Search Results

open access

FEMA's Firefighter Assistance Grants: Reauthorization or Sunset?

Description: This report discuses FEMA's (Federal Emergency Management Agency's) Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program (SAFER) and the reauthorization process in Congress. Unless legislation is passed by both the House and Senate by January 8, 2018, sunset provisions will come into effect for the programs.
Date: December 5, 2017
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

What Happens if the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Lapses

Description: This report provides a short overview of what would happen if the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) were not to be reauthorized by December 8, 2017, and was allowed to lapse.
Date: December 5, 2017
Creator: Horn, Diane P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Child and Dependent Care Credit: Impact of Selected Policy Options

Description: This report first briefly summarizes key components of the child and dependent care tax credit (CDCTC), including reviewing eligibility requirements and how the credit is calculated. It also provides an overview of some characteristics of recipients and analyzes four potential selected policy changes: (1) making the current credit refundable, (2) converting the credit to a deduction, (3) increasing the credit rate, and (4) increasing the amount of qualifying expenses.
Date: December 5, 2017
Creator: Crandall-Hollick, Margot L. & Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Small Business Afministration 504/CDC Loan Guaranty Program

Description: This report examines the rationale provided for the Small Business Administration's 504/CDC program, its borrower and lender eligibility standards, operating requirements, and performance statistics, including loan volume, loss rates, proceeds usage, borrower satisfaction, and borrower demographics. This report also discusses congressional action taken to help small businesses gain greater access to capital, including enactment of P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (… more
Date: December 5, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress

Description: This report outlines the Congressional retirement plans available -- depending on when a Member first started serving and their length of service -- and describes the major parts of the retirement plans and their benefits.
Date: December 5, 2017
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects

Description: This report discusses the causes of funding gaps and shutdowns of the federal government, processes that are associated with shutdowns, and how agency operations may be affected by shutdowns. The report concludes with a discussion of potential issues for Congress.
Date: May 5, 2017
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.; Glassman, Matthew E.; Keegan, Natalie; McMillion, Barry J.; Rollins, John W. & Yeh, Brian T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Review of Offshore Energy Leasing: President Trump's Executive Order

Description: This report discusses President Trump's executive order (E.O.) on U.S. offshore energy strategy including a brief overview of previous policies and the scope of the E.O.
Date: May 5, 2017
Creator: Comay, Laura B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

No "Bivens" for You?

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in "Ziglar v. Abbassi" and the "Bivens" remedy that the plaintiffs were attempting to use to win their case. The "Bivens" remedy is a legal precedent that came from a 1971 case where the plaintiff Bivens sued federal agents with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for violations of the fourth amendment due to them handcuffing him inside his own home without a warrant. It has been used two other times for suits against federal officials related to bre… more
Date: July 5, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Meaning of "Made in U.S.A."

Description: This report discusses the provisions in federal law are intended to support manufacturing in the United States. On April 18, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to ensure that federal grants and procurement maximize the use of manufactured goods produced in the United States, although it defined "produced in the United States" only for iron and steel products.
Date: May 5, 2017
Creator: Levinson, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Issues in Autonomous Vehicle Deployment

Description: This report discusses issues related to autonomous vehicle regulations on the federal and state level and proposals by Congress to establish new regulatory rules (H.R. 3388) that would create a federal standard for autonomous vehicles and require state law to be in agreement with the federal law.
Date: September 5, 2017
Creator: Canis, Bill
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Iran's Presidential Elections

Description: This report analyzes Iran's 2009 presidential election, particularly the campaigns of reformist candidate Mir Hussein Musavi and incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It also describes the Obama Administration's reaction to the election results and briefly discusses the current relationship between the U.S. and Iran, as well as U.S. concerns regarding Iran, such as Iran's efforts at building a nuclear weapons program.
Date: May 5, 2017
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Retirement Benefits for Federal Law Enforcement Personnel

