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The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

Description: This report discusses the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which is a presidential advisory body consisting of nine cabinet members, two ex officio members, and other members appointed by the President to oversee direct investments by foreign countries in the United States. The President has the power to block a direct investment by another country if such an acquisition would pose a threat to U.S. national security. The basics of the committee's operations and laws … more
Date: October 11, 2017
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues

Description: This report provides a historical examination of the SBA's size standards and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business. It also discusses P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which requires the SBA to make available a justification when establishing or approving a size standard that the size standard is appropriate for each individual industry classification. It addresses the SBA's recent practice of combining size standards within… more
Date: September 28, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Section 471 of H.R. 10, H.R. 1219, S. 444, and Section 914 of H.R. 3280: Supporting America's Innovators

Description: This report discusses various current bills in Congress that are related to to increasing business innovation and easing regulation on securities and venture-capitol firms. Brief outlines of the goals of each bill and their current progress along with arguments for and against them are presented.
Date: September 12, 2017
Creator: Shorter, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program

Description: This report discusses the rationale provided for the 7(a) program; the program's borrower and lender eligibility standards and program requirements; and program statistics, including loan volume, loss rates, use of proceeds, borrower satisfaction, and borrower demographics. It also examines issues raised concerning the SBA's administration of the 7(a) program, including the oversight of 7(a) lenders and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measures. The report also surveys congressio… more
Date: August 31, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Business Tax Provisions That Expired in 2016 ("Tax Extenders")

Description: This report briefly summarizes and discusses the economic impact of selected business-related tax provisions that expired at the end of 2016. Types of business provisions covered are special business investment (cost recovery), economic development, and other miscellaneous business-related matters.
Date: August 28, 2017
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.; Marples, Donald J.; Lowry, Sean & Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Administration HUBZone Program

Description: This report discusses the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Empowerment Contracting (HUBZone), program and examines arguments both for and against targeting assistance to geographic areas with specified characteristics as opposed to providing assistance to people or businesses with specified characteristics. It then assesses the arguments both for and against the continuation of the HUBZone program. The report also discusses the HUBZone program's structure and operation, focusing on the … more
Date: August 10, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Administration Microloan Program

Description: This report opens with a discussion of the rationale provided for having a Microloan program, describes the program's eligibility standards and operating requirements for lenders and borrowers, and examines the arguments presented by the program's critics and advocates. It then discusses P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which increased the Microloan program's loan limit for borrowers from $35,000 to $50,000, and the aggregate loan limit for intermediaries after their first yea… more
Date: August 9, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Reform of U.S. International Taxation: Alternatives

Description: This report describes and assesses the principal prescriptions that have been offered for broad reform of the international system. It begins with an overview of current law and possible revisions. It then sets the framework for considering economic efficiency as well as tax shelter activities. Finally, it reviews alternative approaches to revision in light of those issues.
Date: July 21, 2017
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Trends and Current Issues

Description: This report discusses the United States direct investment in other countries through many multinational corporations. Tables showing the rates of investment in various countries by U.S. companies and discussion of the economic effects of the practice on the U.S. job market are included.
Date: June 29, 2017
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Beef: It's What's for China

Description: This report discusses the opening of the Chinese market to U.S. beef imports under certain restrictions. The negotiation process and conditions of the agreement and China's current largest beef import partners are also discussed.
Date: June 22, 2017
Creator: Greene, Joel L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding

Description: This report discusses the Small Business Administration (SBA) and their various programs along with various programmatic changes resulting from the enactment of P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, P.L. 114-88, the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 (RISE A… more
Date: June 5, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Lowry, Sean
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Systemically Important or "Too Big to Fail" Financial Institution.

Description: This report discusses the "To Big To Fail" (TBTF) system of the government intervening and bailing out certain companies whose collapse is deemed too disruptive to the American financial market to let occur. This report discusses the economic issues raised by TBTF, broad policy options, and policy changes made by the relevant Dodd-Frank provisions.
Date: May 26, 2017
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privileged Business on the House Floor

Description: This report discusses privileged business, which relates to the order or priority of business before the House and is defined in House rules and precedents as business that has precedence over the regular order of business.
Date: January 23, 2017
Creator: Saturno, James V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Digital Trade and U.S. Trade Policy

Description: This report discusses the role of digital trade in the U.S. economy, barriers to digital trade, digital trade agreement provisions, and other selected policy issues.
Date: January 13, 2017
Creator: Fefer, Rachel F.; Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias & Morrison, Wayne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brazil in Crisis

Description: This report briefly examines the political situation and discusses public opinion regarding the Rousseff Administration.
Date: September 14, 2016
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Corporate Inversions: Frequently Asked Legal Questions

Description: This report answers frequently-asked legal questions about corporate inversions. It answers questions relating to the scope and operation of Section 7874, including how key statutory terms have been interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It discusses important Department of Treasury regulations that were finalized in 2015 and 2016, and answers questions about the IRS's authority to issue these regulations. Other questions that are answered relate to legislation introduced in the 114… more
Date: September 7, 2016
Creator: Lunder, Erika K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Stealing Trade Secrets and Economic Espionage: An Overview of the Economic Espionage Act

Description: This report discusses the theft of trade secrets, which is considered a federal crime when the information relates to a product in interstate or foreign commerce. Offenders face lengthy prison terms as well as heavy fines, and they must pay restitution.
Date: August 19, 2016
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Proposed Reauthorization in the 114th Congress

Description: This report provides information about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates futures, most options, and swaps markets. It includes background information, a description of the CFTC reauthorization process, and more extensive explanations of selected provisions in H.R. 2289 and S. 2917 that were recently reauthorized or changed.
Date: August 3, 2016
Creator: Miller, Rena S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brazil in Crisis

Description: This report examines the current political and economic climate in Brazil, which is in the midst of severe economic and political crises that are closely intertwined and unlikely to be resolved quickly.
Date: July 6, 2016
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Job Creation in the Manufacturing Revival

Description: This report examines the current status of the manufacturing sector in the U.S., which is a subject of ongoing interest in Congress. After rebounding from the 2007-09 recession, U.S. manufacturing output has grown little since the second half of 2014. Over the same period, employment in the U.S. manufacturing sector has been flat. These trends defy expectations that forces such as higher labor costs in the emerging economies of Asia, heightened concern about the risk of disruptions to long, com… more
Date: June 28, 2016
Creator: Levinson, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Slow Growth in the Current U.S. Economic Expansion

Description: This report summarizes the U.S. economic growth record and reviews a number of explanations forwarded by economists for why this expansion has featured slow growth. Some explanations focus on short-term factors that would not be expected to persist, while others focus on long-term changes to the economy. The report does not discuss labor market conditions, except in the context of how they contribute to the pace of GDP growth.
Date: June 24, 2016
Creator: Keightley, Mark P.; Labonte, Marc & Stupak, Jeffrey M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Athletic Footwear for the Military: The Berry Amendment Controversy

Description: This report briefly examines issues regarding the Berry Amendment, which is a 1941 federal law (10 U.S.C. §2533a) requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to purchase only wholly American-made clothing, textiles, and other essential items for the military.
Date: June 10, 2016
Creator: Platzer, Michaela D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief

Description: This report discusses the Buy American Act of 1933, which is the earliest and arguably the best known of various statutes regarding federal procurement of domestic products. The act attempts to protect U.S. businesses and labor by restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not "domestic."
Date: April 26, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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