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Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

Description: This report examines debates regarding what constitutes an "unfunded federal mandate" and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995's (UMRA) implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate… more
Date: December 12, 2013
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

Description: This report provides background information on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory activity during the Obama Administration to help address these issues. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of the rule (including identification of related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates… more
Date: December 12, 2013
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2014

Description: This report provides government-wide, multi-agency, and individual agency analyses of the President's FY2014 request as it relates to R&D and related activities. The President's budget seeks $142.773 billion for R&D in FY2014, a 1.3% increase (0.7% CAGR) over the actual FY2012 R&D funding level of $140.912 billion. Adjusted for inflation, the President's FY2014 R&D request represents a decrease of 2.6% from the FY2012 level (1.3% CAGR).
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Background and Policy Issues

Description: This report provides background information on the organization, practice, and funding of U.S. diplomatic security efforts. It also provides summary information on the September 11, 2012, attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, as well as on the subsequent Accountability Review Board.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Tiersky, Alex & Epstein, Susan B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changing the Federal Reserve's Mandate: An Economic Analysis

Description: This report discusses a number of implementation issues surrounding an inflation target. These include what rate of inflation to target, what inflation measure to use, whether to set a point target or range, and what penalties to impose if a target is missed.
Date: August 12, 2013
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Justice: Courts-Martial, an Overview

Description: This report gives a detailed overview of the military court-martial system, including a discussion of the three types of court-martials: summary, special, and general. It includes a chart showing procedural safeguards in federal and military courts.
Date: August 12, 2013
Creator: Mason, R. Chuck
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Syria's Chemical Weapons: Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides a brief history of the chemical weapons program in Syria. It discusses policy issues, latest development regarding the current chemical weapons program.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Nikitin, Mary Beth D.; Kerr, Paul K. & Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Legislative and Executive Branch Initiatives

Description: This report briefly summarizes and tracks congressional and State Department actions in response to the attack on U. S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, and will be updated as necessary to reflect further developments and actions on ongoing policy proposals.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Tiersky, Alex
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Loss of Federal Pensions for Members of Congress Convicted of Certain Offenses

Description: This report discusses the current law with respect to the loss of the federal pension of a Member of Congress for the conviction of certain crimes and the recent law to limit a former Member's receiving service credit toward a federal pension for any time served as a Member of Congress if that person is convicted of any one of a number of criminal offenses involving abuse of the public trust.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Maskell, Jack
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Support Enforcement: Program Basics

Description: This report discusses the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program that was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act) to help strengthen families by securing financial support for children from their noncustodial parent on a consistent and continuing basis and by helping some families to remain self-sufficient and off public assistance by providing the requisite CSE services.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments

Description: This report discusses the strategic significance of Guam for defense buildup and the force relocation and deployments from the U.S. mainland. It also discusses the concerns and issues for Congress, such as allies and partner, China, and legislation.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China's Political Institutions and Leaders in Charts

Description: This report provides a snapshot of China's leading political institutions and current leaders in the form of nine organization charts and three tables. This chart-based report is intended to assist Members and their staffs seeking to understand where political institutions and individuals fit within the broader Chinese political system and to identify which Chinese officials are responsible for specific portfolios.
Date: November 12, 2013
Creator: Lawrence, Susan V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI): Budget Authority and Request, FY2010-FY2014

Description: This report discusses the financial assistance for global climate change initiatives in developing countries. The Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) -- one of the three main pillars to the 2010 directive -- aims to integrate climate change considerations into relevant foreign assistance, from FY2008 enacted funding request for FY2010 through the FY2014.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Current Debates over Exchange Rates: Overview and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides information on current debates over exchange rates in the global economy. It offers an overview of how exchange rates work; analyzes specific disagreements and debates; and examines existing frameworks for potentially addressing currency disputes. It also lays out some policy options available to Congress, should Members want to take action on exchange rate issues.
Date: November 12, 2013
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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