Description: This report discusses federal law enforcement officers enhanced retirement benefits due to mandatory retirement ages making these employees retire younger than the average government employee. Many individuals and employee groups who work in law enforcement-related positions, but who have not qualified as law enforcement officers for retirement purposes, have sought enhanced benefits through legislation in recent Congresses. Possible pros and cons of such legislation are discussed.
Date: September 5, 2017
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Job Creation in the Manufacturing Revival

Description: This report examines the current status of the manufacturing sector in the U.S., which is a subject of ongoing interest in Congress. After rebounding from the 2007-09 recession, U.S. manufacturing output has grown little since the second half of 2014 while employment in the U.S. sector has been flat. These trends defy expectations that forces such as higher labor costs, heightened concern about the risk of disruptions to complex supply chains, and the development of inexpensive domestic supplie… more
Date: May 5, 2017
Creator: Levinson, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Winter Fuels Outlook 2017-2018

Description: This report discuses the 2017-2018 Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook (STEWFO) report issued by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Date: December 5, 2017
Creator: Pirog, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding

Description: This report discusses the Small Business Administration (SBA) and their various programs along with various programmatic changes resulting from the enactment of P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, P.L. 114-88, the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 (RISE A… more
Date: June 5, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Lowry, Sean
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

Description: This report discusses the federal government's Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program to assist local fire and rescue organizations with needs such as equipment and training and upcoming consideration of its reauthorization along with funding levels for fiscal year 2018.
Date: October 5, 2017
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Wildfire Suppression Spending: Background, Issues, and Legislation in the 115th Congress

Description: This report provides background information and analysis of federal funding for wildfire suppression operations on federal lands or for fires that began on federal land. The report provides a discussion of the issues facing Congress and concludes by summarizing several legislative proposals under consideration by the 115th Congress.
Date: October 5, 2017
Creator: Hoover, Katie & Lindsay, Bruce R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the fiscal year 2017 appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and related agencies. Comparisons between previous and current funding levels and cuts proposed by the Trump Administration are also discussed.
Date: April 5, 2017
Creator: McCarty, Maggie & Peterman, David Randall
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Options to Cease Implementing the Iran Nuclear Agreement

Description: This report analyzes some of the options the Trump Administration might use to end or alter U.S. implementation of the Iran Nuclear Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), if there is a decision to do so. These options, which might involve use of procedures in the JCPOA itself or the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (P.L. 114-17), are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some potential implications of Administration decisions on the JCPOA are analyzed as well.
Date: October 5, 2017
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth; Kerr, Paul K. & Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program

Description: This report discusses federal grants to fire departments and firefighters under the SAFER Act and its reauthorizations and considerations for authorizing the program again in fiscal year 2018 and beyond.
Date: October 5, 2017
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The President's Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Request for the Department of Energy

Description: This report discusses President's Trump's 2018 fiscal year budget request for the Department of Energy. The FY2018 request is $28.0 billion which is $2.7 billion (8.8%) less than the FY2017 enacted appropriations of $30.7 billion. While this request would reduce the total budget for DOE, it would increase overall funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and increase funding for cleanup programs within the Office of Environmental Management. The request would reduce fundin… more
Date: June 5, 2017
Creator: Clark, Corrie E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Alien Registration Requirements: Obama Administration Removes Certain Regulations, but Underlying Statutory Authority Remains

Description: This report briefly surveys the legal authorities that underlay the implementation of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), as well as the authorities that remain available to the Executive notwithstanding the recent rule change by President Obama on December 23, 2016 which removed the regulations for the system.
Date: January 5, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Attack on U.S. Soldiers in Niger: Context and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses an attack on U.S. Special Operation Forces assisting local military forces in Niger in counterterrorism efforts which killed four U.S. military personnel and wounded two as well as killing several Niger military personnel. The U.S. response to the attack, the growing threat of Islamic extremism and terrorism in the Sahel of Africa, and terrorism and political and social instability in Niger are also discussed.
Date: October 5, 2017
Creator: Arieff, Alexis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen