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FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program: Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), "Project Impact," and related legislative issues that Congress currently faces. PDM, as federal law and a program activity, began in 1997. Congress established a pilot program, which FEMA named "Project Impact," to test the concept of investing prior to disasters to reduce the vulnerability of communities to future disasters. From its beginnings as "Project Impact" to its current state, the PDM program has grown in its level of appropriated r… more
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: McCarthy, Francis X.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraq: Politics, Elections, and Benchmarks

Description: Iraq has largely completed a formal political transition from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to a plural policy that encompasses varying sects and political factions. However, grievances and disputes among these groups remain over the relative claim of each on power and economic resources. These disputes permeate and complicate almost every issue in Iraq, including security, the terms and framework for elections, economic design making, and foreign policy.
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
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 discusses the Navy's plans regarding the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The LCS is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs.
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pipeline Safety and Security: Federal Programs

Description: This report discusses congressional interest in securing the nation's pipelines. Nearly half a million miles of oil and natural gas transmission pipeline crisscross the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry hazardous materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage.
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: Parfomak, Paul W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Security Assistance Reform: "Section 1206" Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background on the pre-Section 1206 status of security assistance authorities and the factors contributing to the enactment of Section 1206, which provides the Secretary of Defense with authority to train and equip foreign military forces and foreign maritime security forces. It then sets out the purposes of the legislation and scope of its activities, restrictions on its use, the DOD-State Department planning process, and funding. It concludes with a discussion of issues fo… more
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: Serafino, Nina M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Description: Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purposes of exploitation is both an international and a domestic crime that involves violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards. This report focuses on human trafficking both internationally and within the United States. The report begins with an overview of human trafficking including a discussion of the definition of human trafficking, the scope of the problem globally, and an examination of the victims. It follows with an analysis of g… more
Date: February 18, 2010
Creator: Wyler, Liana Sun & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The “8(a) Program” for Small Businesses Owned and Controlled by the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Legal Requirements and Issues

Description: From Summary: "This report provides an overview of the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program. Based on upon authorities given to the SBA by Sections 7(j) and 8(a) of the Small Business Act of 1958, as amended, this program is commonly known as the "8(a) Program."
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Luckey, J. R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Charitable Contributions: The Itemized Deduction Cap and Other FY2011 Budget Options

Description: The Administration's 2010 and 2011 budget outlines contain a proposal to cap the value of itemized deductions at 28%, for high-income taxpayers. In the 2010 proposal, the expected revenue was dedicated to addressing health care issues; as other sources are expected to finance health care, the proposal is now part of the increased taxes on upper-income taxpayers. This report contains information on the comparisons to past tax changes, estimated effects on aggregate charitable giving, effects by … more
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Marples, Donald J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Copyright Registration Requirement and Federal Court Jurisdiction: A Legal Analysis of Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick

Description: In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, six freelance authors who had contributed articles to several publications, including The New York Times, Newsday, and Time, sued when the publishers licensed rights to copy and sell the articles to electronic databases such as Lexis/Nexis. Shortly after the Court decided Tasini, three preexisting class action infringement suits, which had been suspended pending the decision, were activated and consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of… more
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Background and Funding

Description: Federal support for child care and education comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. This report provides a funding overview and brief background information on federal child care, early education, and related programs (and tax provisions).
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Lynch, Karen E. & McCallion, Gail
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on four areas critical to the success of the biodefense enterprise that the 111th Congress is likely to consider: strategic planning; risk assessment; surveillance; and the development, procurement, and distribution of medical countermeasures.
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Gottron, Frank & Shea, Dana A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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FEMA's Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer

Description: This report discusses the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (referred to as the Stafford Act - 42 U.S.C. 5721 et seq.), which authorizes the President to issue "major disaster" or "emergency" declarations before or after catastrophes occur. It includes a description of the declaration process, Presidential and gubernatorial discretion, preliminary damage assessments, and factors for public or individual assistance in major disaster declarations, with concluding obs… more
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: McCarthy, Francis X.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Terrorism and Transnational Crime: Security Threats, U.S. Policy, and Considerations for Congress

Description: This report provides a primer on the confluence of transnational terrorist and criminal groups and related activities abroad. It evaluates possible motivations and disincentives for cooperation between terrorist and criminal organizations, variations in the scope of crime-terrorism links, and the types of criminal activities--fundraising, material and logistics support, and exploitation of corruption and gaps in the rule of law--used by terrorist organizations to sustain operations.
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Rollins, John & Wyler, Liana Sun
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Overview, Reauthorization, and Appropriations Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of nanotechnology, the National Nanotechnology Initiative, possible reauthorization of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-153), and appropriations issues.
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ongoing Government Assistance for American International Group (AIG)

Description: This report discusses government assistance for American International Group (AIG), the future of AIG and the ultimate government cost of the intervention that are unclear. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has been the primary vehicle for most of these actions.
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (H.R. 5116) and the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69): Selected Policy Issues

Description: This report provides background information on P.L. 110-69 and H.R. 5116 and analyzes four policy issues addressed by both measures: (1) STEM Education, (2) Federal Research Programs and Activities, (3) Broadening Participation, and (4) Funding. It also discusses selected policy concerns identified in the debate about U.S. competitiveness and describes how H.R. 5116 responds to those concerns. It contains a description of federal multi-agency research and development initiatives that are includ… more
Date: May 18, 2010
Creator: Gonzalez, Heather B.; Sargent, John F., Jr. & Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care: Constitutional Rights and Legislative Powers

Description: The health care reform debate raises many complex issues including those of coverage, accessibility, cost, accountability, and quality of health care. Underlying these policy considerations are issues regarding the status of health care as a constitutional or legal right. This report analyzes constitutional and legal issues pertaining to a right to health care, as well as the power of Congress to enact and fund health care programs. Following the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Aff… more
Date: May 18, 2010
Creator: Swendiman, Kathleen S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Jurisprudence of Justice John Paul Stevens: The Constitutionality of Congressional Term Limits and the Presidential Line Item Veto

Description: While the Supreme Court seems unlikely to address the constitutionality of term limits or the line-item veto in the future, Justice Stevens's conclusion that the absence of constitutional provisions expressly authorizing the exercise of certain powers constitutes a denial of these powers seems likely to influence the Court in the future, particularly in cases involving what Justice Kennedy and others have characterized as "horizontal" or "vertical" separation of powers.
Date: May 18, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report provides a brief overview on the current political state of Kuwait, which has been pivotal to nearly two decades of U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East. This report also discusses relations between Kuwait and the U.S., and the continuing domestic unrest in Kuwait, an issue separate from the unrest currently sweeping the rest of the Middle East.
Date: May 18, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
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. Congress in recent years has proposed, and sometimes passed, legislation regarding the naming of specific ships.
Date: May 18, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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