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U.S. International Food Aid Programs: Background and Issues

Description: This report includes three principal sections: the first section is a description of U.S. international food aid programs under current law; the second section discusses several important policy issues related to U.S. international food aid; and the third section describes Administration and congressional proposals intended to change the nature of U.S. food international aid.
Date: April 1, 2015
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations

Description: This report discusses current Congressional issues in relation to Venezuela, including background on the political situation and recent developments, the economic conditions, relevant U.S. policies, and the legislative initiatives in the 111th and 112th Congresses.
Date: April 1, 2015
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Affordable Care Act’s Contraceptive Coverage Requirement: History of Regulations for Religious Objections

Description: This report summarizes the issues involved with the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) requirement in group health plans for contraceptive coverage. Moreover, the report covers the history of how religious objections to this provision of the ACA have been handled. Specifically, the report discuses this topic in relation to employers providing health insurance for employees.
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Brown, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Agricultural Conservation: A Guide to Programs

Description: This report provides a listing of federal agricultural conservation assistance programs. Each listing includes a brief description of the program, information on major amendments in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79, 2014 farm bill), national scope and availability, states with the greatest participation, the backlog of applications or other measures of continuing interest, program funding authority, FY2018 funding, FY2019 Administration budget request, statutory authority, the authoriz… more
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges

Description: This report discusses the two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) that require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) to issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in resource extraction payments.
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V. & Ruane, Kathleen Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Coverage Tax Credit

Description: The report describes the expired eligibility criteria, as well as the types of health insurance to which the tax credit may have been applied. It discusses past federal and state roles in administering the HCTC program, and it summarizes analyses on the credit's effectiveness in reaching targeted populations and related equity and efficiency issues. In addition, the report includes a short discussion of relevant current law and summarizes statutory history of the HCTC program.
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Fernandez, Bernadette
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Rail Safety Efforts Miss Leading Cause of Fatalities

Description: This report briefly discusses the debate over the reauthorization of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA08; P.L. 110-432). Congress is focusing on steps to prevent train derailments and collisions. Such incidents often receive extensive publicity and cause harm to bystanders, such as the residents of Mount Carbon, West Virginia, who were forced to evacuate after a train carrying crude oil derailed and burned on February 16, 2015.
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Frittelli, John
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

Description: This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and the implementation of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA). It includes an overview of UMRA, its origins, and provisions; definitions for unfunded federal mandates; how UMRA relates to Congressional procedure (Title I) and to federal rulemaking (Title II); and concluding observations on the issues.
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Veterans and Homelessness

Description: This report includes information and figures regarding federal programs for homeless veterans. Figures include statistics and financial information.
Date: April 2, 2015
Creator: Perl, Libby
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Ballistic Missile Defense in the Asia-Pacific Region: Cooperation and Opposition

Description: This report presents background information and discusses potential issues for Congress relating to U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. These efforts pose several potential policy, funding, and oversight issues for Congress. Decisions that Congress makes on these issues could affect U.S. defense funding requirements and military capabilities, and U.S. relations with countries in the Asia Pacific region, including China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and A… more
Date: April 3, 2015
Creator: Rinehart, Ian E.; Hildreth, Steven A. & Lawrence, Susan V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Boko Haram

Description: This report details the emergence of Boko Haram as major terrorist organization.
Date: April 3, 2015
Creator: Blanchard, Lauren Ploch
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Al Shabaab

Description: This report briefly examines Al Shabaab (aka Harakat Shabaab al Mujahidin, or Mujahidin Youth Movement) which is an insurgent and terrorist group that evolved out of a militant wing of Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts in the mid-2000s.
Date: April 3, 2015
Creator: Ploch Blanchard, Lauren
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The War Powers Resolution: Concepts and Practice

Description: This report discusses and assesses the War Powers Resolution and its application since enactment in 1973, providing detailed background on various cases in which it was used, as well as cases in which issues of its applicability were raised. It will be revised biannually.
Date: April 3, 2015
Creator: Weed, Matthew C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Statutory Interpretation: Theories, Tools, and Trends

Description: This report begins by discussing the general goals of statutory interpretation, reviewing a variety of contemporary as well as historical approaches. The report then briefly describes the two primary theories of interpretation employed today, before examining the main types of tools that courts use to determine statutory meaning. The report concludes by exploring developing issues in statutory interpretation.
Date: April 5, 2015
Creator: Brannon, Valerie C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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