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Campaign Finance: Potential Legislative and Policy Issues for the 111th Congress

Description: This report discusses selected campaign finance policy issues that may receive attention during the 111th Congress such as the electronic filing of senate campaign finance reports, bundling, hybrid advertising, joint fundraising committees, 527 Organizations and more.
Date: December 31, 2008
Creator: Garret, R. S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Role of Public Works Infrastructure in Economic Stimulus

Description: Interest in using federal government spending to stimulate U.S. economic recovery has intensified recently in response to indicators showing significant deterioration of the economy. Some policymakers favor using traditional monetary and fiscal policies. Others, however, favor making accelerated investments in the nation's public infrastructure in order to create jobs while also meeting infrastructure needs. This report is an overview of policy issues associated with the approach of using infra… more
Date: January 6, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Claudia; Levine, Linda; Mallett, William J. & Carter, Nicole T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Cost of Government Financial Interventions, Past and Present

Description: The results of previous government financial interventions are summarized in this report. In response to ongoing financial turmoil that began in the subprime mortgage-backed securities market, the federal government has intervened with private corporations on a large scale and in an ad hoc manner three times from the beginning of 2008 through September 19, 2008.
Date: January 8, 2009
Creator: Webel, Baird; Labonte, Marc & Weiss, N. E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interest Payments on the Federal Debt: A Primer

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the federal debt and net interest payments. Of the three broad categories of federal spending, the only category that cannot be reduced by legislative action is net interest payments. The report provides information about federal debt, interest payments on the federal dept, and determinants of net interest payments.
Date: January 8, 2009
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China's Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy

Description: This report examines the importance to the U.S. economy of China's investment in U.S. securities, as well as U.S. concerns over the possibility that China might unload a large share of those holdings, the likelihood that this would occur, and the potential implications such action could have for the U.S. economy. The report concludes that a large sell-off of Chinese Treasury securities holdings could negatively affect the U.S. economy, at least in the short-run. As a result, such a move could d… more
Date: January 13, 2009
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M. & Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Market Intervention

Description: This report provides answers to some frequently asked questions concerning ongoing financial disruptions and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, enacted by Congress in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
Date: January 13, 2009
Creator: Murphy, Edward V. & Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Reporting Requirements in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

Description: This report describes the various reporting requirements in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) and is organized according to the entities required to prepare and submit the reports. It also provides some concluding observations regarding those requirements.
Date: January 13, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sovereign Wealth Funds: Background and Policy Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background on sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) -- investment funds owned and managed by national governments -- including countries operating SWFs and the size of the SWF market. It also discusses broad areas of concern to Members of Congress and the international financial community.
Date: January 15, 2009
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Economic Stimulus: Issues and Policy

Description: This report discusses the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which included tax cut and spending provisions totaling at a cost of $787 billion in an attempt to mitigate the economic fallout of the housing and financial crises on the general economy. The report examines issues surrounding fiscal stimulus such as timeliness, the magnitude of stimulus, long-term effects and previously adopted policies.
Date: January 16, 2009
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.; Hungerford, Thomas L. & Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Proposed Funding for Education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the key provisions related to education programs that are or would be administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that were included in the act under Title IX (Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education) and Title XII (State Fiscal Stabilization Fund). It also provides estimates of state grants for programs for which these estimates are relevant and for which data needed to produce the estimates are available.
Date: January 22, 2009
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R.; Smole, David P.; Lordeman, Ann & Riddle, Wayne C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Economic Stimulus: Issues and Policy

Description: This report discusses the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which included tax cut and spending provisions totaling at a cost of $787 billion in an attempt to mitigate the economic fallout of the housing and financial crises on the general economy. The report examines issues surrounding fiscal stimulus such as timeliness, the magnitude of stimulus, long-term effects and previously adopted policies.
Date: January 23, 2009
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.; Hungerford, Thomas L. & Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraq's Debt Relief: Procedure and Potential Implications for International Debt Relief

Description: This report discusses the Iraqi debt problem in three parts: (1) an overview of the Iraq debt situation following the ouster of the Saddam regime, (2) subsequent debt relief negotiations and their resolution, and (3) possible implications for future international debt relief cases.
Date: January 26, 2009
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues

Description: Member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) contribute to the activities of the alliance in several ways, the chief of which is through the deployment of their own armed forces, funded by their national budgets. Certain commonly conducted activities, however, are paid for out of three NATO-run budgets. These three accounts--the civil budget, the military budget, and the security investment program--are funded by individual contributions from the member states. This report dis… more
Date: January 27, 2009
Creator: Ek, Carl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Campaign Finance: Potential Legislative and Policy Issues for the 111th Congress

Description: This report discusses selected campaign finance policy issues that may receive attention during the 111th Congress such as the electronic filing of senate campaign finance reports, bundling, hybrid advertising, joint fundraising committees, 527 Organizations and more.
Date: January 29, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Causes of the Financial Crisis

Description: This report sets out in tabular form a number of the factors that have been identified as causes of the financial crisis that began in 2007. The left column of Table 1 summarizes the causal role of each such factor. The next column presents a brief rejoinder to that argument. The right-hand column contains a reference for further reading. Where text is given in quotation marks, the reference in the right column is the source, unless otherwise specified.
Date: January 29, 2009
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Market Intervention

Description: This report provides answers to some frequently asked questions concerning ongoing financial disruptions and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). It also summarizes legislation in the 111th Congress such as H.R. 384, the TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009 and H.R. 703, "Promoting Bank Liquidity and Lending Through Deposit Insurance, Hope for Homeowners, and other Enhancements."
Date: January 29, 2009
Creator: Murphy, Edward V. & Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Administration: Workloads, Resources, and Service Delivery

Description: This report provides an overview of SSA's workloads, resources, and service delivery since FY1996, the first full fiscal year in which SSA became an independent agency. It also covers issues for Congress, focusing on recommendations made by the independent SSAB, Government Accountability Office, SSA's Office of the Inspector General, and the National Research Council.
Date: February 6, 2009
Creator: Romig, Kathleen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns

Description: This report discusses Islamic finance, which is based on principles of shariah, or "Islamic law." Major financial principles of shariah are a ban on interest, a ban on contractual uncertainty, adherence to risk-sharing and profit-sharing, promotion of ethical investments that enhance society, and asset-backing. While the Islamic finance industry represents a fraction of the global finance market, it has grown at double-digit rates in recent years.
Date: February 9, 2009
Creator: Ilias, Shayerah
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Description: This report discusses certain provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that pertain to Social Security. The ARRA as passed by the House of Representatives and Senate provides over $1 billion in supplemental appropriations to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and provides for a onetime $250 payment to all SSI recipients and adult Social Security beneficiaries.
Date: February 13, 2009
Creator: Szymendera, Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Troubled Asset Relief Program and Foreclosures

Description: Increasing foreclosure rates and problems in financial markets are some of the issues addressed in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110 343), which created the Troubled Asset Relief Plan (TARP). This report is concerned with Title II of the bill, which would require the Treasury to spend a minimum of $40 billion of the second $350 billion on foreclosure mitigation.
Date: February 17, 2009
Creator: Weiss, N. E.; Carpenter, David H.; Getter, Darryl E. & Murphy, Edward V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of U.S. Financial Supervision

Description: This report provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions and markets, and what kinds of authority they have. Federal financial regulation in the United States has evolved through a series of piecemeal responses to developments and crises in the markets.
Date: February 24, 2009
Creator: Jickling, Mark & Murphy, Edward V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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