Search Results

open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Congressional readers with questions about an issue discussed in this report should contact the author or authors of the section discussing that issue. The authors are identified by footnote at the start of each section.
Date: July 7, 2011
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Congressional readers with questions about an issue discussed in this report should contact the author or authors of the section discussing that issue. The authors are identified by footnote at the start of each section.
Date: June 7, 2011
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report gives an overview of the situation in the Arctic region. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The Arctic has increasingly become a subject of discussion among political leaders of the nations in the region. In varying degrees, the Arctic coastal states have… more
Date: June 15, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Greece's Debt Crisis: Overview, Policy Responses, and Implications

Description: This report covers the sovereign debt crisis currently faced by the Eurozone which has culminated with Greece, which is at the center of the crisis, Ireland, and Portugal borrowing money from other European countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to avoid default. Topics covered include: the build-up of Greece's debt crisis, policy responses with limited success, and broader implications. Specific issues for Congress include how the U.S. economy and banking industry will be… more
Date: August 18, 2011
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.; Belkin, Paul & Mix, Derek E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Electricity Transmission Cost Allocation

Description: The report makes several observations concerning current cost allocation policy for electricity transmission at the federal and state levels. The report also reviews several recent developments in the cost allocation area.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Kaplan, Stan Mark & Vann, Adam
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Army Corps of Engineers Water Resource Projects: Authorization and Appropriations

Description: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attracts congressional attention because its projects can have significant local and regional economic benefits and environmental effects, in addition to their water resource development purposes. This report provides an overview of the Corps civil works program. It covers the congressional authorization and appropriation process, the standard project development process, and other Corps activities and authorities. It also includes an Appendix on the evolution o… more
Date: August 19, 2011
Creator: Carter, Nicole T. & Stern, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation

Description: This report provides background information on the negotiations over North Korea's nuclear weapons program that began in the early 1990s under the Clinton Administration. As U.S. policy toward Pyongyang evolved through the George W. Bush presidency and into the Obama Administration, the negotiations moved from mostly bilateral to the multilateral Six-Party Talks (made up of China, Japan, Russia, North Korea, South Korea, and the United States).
Date: June 29, 2012
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma & Rinehart, Ian E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: The Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Description: Increasing violence perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups is threatening citizen security and governance in Mexico. Escalating violence has increased U.S. concerns about stability in Mexico, a key political and economic ally, and about the possibility of violence spilling over into the United States. In recent years, U.S.-Mexican security cooperation has increased significantly, largely as a result of the development and implementation of the Mérida Initiative,… more
Date: August 15, 2011
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare & Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Veterans' Benefits: Burial Benefits and National Cemeteries

Description: This report provides a descriptive analysis of both nonmonetary and monetary burial veterans' benefits and national cemeteries. It addresses congressional and constituent issues, such as who is eligible to receive burial benefits; who can be buried in a national cemetery; what plans does the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have to build new or expand existing national cemeteries; and what benefits does the VA provide, among others.
Date: October 4, 2010
Creator: Scott, Christine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information

Description: The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report identifies some criminal statutes that may apply and also discusses the… more
Date: September 8, 2011
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information

Description: The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, including … more
Date: June 26, 2012
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Authority of State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Immigration Law

Description: This report discusses the authority of state and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law through the investigation and arrest of persons believed to have violated such laws. It describes current provisions in federal law that permit state and local police to enforce immigration law directly, analyzes major cases concerning the ability of states and localities to assist in immigration enforcement, and briefly examines opinions on the issue by the Office of L… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Double-Dip Recession: Previous Experience and Current Prospect

Description: This report discusses factors suggesting an increased risk of a double-dip recession. A double-dip or W-shaped recession occurs when the economy emerges from a recession, has a short period of growth, but then, still well short of a full recovery, falls back into recession. It also discusses other factors that suggest economic recovery will continue. It presents the U.S. historical experience with double-dip recessions. It examines the role of deleveraging by households and businesses in the af… more
Date: June 19, 2012
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues

Description: Prompt global strike (PGS) would allow the United States to strike targets anywhere on Earth with conventional weapons in as little as an hour. This report looks at some concerns that Congress has shown for the PGS program, including the Department of Defenses' rationale for the mission, the Air Force's ability to set up the system in a timely manner, and how the new START Treaty between the US and Russia will affect the system.
Date: July 6, 2012
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. It does not discuss the use of lasers on Navy aircraft or submarines, or the use of lasers by other military services.
Date: June 14, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. It does not discuss the use of lasers on Navy aircraft or submarines, or the use of lasers by other military services.
Date: June 29, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and Its Implications for the United States

Description: This report discusses the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the European Union (EU). It looks at various aspects of the South Korea-EU FTA (KOREU FTA) including economic ties, trade strategies, and an overview of the key provisions of the agreement focusing on manufactured goods, agriculture, services, and various other provisions of particular interest to U.S. policymakers and the U.S. business community. The report also gives an analysis of the potential economic imact of t… more
Date: June 16, 2011
Creator: Cooper, William H.; Jurenas, Remy; Platzer, Michaela D. & Manyin, Mark E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Mexico's Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising Violence

Description: This report provides background on drug trafficking in Mexico, identifies the major drug trafficking organizations, and analyzes the context, scope, and scale of the violence. It examines current trends of the violence, analyzes prospects for curbing violence in the future, and compares it with violence in Colombia.
Date: September 7, 2011
Creator: Beittel, June S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Mexico's Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising Violence

Description: This report provides background on drug trafficking in Mexico: it identifies the major drug trafficking organizations (DTOs); how the organized crime “landscape” has been altered by fragmentation; and analyzes the context, scope, and scale of the violence. It examines current trends of the violence, analyzes prospects for curbing violence in the future, and compares it with violence in Colombia.
Date: June 8, 2012
Creator: Beittel, June S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Tax Reform: An Overview of Proposals in the 112th Congress

Description: This report primarily covers fundamental tax reform. CRS reports are available online concerning the other three categories of tax reform: tax reform based on the elimination of the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT), proposals for reforming the corporate income tax, and proposals for reforming the U.S. taxation of international business.
Date: January 14, 2011
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Army's Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report looks at the history and current need for a Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. Potential issues for Congress include the role and need for the GCV in a downsized Army that will likely have fewer heavy brigade combat teams (HBCTs).
Date: December 27, 2011
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Upcoming Rules Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Description: This report examines the most recent edition of the Unified Agenda, published on December 20, 2010 (the first edition that RISC compiled and issued after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act). The report identifies upcoming proposed and final rules listed in the Unified Agenda that are expected to be issued pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. The Appendix lists these upcoming proposed and final rules in a table. The report also briefly discusses the long-term actions listed in the Unified Agenda, as… more
Date: January 25, 2011
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W. & Carey, Maeve P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen