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The U.S. Postal Service's Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) financial condition, recent legislation to alleviate the USPS's financial challenges, and possible issues for the 111th Congress. Since 1971, the USPS has been a self-supporting government agency that covers its operating costs with revenues generated through the sales of postage and related products and services.
Date: July 1, 2010
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Abortion Services and Military Medical Facilities

Description: The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the law as well as other related legislative and administrative actions.
Date: July 8, 2010
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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CRS Issue Statement on Canada

Description: This report discusses about the CRS Issue on Canada. It points out about U.S. and Canada's cooperation in international security and Political Issue, both bilaterally and through numerous international organizations.
Date: July 16, 2010
Creator: Ek, Carl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Immigration Fees and Adjudication Costs: Proposed Adjustments and Historical Context

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) newly proposed fee schedule for immigration services. Issues for Congress to consider might include how USCIS fees have been computed and justified; whether anticipated revenue from revised fees will cover agency costs; how fiscal shortfalls might be funded; and what impact higher fees might have on the applicant pool.
Date: July 16, 2010
Creator: Kandel, William A. & Haddal, Chad C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment

Description: This report covers the recent background of the Exon-Florio provision with special regards to issues faced in the 112th Congress. The Exon-Florio provision grants the President the authority to block proposed or pending foreign acquisitions of "persons engaged in interstate commerce in the United States" that threaten to impair the national security.
Date: July 19, 2010
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (H.R. 5116) and the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69): Selected Policy Issues

Description: This report provides background information on P.L. 110-69 and H.R. 5116, includes information about related legislative activity in the 111th Congress, and analyzes four policy issues addressed by these measures: (1) STEM Education, (2) Federal Research Programs and Activities, (3) Broadening Participation, and (4) Funding. It also discusses selected policy concerns identified in the debate about U.S. competitiveness and describes how H.R. 5116 responds to those concerns.
Date: July 28, 2010
Creator: Gonzalez, Heather B.; Sargent, John F., Jr. & Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Credit Bonds: Overview and Analysis

Description: Almost all state and local governments sell bonds to finance public projects and certain qualified private activities. Most of the bonds issued are tax-exempt bonds because the interest payments are not included in the bondholder's (purchaser's) federal taxable income. In contrast, Tax Credit Bonds (TCBs) are a type of bond that offers the holder a federal tax credit instead of interest. This report explains the tax credit mechanism and describes the market for the bonds.
Date: July 29, 2010
Creator: Maguire, Steven
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: the Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Description: This report provides a framework for examining the current status and future prospects for U.S.- Mexican security cooperation. It begins with a brief discussion of the threat that drug trafficking and related crime and violence pose to both nations, followed by an analysis of the evolution of the Mérida Initiative. The report then provides an overview of the Peña Nieto government's security strategy and how it is affecting the Mérida Initiative. The report then examines key aspects of the curre… more
Date: July 29, 2010
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare & Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The U.S. Postal Service's Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) financial condition, recent legislation to alleviate the USPS's financial challenges, and possible issues for the 111th Congress. It also addresses current legislation that aims to improve the USPS's financial condition--H.R. 22, S. 1507, and H.R. 5746.
Date: July 29, 2010
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Selected Issues for Congress

Description: This report summarizes provisions of selected legislation - enacted and proposed - that address oil spill policy issues raised after the April 20, 2010, explosion and resulting oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This report focuses primarily on oil spill policy matters that concern prevention, preparedness, response, and the liability and compensation framework.
Date: July 30, 2010
Creator: Hagerty, Curry L. & Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Trust Funds and the Budget

Description: This report discusses the Federal Trust Funds and Budget. It also discusses about Status of Largest Trust Funds, Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Longer-Term Status of Trust Funds and Economic Effects of Trust Funds.
Date: August 6, 2010
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Speed of Presidential and Senate Actions on Supreme Court Nominations, 1900-2010

Description: This report provides information on the amount of time taken to act on all Supreme Court nominations occurring between 1900 and the present. It focuses on the actual amounts of time that Presidents and the Senate have taken to act (as opposed to the elapsed time between official points in the process). This report focuses on when the Senate became aware of the President's selection (e.g., via a public announcement by the President).
Date: August 6, 2010
Creator: Garrett, R. S. & Rutkus, Denis S.
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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Proposed Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): Senate and House Bills Compared with Current Law

Description: On April 15, 2010, Senator Lautenberg introduced legislation (S. 3209) to amend the core provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Title I. Representatives Waxman and Rush introduced comprehensive legislation to amend TSCA (H.R. 5820) on July 22, 2010. This report compares key provisions of S. 3209, as introduced, H.R. 5820, as introduced, and current law (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
Date: August 12, 2010
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
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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Federal Civil and Criminal Penalties Possibly Applicable to Parties Responsible for the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Description: Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, Congress has given much attention to the compensatory liability provisions of the Oil Pollution Act and, to a lesser extent, those of the Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act. However, federal laws possibly relevant to the oil spill also impose civil and criminal money penalties, which may reach dollar amounts in connection with the Gulf spill greater than those for compensatory liability. This report summarizes selected fed… more
Date: August 16, 2010
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Responsibility Determinations Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation: Legal Standards and Procedures

Description: This report discusses the standards and procedures that federal agencies use in making responsibility determinations under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). As a general rule, government agencies contract with the lowest qualified responsible bidder or offeror. Responsibility is an attribute of the contractor, while price and qualifications are attributes of the bid or offer. Under the FAR, "[n]o purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determi… more
Date: August 18, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Current Legal Status of the FCC’s Media Ownership Rules

Description: This report discusses the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) media ownership regulations, which place limits on the number of broadcast radio and television outlets one owner can possess in a given market and place cross-ownership restrictions on these outlets and on the cross-ownership of broadcast properties and newspapers.
Date: August 23, 2010
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Samantar v. Yousef: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and Foreign Officials

Description: On June 1, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided unanimously in Samantar v. Yousef that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which governs the immunity of foreign states in U.S. courts, does not apply in suits against foreign officials. This report provides an overview of the FSIA, followed by a consideration of the remaining options for foreign officials who seek immunity from lawsuits, as well as some of the questions that may emerge from each option. The report also addresses legislat… more
Date: August 24, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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