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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Appropriations for FY2011

Description: This document provides the appropriations for FY2011. A comparison is shown in the amount of funding given throughout the years and how the President is wanting to decrease the funding presently (2011). The document continues to describe in detail the funding given for clean water and drinking water along with its changes. The appropriations for prominent issues such as, climate change, hazardous waste clean-up, and the restoration of The Great Lakes are also described.
Date: May 28, 2010
Creator: Esworthy, Robert; Bearden, David; Copeland, Claudia; Leggett, Jane; McCarthy, James & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Jurisprudence of Justice John Paul Stevens: Selected Opinions on the Jury's Role in Criminal Sentencing

Description: This report discusses Justice John Paul Stevens' opinions on the Jury's role in criminal sentencing. Justice Stevens has played a critical role in the Supreme Court's interpretation of a jury's role in criminal sentencing. In 2000, he wrote the majority opinion for the Court in Apprendi v. New Jersey, a landmark case in which the Court held that a judge typically may not increase a sentence beyond the range prescribed by statute unless the increase is based on facts determined by a jury "beyond… more
Date: June 7, 2010
Creator: Henning, Anna C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP): Status and Issues

Description: The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, 2008 farm bill) created the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). This report discusses the two main purposes of BCAP, which are (1) to support the establishment and production of eligible crops for conversion to bioenergy in selected areas, and (2) to assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility.
Date: August 13, 2010
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Birthright Citizenship Under the 14th Amendment of Persons Born in the United States to Alien Parents

Description: This report provides background information on birthright citizenship to alien parents in the U.S. The report ends with a detail of amendments in the 112th Congress that would amend the Constitution to exclude from citizenship at birth persons born in the United States whose parents are unlawfully present in the United States or are non-immigrant aliens.
Date: August 12, 2010
Creator: Lee, Margaret Mikyung
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Missile Proliferation Sanctions: Selected Current Law

Description: This report offers a listing and brief description of legal provisions that require or authorize the imposition of some form of economic sanction against countries, companies, persons, or entities that violate U.S. nonproliferation norms. For each provision, information is included on what triggers the imposition of sanctions, their duration, what authority the President has to delay or abstain from imposing sanctions, and what authority the President has to waive the imposition of sanctions.
Date: November 30, 2010
Creator: Rennack, Dianne E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Role of Home State Senators in the Selection of Lower Federal Court Judges

Description: This report examines the role played by Senators in the selection of nominees to two kinds of lower federal court judgeships. Specifically, the judgeships in question, over which Senators have historically played a role in nominee selection, are those (1) in the U.S. district courts lying geographically within the Senators' states and (2) in the U.S. court of appeals circuits of which the Senators' states are a geographic part. This report also discusses several historical and ethical aspects r… more
Date: November 10, 2010
Creator: Rutkus, Denis Steven
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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International Criminal Court Cases in Africa: Status and Policy Issues

Description: This report provides background on current International Criminal Court (ICC) cases and examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.
Date: April 2, 2010
Creator: Arieff, Alexis; Margesson, Rhoda & Browne, Marjorie Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comparison of Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court

Description: This report provides a brief summary of legal issues raised by the choice of forum for trying accused terrorists and a chart comparing selected military commissions rules under the Military Commissions Act, as amended, to the corresponding rules that apply in federal court.
Date: January 26, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Deferred Examination of Patent Applications: Implications for Innovation Policy

Description: This report provides an overview of deferred patent examination. It begins by offering a brief review of patent acquisition proceedings as well as challenges faced by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The report then introduces the concept of deferred examination. The potential positive and negative consequences of deferred examination upon the environment for innovation within the United States are then explored. The report closes by identifying salient design parameters for deferr… more
Date: May 27, 2010
Creator: Thomas, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Tax Policy: Historical Perspectives on and Current Status of Energy Tax Expenditures

Description: This report examines how current revenue losses resulting from energy tax provisions compare to historical losses and provides a foundation for understanding how current energy tax policy evolved by providing a longitudinal perspective on energy tax policy and expenditures.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Dependent Care: Current Tax Benefits and Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses current tax treatment of dependent care expenses under the dependent care tax credit (DCTC) and the dependent care assistance programs(DCAP); and issues for Congress is expanding tax benefits for working caregivers.
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Mulvey, Janemarie & Scott, Christine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) Status for Russia and U.S.-Russian Economic Ties

Description: This report discusses the issues surrounding whether or not the U.S. should grant Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) following its accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The change in Russia's trade status will require legislation to lift the restrictions of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 as they apply to Russia, which includes the "freedom-of-emigration" requirements of the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
Date: December 22, 2010
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) Status for Russia and U.S.-Russian Economic Ties

Description: This report discusses the issues surrounding whether or not the U.S. should grant Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) following its accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The change in Russia's trade status will require legislation to lift the restrictions of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 as they apply to Russia, which includes the "freedom-of-emigration" requirements of the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
Date: December 2, 2010
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

International Criminal Court Cases in Africa: Status and Policy Issues

Description: This report provides background on current International Criminal Court (ICC) cases and examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.
Date: November 30, 2010
Creator: Arieff, Alexis; Margesson, Rhoda; Browne, Marjorie Ann & Weed, Matthew C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency

Description: This report summarizes several federal statutes providing legal authority for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) programs and activities. These include: the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Ocean Dumping Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insectic… more
Date: October 8, 2010
Creator: Bearden, David M.; Copeland, Claudia; Luther, Linda; McCarthy, James E.; Schierow, Linda-Jo & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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