Search Results

open access

Energy Tax Policy: Historical Perspectives on and Current Status of Energy Tax Expenditures

Description: This report examines how current revenue losses resulting from energy tax provisions compare to historical losses and provides a foundation for understanding how current energy tax policy evolved by providing a longitudinal perspective on energy tax policy and expenditures.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization: An Overview of Legislative Action in the 111th Congress

Description: This report tracks the status of ongoing legislative action and debate related to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization. It is organized into six major program areas: aviation system finance; airport financing; FAA management and organizational issues; system capacity and safety; environmental issues; and airline industry issues. In several cases, provisions that appear in various unrelated sections of proposed legislation have been rearranged in this report in an effort to grou… more
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Elias, Bart
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Improper Payments Information Act of 2002: Background, Implementation, and Assessment

Description: This report discusses the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA), which signed into law in 2002 requires agencies to identify each year programs and activities vulnerable to significant improper payments, to estimate the amount of overpayments or underpayments, and to report to Congress on steps being taken to reduce such payments.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Hatch, Garrett & McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Navy SSBN(X) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Navy's plan to develop and design a class of 12 next-generation ballistic missile submarines, or SSBN(X)s, as replacements for the 14 Ohio class SSBNs currently in operation. The report explores certain related issues for Congress, including the affordability of the project and its potential impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, alternatives to the program, and which shipyard or shipyards will build the proposed ships.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Requiring Individuals to Obtain Health Insurance: A Constitutional Analysis

Description: This report first analyzes the authority of Congress to pass a law of this nature, as well as how a court could analyze this provision in light of a constitutional challenge based on various provisions of the Fifth and Tenth Amendments. Finally, this report discusses whether the exceptions to the individual responsibility requirement to purchase health insurance satisfy First Amendment freedom of religion protections.
Date: May 7, 2010
Creator: Staman, Jennifer; Brougher, Cynthia; Liu, Edward C.; Lunder, Erika K. & Thomas, Kenneth R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate

Description: This report discusses the current debate over "net neutrality." While there is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality," most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network.
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

Description: This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Description: The Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program provides income support to individuals who become unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster and who are not eligible for regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. DUA is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) through each state's UC agency. This report contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for DUA benefits.
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M. & Shelton, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Haiti Earthquake: Crisis and Response

Description: The largest earthquake ever recorded in Haiti devastated parts of the country, including the capital, on January 12, 2010. This report discusses the disaster and various responses, ranging from the Haitian government's initial response to foreign humanitarian and financial aid.
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Margesson, Rhoda & Taft-Morales, Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 111th Congress

Description: The 111th Congress has considered various immigration issues and has enacted a number of targeted immigration provisions. It has passed legislation to extend the life of several immigration programs--the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system, the Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, the Conrad State J-1 Waiver Program, and the special immigrant visa for religious workers--all of which are currently authorized until September 30, 2012. Among the other subjects of … more
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Ester, Karma; Haddal, Chad C.; Kim, Yule; Lee, Margaret Mikyung; Siskin, Alison et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Loss Exposure and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Description: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was established as an independent government corporation under the authority of the Banking Act of 1933, also known as the Glass- Steagall Act (P.L. 73-66, 48 Stat. 162, 12 U.S.C.), to insure bank deposits. The FDIC is funded through insurance assessments collected from its member depository institutions and held in what is now known as the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). This report begins with an overview of the FDIC, followed by an explanation o… more
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Getter, Darryl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Strategic Arms Control After START: Issues and Options

Description: The United States and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991; it entered into force in December 1994 and expired in December 2009. This report provides background information about the START Treaty and reviews the discussions about a possible successor to START. It also presents a range of alternatives that the United States and Russia might consider if they choose to follow START with a new framework for the arms control process.
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

War in Afghanistan: Strategy, Military Operations, and Issues for Congress

Description: The character of the war in Afghanistan evolved from a violent struggle against al Qaeda and its Taliban supporters to a multi-faceted counterinsurgency (COIN) effort. This report provides an examination of the war's background, context, and early execution; an analytical discussion of the COIN war to date, including strategy, organization, participation, and key facets of the effort including population security, advising the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), counter-narcotics, reconcili… more
Date: May 6, 2010
Creator: Bowman, Steve & Dale, Catherine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Google Library Project: Is Digitization for Purposes of Online Indexing Fair Use Under Copyright Law?

Description: In December 2004, Google announced its Library Project, which was to entail digitizing, indexing, and displaying "snippets" of print books in the collections of five major libraries, among other things. The Library Project was not limited to books in the public domain (e.g., books whose terms of copyright protection had expired), and Google did not seek the permission of copyright holders, in part, because it asserted that its proposed uses were fair uses. Many authors, publishers, and other ri… more
Date: May 5, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

Description: This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in the country of Panama, which has made notable political and economic progress since the 1989 U.S. military intervention that ousted the regime of General Manuel Noriega from power. It also describes the U.S.-Panama relationship at length, including trade relations.
Date: May 5, 2010
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

Description: This report presents an overview of Qatar's history and recent economic and political developments. The report discusses U.S. relations with Qatar, U.S. military cooperation and foreign assistance, political reform and elections, as well as human rights and social issues.
Date: May 5, 2010
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2011 Budget and Appropriations

Description: On February 1, 2010, President Obama submitted a budget proposal for FY2011 that requests $58.49 billion for the international affairs budget, a 16% increase over the enacted FY2010 funding level. This report analyzes the FY2011 request, recent-year funding trends, and congressional action related to FY2011 State-Foreign Operations legislation.
Date: May 5, 2010
Creator: Lawson, Marian Leonardo; Epstein, Susan B. & Nakamura, Kennon H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Issues in the U.S. Ratification Debate

Description: This report provides an overview of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and describes its background, objectives, and structure, including the role of the Convention's monitoring body, the CEDAW Committee. It examines U.S. policy and issues in the U.S. ratification debate, including the Convention's possible impact on U.S. sovereignty, its effectiveness in combating discrimination, and its role as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
Date: May 5, 2010
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen