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Administration’s Proposal to Reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Comparison to Current Law

Description: This report discusses the challenges and consequences of reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Moreover, the report outlines the Department of Education's (ED) ideas for reform in the reauthorization. Finally, the reforms are compared to the current policy the ESEA possesses.
Date: August 3, 2010
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R.; Lomax, Erin D.; Dortch, Cassandria; Kuenzi, Jeffrey J. & McCallion, Gail
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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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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Wind Energy: Offshore Permitting

Description: The focus of this report is the current law applicable to siting offshore wind facilities, including the relationship between state and federal jurisdictional authorities. The report also discusses the court challenges to early federal offshore wind energy permitting authorities and the effect that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 has had on the regulatory environment.
Date: August 11, 2010
Creator: Vann, Adam
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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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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Spectrum Policy: Public Safety and Wireless Communications Interference

Description: This report discusses the rebanding plan announced by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004 to consolidate public safety frequencies and those used by some other operators, such as utilities. The plan was announce in an attempt to eliminate interference caused by the close proximity and interleaving of commercial and public safety channels.
Date: August 25, 2010
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
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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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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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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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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Iran Sanctions

Description: This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue. That approach was not initially altered because of the Iranian dispute over its June 12, 2009, elec… more
Date: August 3, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Omnibus Appropriations Acts: Overview of Recent Practices

Description: This report discusses Omnibus appropriations acts, which have become a significant feature of the legislative process in recent years as Congress and the President have used them more frequently to bring action on the regular appropriations cycle to a close. Following a discussion of pertinent background information, this report reviews the recent enactment of such measures and briefly addresses several issues raised by their use.
Date: August 25, 2010
Creator: Tollestrup, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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