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Withdrawal from International Agreements: Legal Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement

Description: This report outlines the legal framework for withdrawal from international agreements under domestic and international law, and it examines legal issues related to the potential termination of two agreements that may be of significance to the 115th Congress: the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) related to Iran's nuclear program.
Date: May 4, 2018
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Possible U.S. Policy Approaches to North Korea

Description: This report describes President Trump's current policy toward North Korea and possible options for future U.S. policy. Options include diplomatic engagement, international and U.S. sanction increases, military strikes, destabilization of the North Korean government through intelligence activities and popular resentment, enhanced military cooperation with allies, and additional funding for preventing arms trading and related trade with North Korea.
Date: September 4, 2017
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma & Manyin, Mark E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Update to "Smith v. Obama": A Servicemember's Legal Challenge to the Campaign Against the Islamic State

Description: This report discusses a case which was brought by Army Captain Nathan Smith against President Barack Obama in 2016, arguing that President Obama had no authority to be conducting the campaign against the Islamic State because no Congressional approval had been given. The case was dismissed in Nov. 2016 but he has appealed the dismissal of the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Date: April 4, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Primer: A Guide for New Members

Description: This report discusses series of short primers developed by CRS to give Members of Congress an overview of key aspects of the Department of Defense and how Congress exercises authority over it. A consolidated list of these primers is contained in this report, along with links to each document.
Date: October 4, 2017
Creator: Kapp, Lawrence
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Display of the Confederate Flag at Federal Cemeteries in the United States

Description: This report discusses policies regarding the display of the Confederate Flag at national cemeteries. If a state observes a Confederate Memorial Day, National Park Service (NPS) cemeteries in the state may permit a sponsoring group to decorate the graves of Confederate veterans with small Confederate flags. Additionally, such flags may also be displayed on the nationally observed Memorial Day, to accompany the U.S. flag on the graves of Confederate veterans.
Date: May 4, 2016
Creator: Comay, Laura B. & Szymendera, Scott D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Security Assistance and Cooperation: Shared Responsibility of the Departments of State and Defense

Description: This report provides an overview of U.S. assistance to and engagement with foreign military and other security forces, focusing on Department of State and DOD roles. It lays out the historical evolution and current framework of the Department of State-DOD shared responsibility. It concludes with a brief overview of salient issues.
Date: April 4, 2016
Creator: Serafino, Nina M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report presents background information and issues for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. Decisions that Congress makes on Navy shipbuilding programs can substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: November 4, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Medical Care: Questions and Answers

Description: This report answers several frequently-asked questions about military health care, including: how the system is structured, a TRICARE summary, TRICARE eligibility and plan options, cost of military health care to beneficiaries, relationship of TRICARE to MEDICARE, how the Affordable Care Act affects TRICARE, long-term trends of defense health care costs, and a summary of the fund which funds TRICARE (the Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care fund).
Date: August 4, 2008
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Kyrgyzstan's Closure of the Manas Airbase: Context and Implications

Description: This report discusses the implications for U.S. policy and counter-terrorism efforts due to Kyrgyzstan's announcement that it was terminating an agreement permitting U.S. forces to upgrade and use portions of the Manas international airport near the capital of Bishkek to support coalition military operations in Afghanistan. If Kyrgyzstan does not reconsider its decision, U.S. forces have until late August 2009 to leave the airbase. Major U.S. concerns include working out alternative logistics r… more
Date: May 4, 2009
Creator: Nichol, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Naval Station Guantanamo Bay: History and Legal Issues Regarding Its Lease Agreements

Description: This report briefly outlines the history of the establishment of the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the early twentieth century, its changing relationship to the community around it, and its heightened importance with the onset of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also explains in detail the legal status of the lease of the land on which the naval station stands, the statutory and treaty authorities granted to the President with regard to any potential closure o… more
Date: August 4, 2015
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K. & Else, Daniel H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Installation Real Property and Services: Proposed Legislation in the 111th Congress

Description: This report analyzes the key provisions of legislation that would modify or expand statutory authorities granted to senior executives of the Department of Defense (DOD), identifies probable effects of the proposed amendments to existing law, and suggests issues raised for congressional consideration.
Date: June 4, 2009
Creator: Else, Daniel H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Role in Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the nature of Navy involvement in irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations, which have received an increased emphasis since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The overall issue for Congress is how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets, and whether decisions reached by Department of Defense (DOD) on this issue in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) are appropriate.
Date: June 4, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Project BioShield: Purposes and Authorities

Description: This report discusses the three main provisions of Project BioShield, funding for Project BioShield, and additional measures that Congress has considered since Project BioShield's implementation to further encourage CBRN countermeasure development.
Date: May 4, 2009
Creator: Gottron, Frank
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Don't Ask, Don't Tell:" The Law and Military Policy on Same-Sex Behavior

Description: This report describes the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy, which holds that the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in same-sex acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability. This report also describes recent efforts by certain Members of Congress to amending this policy.
Date: September 4, 2009
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget request for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.
Date: February 4, 2010
Creator: Else, Daniel H.; Scott, Christine & Panangala, Sidath V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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. This report is based on unclassified, open-domain information from the Navy, industry, and research organizations such as RAND.
Date: March 4, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Logistical Support Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan: Issues for Congress

Description: This report examines logistical support contracts for troop support services in Iraq and Afghanistan administered through the U.S. Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). LOGCAP is an initiative designed to manage the use of civilian contractors that perform services during times of war and other military mobilizations.
Date: March 4, 2010
Creator: Grasso, Valerie Bailey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Navy's irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations. The Navy's IW and CT activities pose a number of potential oversight issues for Congress, including the definition of Navy IW activities and how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets.
Date: March 4, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
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: May 4, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

Description: This report provides an overview of the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.
Date: February 4, 2015
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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