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Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy: Issues for Congress

Description: This report examines how the Department of Energy's (DOE) polygraph testing program has evolved and reviews certain scientific findings with regard to the polygraph's scientific validity. Several issues include whether: DOE's new screening program is focused on an appropriate number of individuals occupying only the most sensitive positions; the program should be expanded in order to adequately safeguard certain classified information; further research into the polygraph's scientific validity i… more
Date: October 23, 2008
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The DHS Directorate of Science and Technology: Key Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the evolving mission, organization, and assets of the S&T Directorate and the activities it conducts. It outlines key policy issues, including the balance of the directorate's programs, its priorities and how they are set, its relationships with other R&D organizations, its mission, its budgeting and financial management, and other concerns.
Date: June 9, 2008
Creator: Shea, Dana A. & Morgan, Daniel
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense: FY2009 Authorization and Appropriations

Description: This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense. For both defense authorization and appropriations, this report summarizes the status of the bills, their scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity. This report is updated as events warrant and lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered a… more
Date: May 16, 2008
Creator: Towell, Pat & Daggett, Stephen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Peace Corps: Current Issues

Description: The report discusses the President's annual funding request for the Peace Corps, efforts to reauthorize the Peace Corps, and related issues. Current issues include the extent to which there is available funding for Peace Corps expansion, whether the Peace Corps has the institutional capacity to expand, and whether volunteers are able to function in a safe and secure environment.
Date: August 18, 2010
Creator: Tarnoff, Curt
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Government Corporations: An Overview

Description: This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 17 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and required to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Chemical Facility Security: Regulation and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the statutory authority granted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with regards to chemical facility security regulation and the interim final rule promulgated by DHS, and identifies select issues of contention related to the interim final rule. Finally, this report discusses several possible policy options for Congress.
Date: April 28, 2008
Creator: Shea, Dana A. & Tatelman, Todd B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and Organizational Alternatives

Description: This report analyzes the temporary consolidations of the separate counterintelligence (CI) offices at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Security Administration (NSA) into a single CI office under DOE control the first authorized by Congress at Department of Energy request; the second initiated by DOE — and examines the impact of each on the effectiveness of the Department's CI program.
Date: July 25, 2008
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Peace Corps: Current Issues

Description: The report discusses the President's annual funding request for the Peace Corps, efforts to reauthorize the Peace Corps, and related issues. Current issues include the extent to which there is available funding for Peace Corps expansion, whether the Peace Corps has the institutional capacity to expand, and whether volunteers are able to function in a safe and secure environment.
Date: July 21, 2010
Creator: Tarnoff, Curt
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nominations to Cabinet Positions During Inter-Term Transitions Since 1984

Description: This report documents nominations to Cabinet positions during inter-term presidential transitions since 1984. During this period, three two-term Presidents — Ronald W. Reagan, William J. Clinton, and George W. Bush — made 30 nominations during inter-term transitions. For the purposes of this report, CRS considered an inter-term nomination to be one made between November 1 of a President's reelection year and April 30 of the first year of his second term.
Date: February 20, 2013
Creator: Carey, Maeve P.; Hogue, Henry B. & Greene, Michael W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for United States Northern Command

Description: This report outlines the organizational structure of United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), explains how NORTHCOM contributes to homeland security through the interagency process, and summarizes NORTHCOM's international relationships with Canada and Mexico. Some issues for Congress involving NORTHCOM include Department of Defense (DOD) reorganization and the Unified Command Plan, improving interagency relationships, NORTHCOM's increased reliance on reserve component service members, the ong… more
Date: June 3, 2008
Creator: Knight, William
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Building an Interagency Cadre of National Security Professionals: Proposals, Recent Experience, and Issues for Congress

Description: This report highlights key past proposals for the establishment of an interagency cadre of national security professionals, including their rationales; describes and assesses the emergence and operations to date of the Administration's National Security Professional Development (NSPD) program; and raises a series of issues that might help inform congressional debates about a possible permanent interagency cadre requirement.
Date: July 8, 2008
Creator: Dale, Catherine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2009 Appropriations

Description: This report is a guide to the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2009 appropriations bill. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees. This report summarizes the funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 22 independent agencies.
Date: June 6, 2008
Creator: Hatch, Garrett L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Location-Based Preferences in Federal and Federally Funded Contracting: An Overview of the Law

Description: This report discusses constitutional and other legal issues related to the creation and implementation of location-based preferences in federal contracting, as well as summarizes key authorities requiring or allowing federal agencies to "favor" contractors located in specific places. The report does not address federal preferences for domestic products or provisions of federal law that could, depending upon their implementation, effectively prefer local contractors, such as project labor agreem… more
Date: December 30, 2010
Creator: Luckey, John R. & Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2011 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2011 appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 26 independent agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the United States Postal Service.
Date: December 28, 2010
Creator: Hatch, Garrett
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Defense Base Act (DBA): The Federally Mandated Workers' Compensation System for Overseas Government Contractors

Description: This report provides an overview of the Defense Base Act (DBA) and the systems used to provide DBA insurance at the Department of State (DOS), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Also included are criticisms of the current DOD DBA policy raised by GAO and Army auditors as well as responses to those criticisms by DOD and USACE. The report concludes with a discussion of several DBA reform options sug… more
Date: June 2, 2010
Creator: Grasso, Valerie Bailey; Webel, Baird & Szymendera, Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Peace Corps: Current Issues

Description: The report discusses the President's annual funding request for the Peace Corps, efforts to reauthorize the Peace Corps, and related issues. Current issues include the extent to which there is available funding for Peace Corps expansion, whether the Peace Corps has the institutional capacity to expand, and whether volunteers are able to function in a safe and secure environment.
Date: December 2, 2014
Creator: Tarnoff, Curt
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Obama Administration's Open Government Initiative: Issues for Congress

Description: This report reviews and discusses President Obama's Open Government Initiative and the Open Government Directive. The report then analyzes both agency response to the OGI and the OGD, and examines whether the OGD's requirements can meet the stated goals of the Administration. The report discusses the three central tenets of the Administration's OGD--transparency, public participation, and collaboration--and analyzes each one individually to determine whether agencies are meeting these requireme… more
Date: August 9, 2010
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Independent Evaluators of Federal Programs: Approaches, Devices, and Examples

Description: Congress and the executive, as well as outside organizations, have long been attentive to the evaluation of federal programs, with frequent interest paid to the independent status of the evaluator. This interest continues into the current era, with numerous illustrations of the multifaceted approaches adopted and proposed. This report focuses on examples of independent evaluators (IEs): when an evaluation is to be conducted by an entity outside the immediate organization that is responsible for… more
Date: August 16, 2010
Creator: Kaiser, Frederick M. & Brass, Clinton T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

Description: This report discusses the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS is an interagency committee that serves the President in overseeing the national security implications of foreign investment in the economy. Originally established by an Executive Order of President Ford in 1975, the committee generally has operated in relative obscurity.
Date: July 29, 2010
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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United States Fire Administration: An Overview

Description: This report discusses the United States Fire Administration (USFA), which aims to significantly reduce the nation's loss of life from fire, while also achieving a reduction in property loss and non-fatal injury due to fire.
Date: August 6, 2010
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)--Responsibilities and Potential Congressional Concerns

Description: This report looks at inadequacies present in the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) which prevent the Center from adequately performing its duty. These inadequacies include issues with agency organization, lack of resources, and a focus on threats from Yemen over domestic threats.
Date: January 7, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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