Congressional Research Service Reports - 192 Matching Results

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Protecting the U.S. Perimeter: Border Searches Under the Fourth Amendment

Description: This report first outlines the statutes authorizing certain federal officers to conduct warrantless searches. It then addresses the scope of the government's constitutional authority to search and seize persons and property at the border. It also describes the varying levels of suspicion generally required for each type of border search as interpreted by the courts. Finally, this report lists several bills before the 111th Congress that address border searches. This report does not address inte… more
Date: June 29, 2009
Creator: Kim, Yule
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea: Living Resources Provisions

Description: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) was agreed to in 1982, but the United States never became a signatory nation. In the 111th Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on January 13, 2009, acknowledged that U.S. accession to the LOS Convention would be an Obama Administration priority. This report describes provisions of the LOS Convention relating to living marine resources and disc… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Peace Operations Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes in detail the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), the centerpiece of the Bush Administration's efforts to prepare foreign security forces to participate in international peacekeeping operations. This report lists the funding and allocations set aside for GPOI, as well as the function of GPOI and its future.
Date: June 11, 2009
Creator: Serafino, Nina M.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Guinea's 2008 Military Coup and Relations with the United States

Description: This report analyzes developments in the Francophone West African country of Guinea since the military's seizure of power in December 2008, Guinea's relations with the United States, and U.S. policy in the wake of the coup. It also provides background on Guinean history and politics.
Date: July 16, 2009
Creator: Arieff, Alexis & Cook, Nicolas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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North Korea: Terrorism List Removal

Description: The issue of North Korea's inclusion on the U.S. list of terrorism-supporting countries has been a major issue in U.S.-North Korean diplomacy since 2000, particularly in connection with negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea demanded that the Clinton and Bush Administration remove North Korea from the terrorism support list. Secretary of State Clinton said on June 7, 2009, that the Obama Administration would consider reinstating North Korea on the list of state supporters … more
Date: July 1, 2009
Creator: Niksch, Larry A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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North Korea's Second Nuclear Test: Implications of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874

Description: The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Res. 1874 on June 12, 2009, in response to North Korea's second nuclear test. The resolution puts in place a series of sanctions on North Korea's arms sales, luxury goods, and financial transactions related to its weapons programs, and calls upon states to inspect North Korean vessels suspected of carrying such shipments. This report summarizes and analyzes Res. 1874.
Date: July 1, 2009
Creator: Nikitin, Mary Beth; Manyin, Mark E.; Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Nanto, Dick K. & Niksch, Larry A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2010 Budget and Appropriations

Description: The annual State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making in general. On May 7, 2009, President Obama submitted a budget proposal for FY2010 that requests $53.9 billion for the international affairs budget. This report analyzes the FY2010 request, recent-year funding trends, and congressional action for FY2010. To date… more
Date: July 7, 2009
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Nakamura, Kennon H. & Lawson, Marian Leonardo
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Managing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Policy Implications of Expanding Global Access to Nuclear Power

Description: After several decades of widespread stagnation, nuclear power is attracting renewed interest. Expanding global access to nuclear power has the potential to lead to the spread of nuclear technology that could be used for nuclear weapons. This report discusses the issue of nuclear power with regard to nuclear weapons nonproliferation policies, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) begun under the Bush Administration, the future of the GNEP under the Obama Administration, and four areas of … more
Date: July 1, 2009
Creator: Nikitin, Mary Beth; Andrews, Anthony & Holt, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Description: Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purposes of exploitation is believed to be one of the most prolific areas of international criminal activity and is of significant concern to the United States and the international community. This report discusses the global and ongoing problem of TIP in detail, as well as anti-TIP programs and U.S. and international efforts to combat TIP.
Date: July 2, 2009
Creator: Wyler, Liana Sun; Siskin, Alison & Seelke, Clare Ribando
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses issues related to peace in the Middle East, including post-Gulf War negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon; U.S. interest in these and continuing negotiations and peacetalks between Middle Eastern countries; and the role of the U.S., the U.N., the European Union, and Russia in Middle Eastern relations.
Date: June 9, 2009
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the efforts currently underway to improve coordination and encourage better analysis amongst the various agencies within the U.S. Intelligence Community, especially with regard to the ongoing and prominent issue of international terrorism. In particular, this report addresses the false intelligence regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the current efforts in Iraq and Iran in general.
Date: July 6, 2009
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sudan: The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement

Description: Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades. More than 2 million people have died in Southern Sudan over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. The crisis in Darfur began in February 2003, when two rebel groups emerged to challenge the National Congress Party (NCP) government in Darfur. The crisis in Darfur in western Sudan has led to a major humanitarian… more
Date: July 16, 2009
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The United Nations Human Rights Council: Issues for Congress

