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Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: A Summary of Congressional Action for FY2013

Description: This report discusses the funding for all components and functions of DHS such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), the transportation security administration (TSA), Coast Guard (USCG) etc.
Date: April 22, 2013
Creator: Painter, William
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Lifeline Program: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report discusses the Federal Lifeline Program established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1985. The program was originally designed to assist eligible low-income households to subsidize the monthly service charges incurred for voice telephone usage and was limited to one fixed line per household.
Date: May 2, 2016
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief

Description: This report discusses the Buy American Act of 1933, which is the earliest and arguably the best known of various statutes regarding federal procurement of domestic products. The act attempts to protect U.S. businesses and labor by restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not "domestic."
Date: April 26, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Justice Antonin Scalia's Last Opinion

Description: This report discusses Justice Antonin Scalia's last opinion for the court (Kansas v. Carr). There, the Court reversed two decisions of the Kansas Supreme Court and held that "the Eighth Amendment [does not] require... capital-sentencing courts to instruct the jury that mitigating circumstances need not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt." It also held that the Eighth Amendment did not require separate trials for two of the defendants in one of the Kansas cases.
Date: March 15, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Treatment of Noncitizens Under the Affordable Care Act

Description: This report provides information regarding the treatment of noncitizens under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) including definitions of "lawfully present," the health insurance mandate, exchanges, and ACA changes to Medicaid. It also discusses the verification of alien status under the ACA and related legislation in the 113th Congress.
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Post-Heller Second Amendment Jurisprudence

Description: This report examines the scope of the Second Amendment, as interpreted by the federal circuit courts of appeals, after the watershed Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago.
Date: September 7, 2016
Creator: Herman, Sarah S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Voter Identification Requirements: Analysis, Legal Issues, and Policy Considerations

Description: This report provides an updated overview of state requirements for voters to present some form of ID before casting a ballot in a federal election. The report also discusses the origins of voter ID, relevant federal legislative action in the 114th Congress, and selected legal and policy issues related to state voter ID laws.
Date: October 21, 2016
Creator: Fischer, Eric A.; Garrett, R. Sam & Whitaker, L. Paige
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
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Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework

Description: This report attempts to set out the basic frameworks and principles underlying U.S. financial regulation and to give some historical context for the development of that system. The first section briefly discusses the various modes of financial regulation and the next section identifies the major federal regulators and the types of institutions they supervise (see Table 1). It then provides a brief overview of each federal financial regulatory agency. Finally, the report discusses other entities… more
Date: August 17, 2017
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Department of Labor's 2016 Fiduciary Rule: Background and Issues

Description: This report discusses fiduciary standard with respect to his or her advice, an individual had to, which include: (1) make recommendations on investing in, purchasing, or selling securities or other property, or give advice as to the value (2) on a regular basis (3) pursuant to a mutual understanding that the advice (4) will serve as a primary basis for investment decisions, and (5) will be individualized to the particular needs of the plan regarding such matters as, among other things, investme… more
Date: July 3, 2017
Creator: Topoleski, John J. & Shorter, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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No "Bivens" for You?

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in "Ziglar v. Abbassi" and the "Bivens" remedy that the plaintiffs were attempting to use to win their case. The "Bivens" remedy is a legal precedent that came from a 1971 case where the plaintiff Bivens sued federal agents with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for violations of the fourth amendment due to them handcuffing him inside his own home without a warrant. It has been used two other times for suits against federal officials related to bre… more
Date: July 5, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Patentable Subject Matter Reform

Description: This report reviews the current law governing patentable subject matter and recent proposals for legislative reform. It begins by providing a basic overview of the patent system and introducing the principles of patentable subject matter. It then considers the leading Supreme Court decisions construing section 101 of the Patent Act. The report then considers the implications of these decisions within the information technology and life sciences industries. The report closes with a review of leg… more
Date: September 8, 2017
Creator: Thomas, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Travel Ban Case and Nationwide Injunctions

Description: This report addresses when, if ever, a regional federal trial judge adjudicating a case involving the federal government can award nationwide injunctive relief--a court order that commands a party to take or refrain from taking some action throughout the country. In the context of a suit against the federal government, an injunction with this type of "universal" effect acts to effectively void the law or policy in question. This report briefly explores the nationwide injunction at issue in the… more
Date: May 2, 2018
Creator: Freeman, Wilson C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sexual Harassment and Title VII: Selected Legal Issues

Description: This report discusses Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and legal interpretations regarding whether it covers sexual harassment in the workplace and if so what types of employer actions are permissible or impermissible under the law.
Date: April 9, 2018
Creator: Back, Christine J. & Freeman, Wilson C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Would it Violate Equal Protection to Prohibit Naturalized "Dreamers: from Sponsoring Their Parents for Immigrant Visas?

Description: This report discusses the question of whether "Dreamers" who were given a pathway to citizenship and became naturalized citizens could sponsor their parents for immigration visas in the same way any other U.S. citizen could. Case law and various considerations which could affect such a decision are discussed.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Harrington, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Jrisdiction Stripping: When May Congress Prohibit the Courts from Hearing a Case?

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court case of "Patchak v. Zinke" and its relevance to Congress. It begins by briefly describing the Court's prior attempts to demarcate the boundaries of Congress's power to take cases away from the federal judiciary. It then discusses the facts and opinions in Patchak and analyzes the effect Patchak may have on Congress's legislative objectives.
Date: March 15, 2018
Creator: Lewis, Kevin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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District Court Enjoins DACA Phase-out: Explanation and Takeaways

Description: This report is an update of a previous report regarding DACA's phase-out and discusses court injunctions preventing the the phase-out of DACA benefits for those already enrolled and a decision by a Maryland federal court which prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using personal information found in DACA applications for law enforcement purposes except by permission of the court in uses needed for national security, public safety, or the public interest.
Date: March 7, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R. & Harrington, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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