Search Results

open access

When Does Sovereign Immunity Protect Property Owned by State Sponsors of Terrorism?

Description: This report discusses sovereign states' immunity from suits and attachments by U.S. nationals except under very specific circumstances, as well as legal interpretations and cases involving immunity rules. It particularly describes state-sponsored terrorism and the effect of The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which was proposed to allow U.S. nationals to file civil suits in U.S. courts against foreign nations for aiding and abetting acts of terrorism under a new exception to … more
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Methane: An Introduction to Emission Sources and Reduction Strategies

Description: This report discusses the "Climate Action Plan" (CAP) announced by President Obama to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), as well as to encourage adaptation to expected climate change.
Date: August 15, 2016
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K.; Bracmort, Kelsi; McCarthy, James E. & Cunningham, Lynn J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Airline Passenger Rights: The Federal Role in Aviation Consumer Protection

Description: This report examines aviation consumer protections following the 1978 elimination of most governmental control regarding airline business practices. It explains the roles of Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in protecting airline consumers, and discusses some major passenger rights issues and related laws and regulations.
Date: August 17, 2016
Creator: Tang, Rachel Y.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Legislative Options in the 114th Congress for Financing Water Infrastructure

Description: This report addresses several options considered by Congress to address the financing needs of local communities for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects and to decrease or close the gap between available funds and projected needs.
Date: December 30, 2016
Creator: Copeland, Claudia; Maguire, Steven & Mallett, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

Description: This report provides background information on EPA regulatory activity during the Obama Administration. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA from January 2009 to late 2016, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of rules not yet promulgated (including identification of related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs and benefits, where avai… more
Date: December 30, 2016
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emission Trends and the Role of the Clean Power Plan

Description: This report examines recent trends in U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions -- particularly CO2 emissions from electricity generation -- and the factors that impact emission levels in that sector. In addition, this report examines the degree to which Clean Power Plan (CPP) implementation (or lack thereof) may impact CO2 emission levels from electric power plants.
Date: April 11, 2016
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: December 6, 2016
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Supreme Court: Length of the Scalia Vacancy in Historical Context

Description: This report provides data and analysis related to the potential length of the current vacancy on the Supreme Court caused by the death of Antonin Scalia on February 13, 2016. Specifically, this report provides the number of days the Scalia vacancy will have existed on specified future dates if a nominee has not been confirmed.
Date: August 26, 2016
Creator: McMillion, Barry J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: December 27, 2016
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

International Insurance Issues and H.R. 5143

Description: This report discusses the international response to the financial crisis, which included the creation of a Financial Stability Board (FSB) largely made up of various national financial regulators and the increased focus by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
Date: December 5, 2016
Creator: Webel, Baird
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. Some general issues include Arctic territorial disputes; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic, which could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Treatment of Noncitizens Under the Affordable Care Act

Description: This report provides information regarding the treatment of noncitizens under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) including definitions of "lawfully present," the health insurance mandate, exchanges, and ACA changes to Medicaid. It also discusses the verification of alien status under the ACA and related legislation in the 113th Congress.
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute

Description: This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Date: August 8, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Post-Heller Second Amendment Jurisprudence

Description: This report examines the scope of the Second Amendment, as interpreted by the federal circuit courts of appeals, after the watershed Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago.
Date: September 7, 2016
Creator: Herman, Sarah S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Energy Policy: 114th Congress Issues

Description: This report begins by providing background on the economic rationale for energy market interventions; it highlights various market failures production and consumption of energy, and discusses possible interventions. The report concludes with an analysis of the current status of energy tax policy.
Date: September 30, 2016
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act

Description: This report examines the changing definition of the phrase, "waters of the United States." The scope of waters that are properly the subject of federal water pollution legislation has been the subject of long-standing consideration by all three branches of the federal government, particularly in the aftermath of the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

State Challenges to Federal Enforcement of Immigration Law: From the Mid-1990s to the Present

Description: This report provides an overview of challenges by states to federal officials' alleged failure to enforce provisions of immigration law. It begins by discussing (1) the lawsuits filed by six states in the mid-1990s; (2) Arizona's counterclaims to the federal government's suit to enjoin enforcement of S.B. 1070; and (3) Mississippi's challenge to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. It then describes the challenge brought by over 25 states or state officials in December … more
Date: August 1, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP or Rule) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen