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Coast Guard Deepwater Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the Deepwater program, which is a 20- to 25-year acquisition effort to replace or modernize 93 aging Coast Guard ships and 207 aging Coast Guard aircraft. The program’s estimated total acquisition cost is $19 billion to $24 billion. On March 25, 2005 the Coast Guard submitted to Congress a revised implementation plan for the program that alters the planned capabilities and numbers of Deepwater assets and the schedule for acquiring or modernizing them. Some Members of Congr… more
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Computer Attack and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information for three types of attacks against computers (cyber-attack, physical attack, and electromagnetic attack), and discusses related vulnerabilities for each type of attack. The report also describes the possible effects of a coordinated cyberattack, or computer network attack (CNA), against U.S. infrastructure computers, along with possible technical capabilities of international terrorists.
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: Wilson, Clay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Policy: Legislative Proposals in the 109th Congress

Description: While introduction of energy legislation in the 109th Congress is pending, it remains unclear what its course may be. Some believe that the results of the fall 2004 election have heightened prospects for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development, and the Republican leadership has indicated that ANWR is to be included in the budget resolution that will come before Congress. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici has indicated t… more
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: Bamberger, Robert L. & Behrens, Carl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate over Government Policy

Description: This updated report summarizes the debate on the government policy regarding industrial competitiveness and technological advancement and its influence on the U.S. economy. It discusses the most recent developments, dives into the background and analysis of the topic, and talks about Congress' plans and approach.
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Proposals for a Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA) and “Results Commissions”: Analysis and Issues for Congress

Description: y In the 108th Congress, companion bills were introduced (S. 1668/H.R. 3213) that, if enacted, would have established a Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA). The proposed CARFA Act would have required this 12-member presidentially appointed commission to review non-defense, non-entitlement federal agencies and programs to determine if any agencies or programs are duplicative, wasteful, inefficient, outdated, irrelevant, or failed.
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: Brass, Clinton T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ukraine’s Orange Revolution and U.S. Policy

Description: In January 2005, Viktor Yushchenko became Ukraine’s new President, after massive demonstrations helped to overturn the former regime’s electoral fraud, in what has been dubbed the “Orange Revolution,” after Yushchenko’s campaign color. The “Orange Revolution” has sparked a great deal of interest in Congress and elsewhere. This report examines the current political climate in Ukraine and policy issues for the U.S.
Date: April 1, 2005
Creator: Woehrel, Steven
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Broadband Internet Access: Background and Issues

Description: From a public policy perspective, the goals are to ensure that broadband deployment is timely, that industry competes fairly, and that service is provided to all sectors and geographical locations of American society. The federal government -- through Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- is seeking to ensure fair competition among the players so that broadband will be available and affordable in a timely manner to all Americans who want it. While the FCC's position is not… more
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A. & Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Consumer Bankruptcy Reform in the 109th Congress: Background and Issues

Description: This report reviews the historical context which forms the background for renewed consideration of consumer reform legislation, including a review of the current law and a survey of selected issues that have been the focus of legislative debate in the part, such as the scope of the homeland exemption, nondischargeability for liability current by violent activity, and the protection of child support payments.
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Transformation: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress

Description: This report addresses defense transformation from a DOD-wide perspective. The Bush Administration identified transformation as a major goal for the Department of Defense (DOD) soon after taking office and has since worked to refine and implement its plans for defense transformation. Defense transformation can be defined as large-scale, discontinuous, and possibly disruptive changes in military weapons, concepts of operations (i.e., approaches to warfighting) and organization. The issue for the … more
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)

Description: On August 5, 2004, the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic signed the Dominican Republic- Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, or the DR-CAFTA. The DR-CAFTA was negotiated as a regional agreement in which all parties would be subject to the “the same set of obligations and commitments,” but with each country defining its own separate schedules for market access. It is a comprehensive and reciprocal trade agreement, wh… more
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: Hornbeck, J. F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Background, Legal Analysis, and Policy Options

Description: This report provides a summary of U.S. penal policy at the federal level. The report then discusses legislation that created the current federal sentencing structure, the different types of sentencing guidelines, and analyses of departures from the guidelines under the federal system and of possible policy options the 109th Congress may wish to consider if it chooses to address this issue.
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M. & Smith, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraq: Summary of U.S. Casualties

Description: This report provides a table of casualties that was compiled by the Department of Defense (DOD), as tallied from DOD press releases. Table 1 provides statistics on fatalities during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 19, 2003, and is ongoing, as well as on the number of fatalities since May 1, 2003.
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: Fischer, Hannah
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lawsuits Against State Supporters of Terrorism: An Overview

Description: Since 1996, American victims of international terrorist acts supported by certain States designated by the State Department as supporters of terrorism — Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and until recently, Iraq — have had the option of bringing suit in federal court to seek monetary damages. Holders of judgments against these States, however, have encountered difficulties in their efforts to collect, despite congressional efforts to make blocked (or “frozen”) assets of such States … more
Date: April 4, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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