Congressional Research Service Reports - 335 Matching Results

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Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress

Description: As the Internet grows and becomes more pervasive in all aspects of modern society, the question of how it should be governed becomes more pressing. Currently, an important aspect of the Internet is governed by a private sector, international organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which manages and oversees some of the critical technical underpinnings of the Internet such as the domain name system and Internet Protocol (IP) addressing. ICANN makes it… more
Date: February 9, 2012
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues

Description: The Domain Name System (DNS) is the distributed set of databases residing in computers around the world that contain address numbers mapped to corresponding domain names, making it possible to send and receive messages and to access information from computers anywhere on the Internet. Many of the technical, operational, and management decisions regarding the DNS can have significant impacts on Internet-related policy issues such as intellectual property, privacy, ecommerce, and cybersecurity. T… more
Date: February 3, 2012
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Smart Meter Data: Privacy and Cybersecurity

Description: Fueled by stimulus funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), electric utilities have accelerated their deployment of smart meters to millions of homes across the United States with help from the Department of Energy's Smart Grid Investment Grant program. As the meters multiply, so do issues concerning the privacy and security of the data collected by the new technology. Smart meters must record near-real time data on consumer electricity usage and transmit the data t… more
Date: February 3, 2012
Creator: Murrill, Brandon J.; Liu, Edward C. & Thompson, Richard M., II
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities

Description: The federal government has long played a key role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. The government's support of IT R&D began because it had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
Date: January 13, 2012
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities

Description: In the early 1990s, Congress recognized that several federal agencies had ongoing high performance computing programs, but no central coordinating body existed to ensure long-term coordination and planning. To provide such a framework, Congress passed the High-Performance Computing and Communications Program Act of 1991 to enhance the effectiveness of the various programs. In conjunction with the passage of the act, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released Grand Challen… more
Date: January 13, 2012
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA): Policies, Programs, and Funding

Description: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the Department of Commerce, is the executive branch's principal advisory office on domestic and international telecommunications and information policies. Its mandate is to provide greater access for all Americans to telecommunications services, support U.S. attempts to open foreign markets, advise on international telecommunications negotiations, and fund research for new technologies and their applications. NT… more
Date: December 14, 2011
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Governmental Tracking of Cell Phones and Vehicles: The Confluence of Privacy, Technology, and Law

Description: This report will briefly survey Fourth Amendment law as it pertains to the government's tracking programs. It will then summarize federal electronic surveillance statutes and the case law surrounding cell phone location tracking. Next, the report will describe the GPS-vehicle tracking cases and review the pending Supreme Court GPS tracking case, United States v. Jones. Finally, the report will summarize the geolocation and electronic surveillance legislation introduced in the 112th Congress.
Date: December 1, 2011
Creator: Thompson, Richard M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Illegal Internet Streaming of Copyrighted Content: Legislation in the 112th Congress

Description: This report describes streaming technology, explains the disparity in criminal penalties for different forms of infringement committed by electronic means, analyzes legislation in the 112th Congress that would harmonize penalties for illegal streaming with those available for other forms of online copyright infringement, and summarizes arguments for and against such a legislative change.
Date: December 1, 2011
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities

Description: This report is categorized into four categories: (I) The Federal NITRD Program, (II) Federal Technology Funding Background and Context, (III) Activity in the 112th and 111th Congresses and (IV) Potential Issues for Congress.
Date: August 24, 2011
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Interplay of Borders, Turf, Cyberspace, and Jurisdiction: Issues Confronting U.S. Law Enforcement

Description: This report looks at issues for Congress, such as how legislative and oversight roles can bolster U.S. law enforcement's abilities to confront modern-day crime, including operations in cyberspace. It also examines whether federal law enforcement is utilizing existing mechanisms to effectively coordinate investigations and share information.
Date: July 19, 2011
Creator: Finklea, Kristin M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Legal Analysis of S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act

Description: This report discusses the legality of S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act). It is related to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but not enacted by the full Senate before the end of the 111th Congress.
Date: July 7, 2011
Creator: Yeh, Brian T. & Miller, Jonathan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Taxation of Internet Transactions

Description: This report intends to clarify significant issues in the remote sales tax collection debate, beginning with a description of state and local sales and use taxes. Congress has a role in this issue because interstate commerce, in most cases, falls under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Congress will likely be asked to choose between taking either an active or passive role in the debate. In the 111th Congress, H.R. 5660 (former Representative Delahunt) would have granted SSUTA member state… more
Date: June 7, 2011
Creator: Maguire, Steven
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Energy Standard: Potential Qualifying Energy Sources

Description: This report begins with a brief examination of clean energy, renewable energy, and alternative energy. It then presents possible selection criteria Congress could use to determine which sources could be eligible for a CES depending on the goal(s) of the CES. The report provides an overview of the energy sources most commonly discussed as potential CES qualifying sources: biomass, fossil fuels (natural gas combined-cycle and coal-fired power plants with carbon capture and sequestration), geother… more
Date: May 3, 2011
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi; Folger, Peter; Holt, Mark; Ratner, Michael & Sissine, Fred
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The National Institute of Standards and Technology: An Appropriations Overview

Description: Continued funding for NIST extramural programs directed toward increased private sector commercialization has been a major issue. Some Members of Congress have expressed skepticism over a "technology policy" based on providing federal funds to industry for development of pre-competitive generic technologies. This approach, coupled with pressures to balance the federal budget, led to significant reductions in funding for NIST. The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and the Manufacturing Extension… more
Date: April 25, 2011
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Technology Innovation Program

Description: The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was established in 2007 to replace the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). This effort is designed "to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through highrisk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need," according to the authorizing legislation. Grants are provided to small and medium-sized firms for individual projects or joint ventures with other research… more
Date: April 25, 2011
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs

Description: The "digital divide" is a term used to describe a perceived gap between "information haves and have-nots," or in other words, between those Americans who use or have access to telecommunications and information technologies and those who do not. Whether or not individuals or communities fall into the "information haves" category depends on a number of factors, ranging from the presence of computers in the home, to training and education, to the availability of affordable Internet access.
Date: April 12, 2011
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G. & Gilroy, Angele A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Universal Service Fund: Background and Options for Reform

Description: This report discusses the idea that all Americans should be able to afford access to the telecommunications network; this is commonly called the “universal service concept” and can trace its origins back to the 1934 Communications Act. The current policy debate has focused on five concerns: the scope of the program; who should contribute and what methodology should be used to fund the program; eligibility criteria for benefits; concerns over possible program fraud, waste, and abuse; and the imp… more
Date: April 11, 2011
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Technology Innovation Program

Description: This report discusses the elimination of the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) - specifically a renewal of the debate over the role of the federal government in promoting commercial technology development. TIP was established in 2007 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to replace the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). This effort was designed "to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of criti… more
Date: March 23, 2011
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities

Description: This report discusses background and funding for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program (previously known as the High-Performance Computing and Communications program, or HPPCC), which involves multiagency research and development (R&D) projects. It includes information about the program, background on federal technology funding, related activities in the 112th and 111th Congresses, and potential issues for Congress to address.
Date: March 22, 2011
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues

Description: The Domain Name System (DNS) is the distributed set of databases residing in computers around the world that contain address numbers mapped to corresponding domain names, making it possible to send and receive messages and to access information from computers anywhere on the Internet. Many of the technical, operational, and management decisions regarding the DNS can have significant impacts on Internet-related policy issues such as intellectual property, privacy, ecommerce, and cybersecurity. T… more
Date: March 18, 2011
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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