs; statutory requirements and policies; risk management; budget and appropriations; implications of a sunset in authority; and historical and current approaches to reauthorization.
Date: November 26, 2014
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias; Carpenter, David H.; Levit, Mindy R. & Taylor, Julia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Securities Law: Insider Trading

Description: Insider trading in securities may occur when a person in possession of material nonpublic information about a company trades in the company's securities and makes a profit or avoids a loss. This report discusses various regulations regarding insider trading violations.
Date: June 1, 2015
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Economic Crisis in Greece

Description: This report briefly discusses the current economic situation in Greece. Questions about whether Greece will stay in the Eurozone have resurfaced, as the government's stalemate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Eurozone creditors has reached a critical point.
Date: June 29, 2015
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

International Financing of Responses to Climate Change

Description: This report describes many of the questions that are debate n international climate change fora. It aims to inform Congressional decision-making on the magnitude and mechanisms of financial assistance that the United States may provide to low-income countries to address climate change.
Date: November 23, 2010
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

IMF Reforms: Issues for Congress

Description: Report that provides information about the reforms made by the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December 2010, Congress's role in the reform process, and how the reforms could affect U.S. interests at the IMF.
Date: December 12, 2012
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M. & Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Funding and Financing Highways and Public Transportation

Description: This report begins with a discussion of the problems associated with the trust fund financing system (which supports both federal highway and public transportation programs) and then explores possible options for financing surface transportation infrastructure.
Date: September 23, 2013
Creator: Kirk, Robert S. & Mallett, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation

Description: The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) authorization is due to expire on September 30, 2010. The SBA administers several programs to support small businesses, including loan guarantees to help small businesses gain access to capital. This report addresses a core issue facing Congress during the SBA’s reauthorization process: what, if any, additional action should the federal government take to enhance small business access to capital?
Date: September 1, 2010
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Gonzales, Oscar R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Selected Legislative Proposals to Reform the Housing Finance System

Description: The 113th Congress has seen several developments in the effort to reform the housing finance system. In the House, the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act of 2013 (PATH Act; H.R. 2767) was ordered to be reported out of the House Financial Services Committee on July 24, 2013. This report will briefly explain the different approaches to housing finance reform offered by these legislative proposals, focusing on efforts to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reform FHA. The report d… more
Date: June 11, 2014
Creator: Hoskins, Sean M.; Weiss, N. E. & Jones, Katie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-EU Data Privacy: From Safe Harbor to Privacy Shield

Description: This report describes the financial harm caused by data breaches, explains how those breaches are carried out, discusses resolved and remaining impediments to completing the EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) transition in the United States, and identifies areas of potential Congressional interest.
Date: May 17, 2016
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Funding and Financing Highways and Public Transportation

Description: This report begins with a discussion of the problems associated with the trust fund financing system (which supports both federal highway and public transportation programs) and then explores possible options for financing surface transportation infrastructure.
Date: November 1, 2016
Creator: Kirk, Robert S. & Mallett, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Corporate Expatriation, Inversions, and Mergers: Tax Issues

Description: This report discusses corporate inversions and mergers; these actions change the parent company to one based in another country with a low tax rate to avoid paying U.S. corporate taxes. It discusses past attempts and legislation outlawing varying forms of inversion, the most recent regulations issued by the Treasury Department to decrease inversions, and policy options that would remove the incentive for companies to invert.
Date: August 17, 2017
Creator: Marples, Donald J. & Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Puerto Rico's Current Fiscal Challenges: In Brief

Description: This report discusses the current state of Puerto Rico's public finances. Puerto Rico faces several fiscal hurdles in 2015. Concerns regarding the sustainability of Puerto Rico's public finances have intensified over the past year, despite several measures taken by the island's government to reduce spending, increase revenues, and restructure its obligations.
Date: August 18, 2015
Creator: Austin, D. A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen