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A Shift in the International Security Environment: Potential Implications for Defense--Issues for Congress

Description: This report briefly describes the shift in the international security environment that some observers believe has occurred, and identifies some defense-related issues for Congress that could arise from it. Congress's decisions on these issues could have significant implications for U.S. defense capabilities and funding requirements.
Date: June 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909, S. 2943)

Description: This report provides selected highlights of the version of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House on May 18, 2016 (H.R. 4909) and the version reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee on the same date (S. 2943). Table 1 provides a summary of amounts recommended for authorization. Table 2 provides a summary of selected congressional budget reductions and restrictions, and Table 3 provides a summary of selected Administration policy and cost-cutting proposa… more
Date: June 8, 2016
Creator: Towell, Pat & Williams, Lynn M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cybersecurity: Critical Infrastructure Authoritative Reports and Resources

Description: This report serves as a starting point for congressional staff assigned to cover cybersecurity issues as they relate to critical infrastructure. Much is written about protecting U.S. critical infrastructure, and this report directs the reader to authoritative sources that address many of the most prominent issues.
Date: March 8, 2016
Creator: Tehan, Rita
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Ohio replacement program (ORP), a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy's current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs.
Date: March 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
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, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Some general issues include Arctic territorial disputes; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic, which could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Advocacy of Terrorism on the Internet: Freedom of Speech Issues and the Material Support Statutes

Description: This report discusses relevant precedent concerning the extent to which advocacy of terrorism may be restricted in a manner consistent with the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech Clause. The report also discusses the potential application of the federal ban on the provision of material support to foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) to the advocacy of terrorism, including as it relates to the dissemination of such advocacy via online services like Twitter or Facebook.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2016 G-20 Summit

Description: This report discusses the 2016 G-20 summit where the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries met in Hangzhou, China.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Description: This report discusses a variety of issues might pose risks to the health, safety, and general well-being of athletes and their families, team personnel, and spectators participating in or attending the 2016 Olympic Games. Chief among these are the Zika virus, public safety threats, security concerns, and environmental conditions. The report also discusses the possible implications of hosting the Olympics for Brazil and the issue of doping.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine & Rollins, John W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute

Description: This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Date: August 8, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Community Programs, Management, and Enduring Issues

Description: This report explains the management structure for the National Intelligence Program (NIP), and Military Intelligence Program (MIP), to include their two separate budget processes and the roles of the Director of National Intelligence and the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence). The concluding section of this report considers the ability of the U.S. government to make the best use of its intelligence-related resources when: (1) total intelligence spending is impossible to calculate; (2) it… more
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Daugherty Miles, Anne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cuba: Issues for the 114th Congress

Description: This report is divided into three major sections analyzing Cuba's political and economic environment, U.S. policy, and selected issues in U.S.-Cuban relations.
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Digital Searches and Seizures: Overview of Proposed Amendments to Rule 41 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the proposed amendment to Rule 41, which would amend the federal search and seizure rules to permit the government to remotely access electronic devices although the location of the device may be unknown. First, the report provides a background on the origin of, and rationale underlying, the proposed amendment and a description of the rule as currently written. Second, it reviews the potential changes made by the proposed amendment and will survey variou… more
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Department of Veterans Affairs FY2017 Appropriations

Description: This report provides and overview of department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and range of benefits and services to veterans. The report discusses VA budget and the President's budget request for FY2017 and congressional action
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Community Spending: Trends and Issues

Description: This report examines Intelligence Community (IC) funding over the past several decades, with an emphasis on the period from 2007-2017--the period in which total national and military intelligence program (NIP and MIP) spending dollars have been publicly disclosed on an annual basis. Intelligence-related spending (such as the Homeland Security Intelligence Program) that does not fall within the NIP and MIP is outside the scope of this report.
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Daugherty Miles, Anne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act

Description: This report examines the changing definition of the phrase, "waters of the United States." The scope of waters that are properly the subject of federal water pollution legislation has been the subject of long-standing consideration by all three branches of the federal government, particularly in the aftermath of the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report examines the current political state of Afghanistan at length, discussing the political background, security policy, and regional relations.
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Burma Holds Peace Conference

Description: This report discusses the Burma Peace conference that could be a step toward ending Burma's six-decade long, low-grade civil war and establishing a process eventually leading to reconciliation and possibly the formation of a democratic federated state.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Martin, Michael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP or Rule) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs

Description: This report describes four programs operated by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and remove criminal and other removable aliens.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Kandel, William A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

Description: This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act's (UMRA's) implementation. It also discusses particular mandates and procedures associated with UMRA, and assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automakers Seek to Align Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Description: This report briefly discusses proposed regulatory changes to revise federal fuel economy and environmental standards and reduce potentially large penalties. The technical proposals would be the first major structural change in these standards since 2012, and they come at a time when federal agencies are undertaking a regulatory review that may result in far greater changes.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Canis, Bill
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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When Does Sovereign Immunity Protect Property Owned by State Sponsors of Terrorism?

Description: This report discusses sovereign states' immunity from suits and attachments by U.S. nationals except under very specific circumstances, as well as legal interpretations and cases involving immunity rules. It particularly describes state-sponsored terrorism and the effect of The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which was proposed to allow U.S. nationals to file civil suits in U.S. courts against foreign nations for aiding and abetting acts of terrorism under a new exception to … more
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
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. Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time.
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Juvenile Justice Funding Trends

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the juvenile justice grant programs and the overall appropriation administered by the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). There is no federal juvenile justice system, however the government uses federal juvenile justice entities and grant programs in order to influence the states' systems. Eligibility for some of these grant programs is tied to certain mandates that the states must adhere to in o… more
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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