Description: On March 15, 2006, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution replacing the Commission on Human Rights with a new Human Rights Council (the Council). The Council was designed to be an improvement over the Commission, which was widely criticized for the composition of its membership when perceived human rights abusers were elected as members. This report discusses the history of the Council, the previous participation of the Bush Administration, the current participation of the Obama Administ… more
Date: June 1, 2009
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications

Description: This report is designed to assist Members of the 111th Congress as they consider the costs and benefits of the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). It examines the provisions of the KORUS FTA in the context of the overall U.S.-South Korean economic relationship, U.S. objectives, and South Korean objectives. The report will be updated as events warrant.
Date: June 17, 2009
Creator: Cooper, William H.; Manyin, Mark E.; Jurenas, Remy & Platzer, Michaela D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Has It Been Utilized?

Description: Multilateral and bilateral agreements addressing the status of U.S. armed forces abroad are commonly referred to as Status of Force Agreements (SOFAs). SOFAs establish the framework under which military personnel operate in a foreign country. The United States is currently party to more than 100 agreements that may be considered SOFAs. A list of current agreements included at the end of this report is categorized in tables according to the underlying source of authority, if any, for each of the… more
Date: June 18, 2009
Creator: Mason, R. Chuck
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Human Rights in China: Trends and Policy Implications

Description: Human rights has long been a principal area of U.S. concern in its relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Policy makers are at odds regarding whether or not the U.S. policy of engagement with China has produced meaningful political reform. This report analyzes China's mixed record on human rights - major human rights problems, new human rights legislation, and the development of civil society, legal awareness, and social and political activism. This report discusses major areas of… more
Date: July 13, 2009
Creator: Lum, Thomas & Fischer, Hannah
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Human Rights in China: Trends and Policy Implications

Description: This report analyzes China's mixed record on human rights -- major human rights problems, new human rights legislation, and the development of civil society, legal awareness, and social and political activism. This report discusses major areas of interest but does not provide an exhaustive account of all human rights abuses or related incidents.
Date: June 12, 2009
Creator: Lum, Thomas & Fischer, Hannah
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications

Description: The world has entered a global recession that is causing widespread business contraction, increases in unemployment, and shrinking government revenues. The process for coping with the crisis by countries across the globe has been manifest in four basic phases. The first has been intervention to contain the contagion and restore confidence in the system. The second has been coping with the secondary effects of the crisis, particularly the global recession and flight of capital from countries in … more
Date: July 2, 2009
Creator: Nanto, Dick K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Sanctions

Description: Iran is subject to a wide range of U.S. sanctions, restricting trade with, investment, and U.S. foreign aid to Iran, and requiring the United States to vote against international lending to Iran. A formal U.S. effort to curb international energy investment in Iran began in 1996 with the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). ISA was first passed at a time of tightening U.S. sanctions on Iran. Most notable was a 1995 ban on U.S. trade with and investment in Iran. That ban has since been modified slightly to … more
Date: July 9, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Iran Sanctions Act (ISA)

Description: This report discusses the increasing international pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program and how that pressure discourages foreign firms from investing in Iran's energy sector, hindering Iran's efforts to expand oil production. This report discusses the history and progress of the formal U.S. effort to curb energy investment in Iran, which began with the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) in 1996. This report also discusses U.S. concerns that other nations, e.g., U.S. allies, Russia, and China, ar… more
Date: June 4, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Latin America: Terrorism Issues

Description: Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. attention to terrorism in Latin America has intensified, with an increase in bilateral and regional cooperation. This report discusses the issue in relation to the U.S. State Department's April 2009 Country Report on Terrorism; Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's sympathies with terrorist groups and lack of cooperation on antiterrorism efforts; growing U.S. concern over activities of terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas … more
Date: July 14, 2009
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Instability in Chad

Description: The political and security situation in Chad remains volatile. Ethnic clashes, banditry, and fighting between government forces and rebel groups, both Chadian and Sudanese, have contributed to a fragile security situation in the east. The instability has forced many into exile from their homes due to ongoing violence. The presence of the displaced in refugee camps contributes to the escalated tension in the area. This report discusses these issues, as well as joint efforts between the United Na… more
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Ploch, Lauren
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Passports: Current Regulations

Description: This report details changes made to travel between the United States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean island nations. Such changes include the expansion of time necessary to get a passport, as well as additional passport and proof-of-identity documentation requirements.
Date: April 30, 2009
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance

Description: This report discusses the current Afghan government, which is rife with corruption and very limited in power, hence the continued presence of the Taliban and general worldwide pessimism about Afghanistan stabilization efforts. This report addresses issues such as ethnic diputes, President Hamid Karzai's re-election bid for August 2009, and the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship in particular. The Obama Administration is currently promoting, among other Afghanistan stabilization efforts, a "civilian … more
Date: June 5, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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