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Selected Federal Water Activities: Agencies, Authorities, and Congressional Committees

Description: The report focuses on the complexity of federal activities related to water, based on four general topics: (1) "Water Resources Development, Management, and Use"; (2) "Water Quality, Protection, and Restoration"; (3) "Water Rights and Allocation"; and (4) "Research and Planning." It aims to serve as a guide to federal water-related activities, including the administering agency (or agencies), the primary or overarching authorities for such activities, and House and Senate committee jurisdiction… more
Date: May 24, 2017
Creator: Cody, Betsy A.; Schneider, Judy & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Five-Year Program for Federal Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing: Status and Issues in Brief

Description: This report summarizes developments in the offshore oil leasing 2017-2022 program and considers selected congressional issues and actions related to the program. President Trump issued an executive order on April 28, 2017, directing the Secretary of the Interior to review and consider revising the 2017-2022 program. The 115th Congress could influence the five-year program by enacting legislation to alter the program, as well as by conducting oversight.
Date: May 19, 2017
Creator: Comay, Laura B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Obstruction of Justice Statutes: Legal Issues Concerning FBI Investigations, Specific Intent, and Executive Branch Personnel

Description: This report discusses obstruction of justice statutes and discussions about whether they apply to FBI investigations in response to the allegations that President Trump interfered in an FBI investigation by encouraging Director James Comey to terminate the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Date: May 19, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Presidential Authority to Permit Access to National Security Information

Description: This report discuses whether the President has power to disclose classified national security information to foreign agents with the goal of advancing U.S, national interests and from what laws or legal rulings that power may stem.
Date: May 17, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Regulation of Debit Interchange Fees

Description: This report discusses section 735 of the Financial Choice Act (H.R. 10) which would repeal the Durbin Amendment. The Durbin Amendment capped the amount of interchange fees paid by merchants to banks when a customer uses a debit card to pay. The report begins with a description of the debit payments process and network pricing for the four-party system and the three-party system. It summarizes the requirements of Regulation II, which implements the Durbin Amendment. The report concludes with a … more
Date: May 16, 2017
Creator: Getter, Darryl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Special Counsels, Independent Counsels, and Special Prosecutors: Investigations of the Executive Branch by the Executive Branch

Description: This report discusses the authorities who may appoint a special counsel or independent counsel to conduct criminal investigations of the executive branch when the Department of Justice may have a conflict of interest.
Date: May 11, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy and Water Development: FY2017 Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities

Description: This report discusses the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that funds civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
Date: May 10, 2017
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Patent Boxes: A Primer

Description: This report looks at several aspects of patent boxes, including their general purpose. In addition, the report looks at the key considerations in designing a patent box, identifies the countries that currently have a patent box, describes the main elements of those boxes, and sheds light on the U.S. industries that would be likely to benefit the most from such a tax subsidy if the United States were to adopt one. The final two sections discuss what is known about the effectiveness of patent box… more
Date: May 1, 2017
Creator: Guenther, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Law Enforcement Using and Disclosing Technology Vulnerabilities

Description: This report provides background on law enforcement's use of technology vulnerabilities in criminal investigations. It also provides information on the government's system by which agencies collectively determine whether to maintain or disclose newly discovered vulnerabilities. The report also outlines a range of policy issues that may arise regarding the use and disclosure of vulnerabilities in technology.
Date: April 26, 2017
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China's February 2017 Suspension of North Korean Coal Imports

Description: This report discusses China's suspension of coal trade with North Korea for the remainder of 2017 which keeps China in compliance with an UN agreement to limit coal buying from North Korea that was implemented in November 2016 in response to continued nuclear tests by North Korea. Coal's value as an export to North Korea, China's trade with North Korea, quantities of coal and its value that was imported into China in 2016 and 2017, and possible reasons and implications for China's decision are … more
Date: April 25, 2017
Creator: Lawrence, Susan V.; Manyin, Mark E. & Hammond, Keigh E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Airline Passenger Denied Boarding: Rules and Regulations

Description: This report discusses regulations regarding an airline's responsibilities when a passenger with a confirmed ticket is denied boarding on a flight due to lack of seats (known as overselling). The various updates to the original regulation from 1967 are discussed with the latest modifications occurring in 2015.
Date: April 21, 2017
Creator: Tang, Rachel Y.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Background and Summary

Description: This report reviews issues related to financial regulation and provides brief descriptions of major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, along with links to CRS products going in to greater depth on specific issues. It does not attempt to track the legislative debate in the 115th Congress.
Date: April 21, 2017
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Workers' Compensation: Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses workers' compensation in the United States beginning with a brief history of its origins and its elements. Costs, federal oversight of state programs, and Texas and Oklahoma's noncompulsory workers' compensation programs are also discussed.
Date: April 20, 2017
Creator: Szymendara, Scott D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Climate Change Regulation and Litigation: Selected Legal Issues

Description: This report provides a brief history of U.S. climate change regulation, reviews the different types of regulation and legal actions that have been pursued in the national debate over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, examines selected legal issues and next steps in related litigation, and addresses what these legal and regulatory developments mean for Congress. President Trump's Executive Order of March 28, 2017 requiring agencies to reconsider their policies related to climate change is also dis… more
Date: April 3, 2017
Creator: Tsang, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Russian Compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the current status of the INF Treaty and highlights issues that Congress may address as the United States pursues its compliance concerns with Russia. It includes a historical overview and summary of the provisions of the INF Treaty and Russia's concerns about U.S. compliance with the treaty; it concludes with a discussion of options that the United States might pursue to address its concerns regarding Russia's activities and options that it might pursue if Russia deploys … more
Date: March 15, 2017
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure

Description: This report examines two recent initiatives by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in which the agency works with states to develop and implement new approaches for water quality goals that will be more cost-effective and address the most pressing water infrastructure problems first. The examples include an integrated planning policy and a framework policy for assessing a community's financial capability to meet objectives and requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Date: March 14, 2017
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: March 8, 2017
Creator: Tsang, Linda & Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Six Justice Court to Decide Liability of Officials for Post 9/11 Detention

Description: This report discusses a Supreme Court case regarding whether men detained after 9/11 by federal authorities can sue the individual officials involved in their arrest and detainment that was due to be heard by a six justice court due to the death of Justice Scalia and the recusements of two other justices.
Date: March 7, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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