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Expiring Unemployment Insurance Provisions

Description: This report discusses several key provisions related to extended federal unemployment benefits that are temporary and, therefore, scheduled to expire. This report describes the consequences of these expirations for the financing and availability of unemployment benefits in states. It also summarizes the last three laws that have extended these expiring provisions: P.L. 112-240, P.L. 112-96, and P.L. 112-78.
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Isaacs, K. P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unemployment Insurance: Consequences of Changes in State Unemployment Compensation Laws

Description: This report analyzes several types of recent changes to state Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs. Three categories of UC state law issues are considered: (1) changes in the duration of state UC unemployment benefits; (2) changes in the UC weekly benefit amount; and (3) the enactment into state law of two trigger options for the Extended Benefit (EB) program.
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Burma's Political Prisoners and U.S. Sanctions

Description: This report discusses the current issues in Burma (Myanmar) in regards to political prisoners and the resulting U.S. sanctions against the nation. It includes an introduction and definitions; information about current estimates of prisoners and prisoner releases; the relation of political prisoners, parliamentary elections and national reconciliation; and U.S. sanctions and U.S. efforts regarding political prisoners, as well as relevant issues for Congress to consider.
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Martin, Michael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Membership of the 113th Congress: A Profile

Description: This report presents a profile of the membership of the 113th Congress (2013-2014). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
Date: October 31, 2013
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action

Description: This report discusses the budget reconciliation process that has been one of the chief tools used by Congress during the period covering from 1980 to the present to implement major changes in budget policy. Following a brief overview of the budget reconciliation process, this report provides information on the timing of House and Senate action on reconciliation measures.
Date: October 24, 2013
Creator: Lynch, Megan S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship, in both the short and long term, and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
Date: October 23, 2013
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Commercial Filming and Photography on Federal Lands

Description: This report discusses the requirements of commercial filming and photography in federal lands, such as national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, ranges, and other landscapes are popular locations for motion pictures and commercial photography
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Comay, Laura B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: What Would Happen If the Trust Funds Ran Out?

Description: This report explains what the Social Security trust funds are and how they work. It describes the historical operations of the trust funds and the Social Security trustees' projections of future operations. It explains what could happen if Congress allowed the trust funds to run out. It also analyzes two scenarios that assume Congress waits until the moment of insolvency to act, showing the magnitude of benefit cuts or tax increases needed and how such changes would affect beneficiaries.
Date: October 21, 2013
Creator: Scott, Christine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities

Description: This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. The government's support of IT R&D began because it had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
Date: October 22, 2013
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues

Description: This report reviews the ongoing programs that will affect the expected size and shape of the U.S. strategic nuclear force structure. It begins with an overview of this force structure during the Cold War, and summarizes the reductions and changes that have occurred since 1991. It then offers details about each category of delivery vehicle--land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and heavy bombers--focusing on their current deployment… more
Date: October 22, 2013
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax-Advantaged Accounts for Health Care Expenses: Side-by-Side Comparison, 2013

Description: This report provides brief summaries of the tax-exempt accounts and compares them with respect to eligibility, contribution limits, use of funds, and other characteristics for tax year 2013. The report concludes with a brief discussion of the usage in these four accounts.
Date: October 18, 2013
Creator: Rapaport, Carol
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy

Description: This report describes the open economy and society of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as U.S. concern over proliferation of advanced technology due to said open economy and the UAE's lax export controls. This report describes these issues in relation to a recently-signed U.S.-UAE civilian nuclear agreement. It also provides a general description of the UAE's government and political structure, as well as the effects of the recent global economic downturn on the UAE in general and on the… more
Date: October 17, 2013
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hydraulic Fracturing: Selected Legal Issues

Description: This report focuses on selected legal issues related to the use of hydraulic fracturing. It examines some of the requirements for hydraulic fracturing contained in major federal environmental laws. It also provides an overview of issues involving state preemption of local zoning authority, as well as state tort law.
Date: October 22, 2013
Creator: Vann, Adam; Murrill, Brandon J. & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress

Description: This report discusses the background of the G-20 (an international forum for discussing and coordinating economic policies) and some of the issues that it has addressed. It includes historic background on the work of the G-20, information about how the group operates, overviews of G-20 summits, major issues that the group is likely to address and the likely effectiveness of the G-20 in the near future. The members of the G-20 include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,… more
Date: October 23, 2013
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Government Shutdown: Operations of the Department of Defense During a Lapse in Appropriations

Description: This report provides an overview of guidelines that have governed planning for Department of Defense (DOD) operations over the last 30 years in the event of a funding lapse. It also discusses the implications of the guidelines for a possible impending shutdown and briefly reviews what is known about current DOD planning for a shutdown.
Date: October 15, 2013
Creator: Belasco, Amy & Towell, Pat
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview

Description: This report provides background information on funding gaps since FY 1977, and it discusses the general practice of the federal government when a funding gap occurs.
Date: October 11, 2013
Creator: Tollestrup, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies: Overview and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses sovereign debt, which is also called public debt or government debt, and refers to debt incurred by governments. The first section provides background information on sovereign debt, including why governments borrow, how sovereign debt differs from private debt, why governments repay their debt (or not), and how sovereign debt is measured. The second section examines the shift of concerns over sovereign debt sustainability from emerging markets in the 1990s and 2000s to adv… more
Date: October 28, 2013
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases

Description: This report discusses how the total debt of the federal government can increase, an historical overview of debt limits, and how the current economic slowdown has led to higher deficits and thereby a series of debt limit increases, as well as legislation related to these increases.
Date: October 15, 2013
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew & Levit, Mindy R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant: An Introduction

Description: This report discusses the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)- block grant that provides grants to states, Indian tribes, and territories for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities that address economic and social disadvantage for families with children.
Date: October 23, 2013
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Oil and Chemical Spills: Federal Emergency Response Framework

Description: This report discusses the statutory authorities of the National Contingency Plan (NCP), and relevant executive orders; outlines the federal emergency response framework of the NCP to coordinate federal, state, and local roles; and identifies the funding mechanisms to carry out a federal response to a discharge of oil or a release of a hazardous substance.
Date: October 10, 2013
Creator: Bearden, David M. & Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "Pay Ratio Provision" in the Dodd-Frank Act: Legislation to Repeal It in the 113th Congress

Description: This report provides insight into the debate over the pay provision, the SEC proposal to implement the provision, and legislation to repeal the provision. It does so by (1) examining the debate over whether public company executives are overpaid; (2) describing the pay ratio provision and the SEC proposals to implement it; (3) examining various responses to the pay ratio provision and the proposal to implement them; (4) describing legislation to repeal the provision; and (5) examining the publi… more
Date: October 28, 2013
Creator: Shorter, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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