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The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses selected litigation to demonstrate how those events have changed the campaign finance landscape and affected the policy issues that may confront Congress, but it is not a constitutional or legal analysis. Campaign finance data appears throughout the report.
Date: January 4, 2012
Creator: Garrett, R. S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Financial Problems

Description: This report presents, in analytical question and answer form, the issues surrounding the financial conditions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are stockholder-owned government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Their federal charters give the GSEs special public policy goals aimed at providing liquidity in the mortgage market and to provide access to homeownership for underserved groups and locations. In return, their charters give the GSEs a special relationship with the government.
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: Weiss, N. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Reform: Bills in the 106th Congress

Description: The Social Security system is projected to have long-range funding problems. Although the system’s income currently exceeds its expenditures, its trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2037. Concern about the problem and a belief that the remedy lies partly in economic growth that could be bolstered by changes to the system have led to introduction of a number of bills incorporating varying degrees of reform. This report describes the funding problem in some detail, summarizes many of the … more
Date: April 11, 2000
Creator: Koitz, David S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Housing Issues in the 110th Congress

Description: This report examines housing-related issues that have become prominent in the 110th Congress. Possibly the most visible issue is the prevalence of subprime loans and growing mortgage default and foreclosure rates. Congress has responded with numerous hearings and legislative proposals both to change the way in which the lending and home-buying industry is regulated and to assist borrowers who are facing default and foreclosure.
Date: November 1, 2007
Creator: Perl, Libby; McCarty, Maggie; Foote, Bruce E.; Boyd, Eugene; Getter, Darryl E.; Jackson, Pamela J. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Multilateral Development Banks: U.S. Contributions FY1998-FY2009

Description: This report shows in tabular form how much the Administration requested and how much Congress appropriated during the past 11 years for U.S. payments to the multilateral development banks (MDBs). It also provides a brief description of the MDBs and the ways they fund their operations.
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: Sanford, Jonathan E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Administration: Administrative Budget Issues

Description: The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security program (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and provides administrative support to Medicare and several other federal programs. Total SSA spending in FY2007 was about $624 billion, about 99% of which was mandatory spending on benefit payments. This report focuses on SSA’s spending for administrative expenses, which is discretionary and amounts to about… more
Date: February 13, 2008
Creator: Romig, Kathleen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Credit Card Minimum Payments

Description: Recently, credit card issuers began adjusting their minimum payment formulas, raising the amount of the required monthly payment. Congress has focused on the need to increase consumer awareness of the financial jeopardy that can result from paying only the required minimum. This report provides an overview of the issues and congressional action. It will be updated as events warrant.
Date: December 21, 2005
Creator: Smale, Pauline
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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
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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation: Overview of the International Investment Position

Description: This report discusses the international investment position of the United States is an annual measure of the assets Americans own abroad and the assets foreigners own in the United States. The net position, or the difference between the two, sometimes is referred to as a measure of U.S. international indebtedness. Although this designation is not strictly correct, the net international investment position does reveal the difference between the total assets Americans own abroad and total amount … more
Date: August 30, 2005
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Administration Microloan Program

Description: The Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Microloan program provides direct loans to qualified nonprofit intermediary lenders who, in turn, provide “microloans” of up to $50,000 to small businesses and nonprofit child care centers. It also provides marketing, management, and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and potential borrowers. This report opens with a discussion of the rationale provided for having a Microloan program, describes the program’s eligibility standards and operatin… more
Date: May 28, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Export-Import Bank: Reauthorization

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate regarding the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a federal government corporation which is the the official export credit agency (ECA) of the U.S. Government.
Date: July 28, 2006
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Student Loans, Student Aid, and FY2008 Budget Reconciliation

Description: This report reviews and briefly describes the major proposals contained in both the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 2669 to achieve savings in mandatory spending through changes to federal student loan programs and to enhance student aid benefits or make other changes to existing federal student aid programs. It also reviews and describes the major changes enacted under P.L. 110-84 that are projected to achieve savings in mandatory spending and those that establish new or enhanc… more
Date: October 23, 2007
Creator: Stoll, Adam; Smole, David P. & Mercer, Charmaine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Why the Dollar Rose in 2005 and the Prospect for 2006: Insights into the State of International Asset Markets and the Global Economy

Description: The dollar exchange rate rose substantially in 2005, halting a three-year decline and moving counter to the expectations of many observers. This report discusses potential reasons for the dollar's appreciation.
Date: May 30, 2006
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions

Description: Monetary policy can be defined as any policy relating to the supply of money. Since the agency concerned with the supply of money is the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, monetary policy can also be defined in terms of the directives, policies, statements, and actions of the Federal Reserve, particularly those from its Board of Governors that have an effect on national spending. This report discusses current issues regarding monetary policy.
Date: April 30, 2008
Creator: Labonte, Marc & Makinen, Gail E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Why is the Household Saving Rate So Low?

Description: This report begins by showing how much the household saving rate has declined in recent years. Next, it explains how household saving is measured, and provides some detail on how saving varies across the income distribution. Finally, it discusses factors that may account for the decline in household saving, as well as how much of a policy concern the decline in household saving may be.
Date: January 9, 2008
Creator: Cashell, Brian W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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
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Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2008 Appropriations

Description: This report is a guide to a new appropriations bill that Congress is considering for the first time this year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Financial Services and General Government. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity.
Date: July 20, 2007
Creator: Hatch, Garrett L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): Efforts to Support Financial and Housing Markets

Description: This report discusses recent actions taken by the FDIC in support of financial and housing markets, which include restoration of the Deposit Insurance Fund, the development of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, efforts to reduce foreclosures, and establishment of the proposed Public-Private Investment Fund. Legislation such as H.R. 786 (introduced by Representative Barney Frank); H.R. 1106, Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (introduced by Representative John Conyers, Jr., wi… more
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Getter, Darryl E. & Gonzales, Oscar R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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