Congressional Research Service Reports - 29 Matching Results

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The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Background and Funding

Description: This report begins by describing the population using emergency food assistance. It goes on to discuss the the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) program, including its administration at the federal, state, and local levels, eligibility rules, and funding structure. The report concludes by summarizing TEFAP's role in disaster response and recent reauthorization efforts.
Date: November 19, 2018
Creator: Billings, Kara Clifford
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Description: This report describes the Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits, which are available only to those individuals who have become unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster and information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for DUA benefits.
Date: October 19, 2018
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The National Hurricane Center and Forecasting Hurricanes: 2017 Overview and 2018 Outlook

Description: This report first provides a synopsis of the role of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Weather Service (NWS), in forecasting hurricanes, and it discusses some of the advances and remaining challenges in hurricane forecasting. The report then provides an overview of the 2017 hurricane season, with a focus on the three destructive hurricanes named above, and includes a brief summary of the hurricane outlook for 201… more
Date: July 19, 2018
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquake Risk and U.S. Highway Infrastructure: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report addresses a number of frequently asked questions about earthquake risk and highway system components, especially bridges. Earthquakes and related events, such as soil liquefaction, landslides, tsunamis, flooding, and fires, pose risks to highway infrastructure. Concerns about the U.S. highway system's seismic vulnerability stem from interest in protecting public safety, facilitating response and recovery efforts, and minimizing economic loss and social disruption.
Date: May 19, 2016
Creator: Mallett, William J.; Carter, Nicole T. & Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP): Issues in Brief

Description: This report discusses the responsibility of four federal agencies for long-term earthquake risk reduction under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Congress has not introduced legislation in the 114th Congress that addresses the NEHRP program directly.
Date: April 19, 2016
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Communications Legislation: Implications for the 110th Congress

Description: Since September 11, 2001, several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress have included provisions to assist emergency communications. Key provisions from a number of these bills have become law. This report discusses legislation addressing communications among first responders.
Date: March 19, 2008
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Aid for Reconstruction of Houses of Worship: A Legal Analysis

Description: This report examines the constitutional rules governing federal funding for religious buildings and analyzes the Court's previous decisions on this issue. It also analyzes more recent lower court and administrative opinions that have distinguished the Court's decisions and allowed public funds to be awarded to houses of worship.
Date: October 19, 2015
Creator: Brown, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

Description: This report discusses the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as fire grants of the FIRE Act grant program. The program provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs. This report also discusses the possible reauthorization of AFG and the related Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefigh… more
Date: February 19, 2009
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Primer on Responding to Major Disasters and Emergencies

Description: This report provides information that can aid policy makers as they navigate through the many levels of responsibility of dealing with emergencies, and numerous policy pressure points, by having an understanding of the laws and administrative policies governing the disaster response and recovery process. The report also reviews the legislative framework that exists for providing federal assistance.
Date: May 19, 2015
Creator: McCarthy, Francis X. & Brown, Jared T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

Description: This report discusses: earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, federal programs that support earthquake monitoring, the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings, and federally-supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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: February 19, 2010
Creator: Margesson, Rhoda & Taft-Morales, Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquakes: Risk, Monitoring, Notification, and Research

Description: This report describes estimates of earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, the current federal programs that support earthquake monitoring and that provide notification after a seismic event, and the programs that support mitigation and research aimed at reducing U.S. vulnerability to earthquakes.
Date: June 19, 2008
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Corps Supplemental Appropriations: Recent History, Trends, and Policy Issues

Description: This report provides analysis of Corps supplemental funding. Its focus is recent decades of supplemental funding provided directly to the Corps, and it does not include extensive analysis of regular Corps appropriations.
Date: September 19, 2013
Creator: Stern, Charles V. & Carter, Nicole T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Response: Civil Liability of Volunteer Health Professionals

Description: This report discusses the patchwork of federal and state laws that operate to protect volunteers, which can include volunteer health professionals (VHPs), and those laws that trigger liability protection only for VHPs — with a focus on some of the midwestern states in addition to the Gulf region.
Date: January 19, 2011
Creator: Chu, Vivian S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA): A Summary

Description: This report summarizes the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know Act (EPCRA) and the major regulatory programs that mandate reporting by industrial facilities of releases of hazardous chemicals to the environment, as well as local planning to respond in the event of significant, accidental releases.
Date: March 19, 2008
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Earthquakes: Risk, Monitoring, Notification, and Research

Description: This report describes estimates of earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, the current federal programs that support earthquake monitoring and that provide notification after a seismic event, and the programs that support mitigation and research aimed at reducing U.S. vulnerability to earthquakes.
Date: June 19, 2008
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Flood Insurance Program: Treasury Borrowing in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Description: In 2008, Hurricanes Ike, Gustav, and Dolly made landfall in the United States, causing widespread flood damage. Exactly three years earlier, claims and expenses related to the massive flooding caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma had financially overwhelmed the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that the NFIP will need about $3 billion in additional borrowing authority to cover the claims currently outstanding and a yet to … more
Date: September 19, 2008
Creator: King, Rawle O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security Organization: Historical Developments and Legislative Options

Description: This report provides background information about the establishment and evolution of federal emergency management and related homeland security organization since 1950. Post-Katrina assessments of current arrangements by Congress and the White House are also discussed. Finally, the report provides a brief summary of related legislation that had been introduced as of July 17, 2006.
Date: April 19, 2006
Creator: Hogue, Henry B. & Bea, Keith
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Community Development Block Grant Funds in Disaster Relief and Recovery

Description: In the aftermath of previous, presidentially-declared disasters, Congress has used the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to help states and local governments finance recovery efforts, whether from natural or man-made disasters. This report will provide a general overview of the CDBG program and its use in disaster relief.
Date: October 19, 2005
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hurricane Katrina-Related Immigration Issues and Legislation

Description: The devastation and displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region of the United States has very specific implications for foreign nationals who lived in the region. Whether the foreign national is a legal permanent resident (LPR), a nonimmigrant (e.g., temporary resident such a foreign student, intracompany transferee, or guest worker) or an unauthorized alien (i.e., illegal immigrant) is a significant additional factor in how federal laws and policies are applied. In this c… more
Date: September 19, 2005
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hurricane Katrina: DOD Disaster Response

Description: No Description Available.
Date: September 19, 2005
Creator: Bowman, Steven R.; Kapp, Lawrence & Belasco, Amy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Regulatory Waivers and Extensions Pursuant to Hurricane Katrina

Description: This report identifies some of Katrina-related waivers and extensions. Federal agencies have waived a number of regulatory requirements and extended the deadlines for certain reports and applications to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina and to ease the economic effects of the storm.
Date: September 19, 2005
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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