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AGOA III: Amendment to the African Growth and Opportunity Act

Description: This report discusses the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which seeks to spur economic development and help integrate Africa into the world trading system by granting trade preferences and other benefits to Sub-Saharan African countries that meet certain criteria relating to market reform and human rights.
Date: January 19, 2005
Creator: Langton, Danielle
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality Standards and Sound Science: What Role for CASAC?

Description: This report discusses the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which are standards that define what EPA considers to be clean air. Their importance stems from the long and complicated implementation process that is set in motion by their establishment.
Date: January 19, 2007
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress

Description: Alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles are seen by proponents as integral to improving urban air quality, decreasing dependence on foreign oil, and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. However, major barriers—especially economics—currently prevent the widespread use of these fuels and technologies. The 112th Congress has debated alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles directly and as it has addressed other key topics. On June 16, 2011 the Senate approved S.Amdt. 476 wh… more
Date: January 19, 2012
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Amtrak and Energy Conservation: Background and Selected Public Policy Issues

Description: A rationale for federal financial support to Amtrak has been that rail service conserves energy, compared to other forms of intercity passenger transportation. The numbers discussed in this report suggest that the rationale might not be valid with regard to autos and buses. The report discusses some public policy implications that could follow from that conclusion.
Date: January 19, 1999
Creator: Thompson, Stephen J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

Description: The United States recognizes the independence of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and has fostered these states to end their dependence on Russia for trade. Gives an insight to the three countries and the relation to the United States and how they obtained their peace and independence and the aid from the United States.
Date: January 19, 2005
Creator: Nichol, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Arms Control and Nonproliferation Activities: A Catalog of Recent Events

Description: This report contains brief descriptions of the most prominent arms control and nonproliferation efforts in which the United States has participated during recent (2006) years. The entries describe the substance of each arms control effort, the period in which the effort occurred, and the status of the effort at the end of 2004.
Date: January 19, 2006
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Corps of Engineers Water Resource Projects: Authorization and Appropriations

Description: This report provides an overview of the Army Corps of Engineers civil works program. It covers the congressional authorization and appropriation process, the standard project development process, and other Corps activities and authorities. It also includes an Appendix on the evolution of Corps civil works missions and authorities and a description of the limits on the Corps' role in levee accreditation and improvements for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Date: January 19, 2011
Creator: Carter, Nicole T. & Stern, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards

Description: On April 6, 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a final rulemaking for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and light duty trucks beginning with model year (MY) 2008. The rule restructures the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program for light trucks to establish standards based upon vehicle size, as opposed to the current program with one average standard for all light trucks. It marks a significant change to the CAFE program for trucks.
Date: January 19, 2007
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D. & Bamberger, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brownfields Tax Incentive Extension

Description: This report discusses the brownfields tax incentive, which expires on December 31, 2007. Enacted in 1997, the provision allowed a taxpayer to fully deduct the costs of environmental cleanup in the year the costs were incurred, rather than spreading the costs over a period of years.
Date: January 19, 2007
Creator: Reisch, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Committee Responses to Reconciliation Directives

Description: This report examines the timing of certain stages of the budget reconciliation process and the extent to which the submission due date included in a reconciliation instruction is a predictor for the timing of committee response. Specifically, it provides information on the dates by which committees have been directed to respond to reconciliation directives and the timing of House and Senate committees in responding to such directives in the past 14 Congresses (101st-114th Congresses).
Date: January 19, 2016
Creator: Lynch, Megan S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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CFTC Reauthorization in 2005

Description: This report provides brief summaries of the issues in the 2005 reauthorization legislation, including (1) the market in security futures, or futures contracts based on single stocks, which were authorized by the CFMA, but trade in much lower volumes than their proponents had hoped, (2) regulation of energy derivatives markets, where some see excessive price volatility and a lack of effective regulation, and (3) the legality of futures-like contracts based on foreign currency prices offered to r… more
Date: January 19, 2005
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress such as: Arctic sovereignty claims; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic that could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
Date: January 19, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Colombia: Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides information about the issues fro congress in Colombia.U.S policy in Colombia remains controversial.The focus of U.S policy toward Colombia has been to curb narcotic production.
Date: January 19, 2005
Creator: Veillette, Connie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congo (formerly Zaire)

Description: This report discusses the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, which is a vast-resource-rich country of 48 million people. Events there affect much of sub-Saharan Africa. In August 1998, Congo was plunged into its second civil war in 2 years. A peace accord was concluded in Lusaka, Zambia, in July and August 1999, and the U.N. Security Council later agreed to send a 5,500-member observer force, MONUC, to assist in the peace process. Fewer than 250 observers have gone to Congo, due … more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Copson, Raymond W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congress and the Budget: 2016 Actions and Events

Description: This report seeks to assist in (1) anticipating what federal budget-related actions might occur within the year 2016, and (2) staying abreast of budget actions that occur this year. It provides a general description of the recurrent types of budgetary actions, and reflects on current events that unfold in each category during 2016. In addition, it includes information on certain events that may affect Congress's work on the budget, such as the President's budget request and the Congressional Bu… more
Date: January 19, 2016
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Lynch, Megan S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Constitutional Analysis of Suspicionless Drug Testing Requirements for the Receipt of Governmental Benefits

Description: This report gives an overview of the issues related to federal or state laws that condition the initial or ongoing receipt of governmental benefits on passing drug tests. These regulations are vulnerable to constitutional challenge, most often due to issues of personal privacy and Fourth Amendment protections against "unreasonable searches."
Date: January 19, 2012
Creator: Carpenter, David H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cuban Migration Policy and Issues

Description: Many of the issues surrounding Cuban migration are unique but not new. Normal immigration from Cuba has been elusive since Fidel Castro came to power. Over the past 40 years, the practice of Cubans fleeing by boat to the United States has become commonplace, and at some points reached the levels of a mass exodus. Since the last upsurge of “boat people” in the mid-1990s, the United States and Cuba worked toward establishing safe, legal immigration, which include returning migrants interdicted by… more
Date: January 19, 2006
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Department of Defense's Use of Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background, Analysis, and Options for Congress

Description: This report examines current private security contractor (PSC) trends in Iraq and Afghanistan, steps Department of Defense (DOD) has taken to improve oversight and management, and the extent to which DOD has incorporated the role of security contractors into its doctrine and strategy. It also reviews steps Congress has taken to exercise oversight over the use of PSCs and includes options for Congress.
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Department of Homeland Security Grants to State and Local Governments: FY2003 to FY2006

Description: This report provides information about the Department of Homeland Security Grants to State and Local Governments in between FY2003 to FY2006. This report also analyzes federal grants to state and local governments that are administered by DHS.
Date: January 19, 2007
Creator: Maguire, Steven & Reese, Shawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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