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U.S. Security Assistance to Lebanon

Description: This report discusses the variety of current U.S. security assistance programs to Lebanon including objectives, vetting processes, end-use monitoring, and issues for Congress. The last section of this report discusses the upcoming elections and the future of U.S. security assistance to Lebanon.
Date: May 20, 2009
Creator: Addis, Casey L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm and Food Support Under USDA's Section 32 Program

Description: The 110th Congress in June 2008 passed a new omnibus farm bill (P.L. 110-246). Provisions in this new law now spell out more explicitly how the Secretary is to use the annual Section 32 appropriation. Section 32 of the act of August 24, 1935 (P.L. 74-320 as amended; 7 U.S.C. 612c) authorizes a permanent appropriation equal to 30% of annual U.S. customs receipts.
Date: February 20, 2009
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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France: Factors Shaping Foreign Policy, and Issues in U.S.-French Relations

Description: This report examines the key factors that shape French foreign policy. From that context, it analyzes some of the reasons for the tensions in and the accomplishments of U.S.-French relations. The report is illustrative, rather than exhaustive. Instead, the report reviews issues selected because they exemplify some of the essential features of the U.S.-French relationship.
Date: May 20, 2009
Creator: Belkin, Paul
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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NATO's 60th Anniversary Summit

Description: This report provides an overview and analysis of the key issues to be discussed at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) April summit on April 3 and 4, 2009.
Date: March 20, 2009
Creator: Belkin, Paul; Ek, Carl; Mages, Lisa & Mix, Derek E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Issues for Congress

Description: This report explores the various issues currently facing Congress in regards to intelligence and counterterrorism activities, including the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458), signed in December 2004; the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which that act created; the importance of collaborative efforts between various intelligence agencies to successfully carry out counterterrorism measures; and other pieces of legislation relevant to such matters.
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insolvency of Systemically Significant Financial Companies: Bankruptcy vs. Conservatorship/Receivership

Description: This report first discusses the purposes behind the creation of a separate insolvency regime for depository institutions. The report then compares and contrasts the characteristics of depository institutions with systemically significant financial companies (SSFCs). Next, the report provides a brief analysis of some important differences between the FDIC's conservatorship/receivership authority and that of the Bankruptcy Code.
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: Carpenter, David H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EU-U.S. Economic Ties: Framework, Scope, and Magnitude

Description: This report provides background information and analysis of the U.S.-EU economic relationship for Members of the 111th Congress as they contemplate the costs and benefits of closer U.S. economic ties with the EU. It examines the economic and political framework of the relationship and the scope and magnitude of the ties based on data from various sources. In addition, the report analyzes the implications these factors have for U.S. economic policy toward the EU.
Date: March 20, 2009
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Controversies over Redefining “Fill Material” Under the Clean Water Act

Description: This report discusses the Clean Water Act that contains two different permitting regimes: (1) Section 402 permits (called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit program) address the discharge of most pollutants, and (2) Section 404 permits address the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters of the United States at specified sites. These permit programs differ in nature and approach.
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Controversies over Redefining "Fill Material" Under the Clean Water Act

Description: On May 3, 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) announced a regulation redefining two key terms, "fill material" and "discharge of fill material," in rules that implement Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This report discusses the 2002 rule, focusing on how it changes which material and types of activities are regulated under Section 404 and the significance of these issues, especially for the mining industry.
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies

Description: Mountaintop removal mining involves removing the top of a mountain in order to recover the coal seams contained there. This practice occurs in several Appalachian states. It creates an immense quantity of excess spoil (dirt and rock that previously composed the mountaintop), which is typically placed in valley fills on the sides of the former mountains, burying streams that flow through the valleys. Critics say that, as a result of valley fills, stream water quality and the aquatic and wildlife… more
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Unified Agenda: Implications for Rulemaking Transparency and Participation

Description: This report examines the Unified Agenda's issue and discusses options that Congress or the President can use to improve transparency and participation via the Unified Agenda or other means. The report also discusses Obama Administration's open government initiative, the rulemaking process, and the potential value of comments prior to the publication of a proposed rule.
Date: July 20, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Uganda: Current Conditions and the Crisis in North Uganda

Description: This report discusses the current political conditions of Uganda, which have long been ravaged by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), an armed rebel group backed by the government of Sudan. In particular, the report focuses on largely unsuccessful Ugandan efforts to resolve the conflict with the LRA, as well as talks with the U.S. under the Bush Administration and the recent suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, in July 2010.
Date: November 20, 2009
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of major legal issues likely to arise as a result of executive and legislative action to close the Guantanamo detention facility. It discusses legal issues related to the transfer of Guantanamo detainees, the continued detention of such persons in the United States, and the possible removal of persons brought into the country. It also discusses selected constitutional issues that may arise in the criminal prosecution of detainees, emphasizing the procedural and … more
Date: July 20, 2009
Creator: Garcia, Michael John; Bazan, Elizabeth B.; Mason, R. Chuck; Liu, Edward C. & Henning, Anna C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the lllth Congress

Description: This report discusses actions that Congress is considering, which could affect the various uses and management of federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, such as: legislation, administrative or regulatory proposals, and litigation and judicial decisions. Issue areas include onshore energy resources, administration of hardrock mining, wildfire protection, management of wild horses and burros, designation of the National Landscape Conservation System, w… more
Date: February 20, 2009
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.; Hardy Vincent, Carol; Alexander, Kristina & Humphries, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Agency Travel Card Programs

Description: This report begins by discussing the structure of agency travel card programs, and then discusses weaknesses in agency controls that have contributed to waste, fraud, and abuse. It then examines travel card legislation introduced or enacted in the 111th Congress, and concludes with observations on the information available to Congress for oversight of agency travel card programs.
Date: July 20, 2009
Creator: Hatch, Garrett
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Market Supervision: European Perspectives

Description: This report addresses the European perspectives on a number of proposals that are being advanced for financial oversight and regulation in Europe. The European experience may be instructive because financial markets in Europe are well developed, European firms often are competitors of U.S. firms, and European governments have faced severe problems of integration and consistency across the various financial structures that exist in Europe.
Date: November 20, 2009
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Estimates of Carbon Mitigation Potential from Agricultural and Forestry Activities

Description: This report presents a brief overview of the available estimates from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) carbon mitigation studies, and then discusses some of the limitations of the available data and modeling results. It includes informationa bout estimated current emissions and sequestration, estimated addtional potential sequestration, limitations of mitigation potential estimates, and considerations for Congress.
Date: February 20, 2009
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Gorte, Ross W.; Yacobucci, Brent D. & Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Estimates of Carbon Mitigation Potential from Agricultural and Forestry Activities

Description: The report is organized into three parts. The first provides a brief overview of the role of the agriculture and forestry sectors within the broader climate change debate, describing available estimates of current GHG emissions and carbon sequestration in the farm and forestry sectors. The second describes available data and information on the potential for carbon storage (tonnage) by type of farming and forestry activity, and presents available estimates of the carbon sequestration potential i… more
Date: February 20, 2009
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Gorte, Ross W.; Yacobucci, Brent D. & Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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