Congressional Research Service Reports - 38 Matching Results

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Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC): Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses issues surrounding the funding for development of Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) and Marine Personnel Carriers (MPCs). The Marines are required by law to have the necessary equipment to conduct amphibious operations and land operations.
Date: September 9, 2016
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress

Description: This report discusses the process of naming Navy ships, which have traditionally been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy. Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time.
Date: September 14, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report discusses the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), as well as the Obama Administration's stated goal of pursuing U.S. ratification of the CTBT, although the Administration has mainly focused on securing Senate consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
Date: September 1, 2016
Creator: Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

Description: This report discusses the security problem of China’s role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. and other foreign concerns about its role in weapons proliferation.
Date: September 13, 2010
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Nuclear Agreement

Description: This report discusses the recently finalized Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that attempts to ensure that Iran's nuclear program can be used for purely peaceful purposes, in exchange for a broad suspension of U.S. sanctions and a lifting of those sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations.
Date: September 29, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth & Kerr, Paul K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report presents background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Navy's Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer programs. The Navy's proposed FY2016 budget requests funding for the procurement of two DDG-51s, including the first of a new DDG-51 design variant called the Flight III design, which is to carry a new and more capable radar called the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR).
Date: September 22, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: September 22, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on three potential new weapons that could improve the ability of Navy surface ships to defend themselves against enemy missiles--solid state lasers (SSLs), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the hypervelocity projectile (HVP).
Date: September 25, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on three potential new weapons that could improve the ability of Navy surface ships to defend themselves against enemy missiles: solid state lasers (SSLs), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the hypervelocity projectile (HVP). Any one of these new weapon technologies, if successfully developed and deployed, might be regarded as a "game changer" for defending Navy surface ships against enemy missiles.
Date: September 2, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald &
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Nuclear Agreement

Description: This report provides background on the agreement negotiated by Iran and six other countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany--collectively known as the P5+1) regarding Iran's nuclear program. They have finalized a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, (JCPOA) that attempts to ensure that Iran's nuclear program can be used for purely peaceful purposes, in exchange for a broad suspension of U.S. sanctions and a lifting of those sanctions imposed by the Euro… more
Date: September 9, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth & Kerr, Paul K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2002-2009

Description: This report provides Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions.
Date: September 10, 2010
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of four LCSs. Current issues for Congress concerning the LCS program include changes or potential changes to the composition of LCS mission modules announced by the Navy in January 2011, the combat survivabilit… more
Date: September 8, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: September 16, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report discusses the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear explosion and was in 1996 adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but rejected by the U.S. Senate in 1997. This report discusses the Obama Administration's stated goal of pursuing U.S. ratification of the CTBT, although the Administration has mainly focused on securing Senate consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). This report also discusses other nuclear weapons-r… more
Date: September 29, 2014
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and diesel-electric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters.
Date: September 3, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and diesel-electric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters.
Date: September 27, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, and gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. Congress's decisions on the Aegis BMD program could significantly affect U.S. BMD capabilities and funding requirements, and the BMD-related industrial base.
Date: September 11, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: September 6, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pilotless Drones: Background and Considerations for Congress Regarding Unmanned Aircraft Operations in the National Airspace System

Description: Report that covers the history and current status of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Particular attention is paid to recent privacy implications and potential intrusiveness of drone operations that have emerged as a significant issue before Congress. It also looks at the current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) timeline to establish six test ranges throughout the United States to study unmanned aircraft integration technical issues.
Date: September 10, 2012
Creator: Elias, Bart
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the 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: September 25, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drones in Domestic Surveillance Operations: Fourth Amendment Implications and Legislative Responses

Description: This report first explores the potential uses of drones in the domestic sphere by federal, state, and local governments. It then surveys current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, including cases surrounding privacy in the home, privacy in public spaces, location tracking, manned aerial surveillance, and those involving the national border. Next, it considers how existing jurisprudence may inform current and proposed drone uses. It then describes the various legislative measures introduced in the … more
Date: September 6, 2012
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2003-2010

Description: This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppli… more
Date: September 22, 2011
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990

Description: This report discusses U.S. security assistance to Taiwan, or Republic of China (ROC), including policy issues for Congress and legislation. Congress has oversight of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), P.L. 96-8, which has governed arms sales to Taiwan since 1979, when the United States recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) instead of the ROC. Two other relevant parts of the "one China" policy are the August 17, 1982, U.S.-PRC Joint Communique and the "Six Assurances" to Taiwan. U.S. arms… more
Date: September 15, 2011
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: Cluster munitions are air-dropped or ground-launched weapons that release a number of smaller submunitions intended to kill enemy personnel or destroy vehicles. This report discusses the two major international initiatives that address cluster munitions: the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and negotiations under the UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Currently, the Obama Administration has reiterated U.S. opposition to the CCM, … more
Date: September 16, 2010
Creator: Feickert, Andrew & Kerr, Paul K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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