Congressional Research Service Reports - 33 Matching Results

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Renewed Crypto Wars?

Description: This report briefly examines renewed tensions between tech companies and the government regarding encryption "back doors" and how quickly-advancing technologies could impact law enforcement investigations.
Date: February 9, 2016
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Using Data to Improve Defense Acquisitions: Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress

Description: This report examines (1) the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) effectively uses data to inform decisionmaking, (2) some of the critical elements needed for DOD to use data more effectively, (3) recent efforts to improve DOD's use of data, and (4) potential questions for Congress. This report focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on defense acquisitions as a case study.
Date: January 5, 2016
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cybersecurity: Overview Reports and Links to Government, News, and Related Resources

Description: This report directs the reader to authoritative sources that address many of the most prominent issues related to cybersecurity. Included in the reports are resources and studies from government agencies (federal, state, local, and international), think tanks, academic institutions, news organizations, and other sources.
Date: March 2, 2016
Creator: Tehan, Rita
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities

Description: This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. Support of IT R&D began because the government had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
Date: February 16, 2016
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Big Data in U.S. Agriculture

Description: This report discusses big data within the context of agriculture. Many observers predict that the growth of big data will bring positive benefits through enhanced production, resource efficiency, and improved adaptation to climate change. While lauded for its potentially revolutionary applications, big data is not without issues. From a policy perspective, issues related to big data involve nearly every stage of its existence, including its collection (how it is captured), management (how it is… more
Date: January 6, 2016
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce: Background and Congressional Oversight Issues for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security

Description: This report examines congressional oversight of two strategies undertaken by Congress and the executive branch to strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce: initiatives to define and identify the federal cybersecurity workforce, and hiring and pay flexibilities applicable to cybersecurity positions at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Francis, Kathryn A. & Ginsberg, Wendy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Court-Ordered Access to Smart Phones: In Brief

Description: This report specifically examines certain encryption issues that have been raised in the investigation of the December 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA. This report highlights certain issues that policymakers may examine as they follow the ongoing dispute between law enforcement and technology companies, and it focuses on questions related to the government's request.
Date: February 23, 2016
Creator: Finklea, Kristin; Thompson, Richard M., II & Jaikaran, Chris
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations

Description: This report provides an overview of the perennial issue involving technology outpacing law enforcement and discusses how policy makers and law enforcement officials have dealt with this issue in the past. It also outlines the current debate surrounding smartphone data encryption and how this may impact U.S. law enforcement operations, as well as existing law enforcement capabilities, the debate over whether law enforcement is "going dark" because of rapid technological advances, and resulting i… more
Date: February 18, 2016
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Encryption: Selected Legal Issues

Description: This report first provides background to the ongoing encryption debate, including a primer on encryption basics and an overview of Apple, Google, and Facebook's new encryption policies. Next, it provides an overview of the Fifth Amendment right to be free from self-incrimination.
Date: March 3, 2016
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II & Jaikaran, Chris
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Future of Internet Governance: Should the United States Relinquish Its Authority over ICANN?

Description: This report discusses legislation relevant to the future of Internet governance that has been introduced in the 113th and 114th Congresses which would prevent, delay, or impose conditions or additional scrutiny on the transition of NTIA's stewardship role and procedural authority over key Internet domain name functions to the global Internet multi-stakeholder community.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Municipal Broadband: Background and Policy Debate

Description: This report discusses the debate surrounding Municipal Broadband, which is controversial because it involves governmental entities entering a commercial telecommunications marketplace that had previously been the exclusive domain of private sector providers.
Date: April 6, 2016
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G. & Gilroy, Angele A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): History and Overview

Description: This report provides an overview of the history of science and technology (S&T) advice to the President and discusses selected recurrent issues for Congress regarding OSTP's Director, OSTP management and operations, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).
Date: March 28, 2016
Creator: Shea, Dana A. & Sargent, John F., Jr.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer

Description: This report provides a brief overview of three major topics related to nanotechnology: federal research and development (R&D) investments under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI); U.S. international competitiveness in nanotechnology; and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns. It also discusses nanomanufacturing and public attitudes toward, and understanding of, nanotechnology.
Date: June 28, 2016
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Future of Internet Governance: Should the United States Relinquish Its Authority over ICANN?

Description: This report discusses legislation relevant to the future of Internet governance that has been introduced in the 113th and 114th Congresses which would prevent, delay, or impose conditions or additional scrutiny on the transition of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA's) stewardship role and procedural authority over key Internet domain name functions to the global Internet multi-stakeholder community.
Date: June 10, 2016
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): History and Overview

Description: This report provides an overview of the history of science and technology (S&T) advice to the President and discusses selected recurrent issues for Congress regarding Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Director, OSTP management and operations, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).
Date: June 22, 2016
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr. & Shea, Dana A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Policy

Description: This report provides background information on the Zika virus, discusses challenges faced by governments and implementing partners in the Latin America and Caribbean region that are attempting to control the ongoing outbreak, and analyzes these above issues in the context of the U.S. Zika response.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Platzer, Michaela D. & Sargent, John F., Jr.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of FY2017 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS)

Description: This report tracks and describes actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2017 appropriations for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) accounts. It also provides an overview of FY2016 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded as part of annual CJS appropriations.
Date: June 13, 2016
Creator: James, Nathan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Treasury Issues White Paper on Fintech and Marketplace Lending

Description: This report briefly discusses the context and contents of a white paper issued on May 10, 2016 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The paper analyzes regulatory issues for the marketplace lending industry and offers several recommendations for industry and government responses.
Date: May 20, 2016
Creator: Murphy, Edward V.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Digital Searches and Seizures: Overview of Proposed Amendments to Rule 41 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the proposed amendment to Rule 41, which would amend the federal search and seizure rules to permit the government to remotely access electronic devices although the location of the device may be unknown. First, the report provides a background on the origin of, and rationale underlying, the proposed amendment and a description of the rule as currently written. Second, it reviews the potential changes made by the proposed amendment and will survey variou… more
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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