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Expedited Procedures Governing Senate Consideration of Legislation Waiving a Restriction Related to the Military Service of the Secretary of Defense

Description: This report discusses the Section 179 of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 114-254), which establishes expedited or "fast track" parliamentary procedures governing Senate consideration of legislation that would waive a legal restriction related to the prior military service of the Secretary of Defense.
Date: December 27, 2016
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: December 27, 2016
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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DHS Appropriations FY2017: Security, Enforcement, and Investigations

Description: This report is part of a suite of reports that discuss appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2017. It specifically discusses appropriations for the components of DHS included in the second title of the homeland security appropriations bill-- Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Secret Service. Collectively, Congress has labeled these components in recent yea… more
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Painter, William L.; Argueta, Carla N.; Elias, Bart; Frittelli, John & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Advisory Committees: An Introduction and Overview

Description: This report offers a history of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), examines its current requirements, and provides data on federal advisory committees' operations and costs.
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy & Burga, Casey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: Calculation and History of Taxing Benefits

Description: This report discusses the calculations that go into taxing Social Security benefits, which prior to 1984 were exempt from taxation but have since been taxed at gradually increasing levels.
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Liou, Wayne & Whittaker, Julie M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments

Description: This report discusses the issues surrounding Social Security recipients that usually receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M. & Liou, Wayne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Treatment of Noncitizens Under the Affordable Care Act

Description: This report provides information regarding the treatment of noncitizens under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) including definitions of "lawfully present," the health insurance mandate, exchanges, and ACA changes to Medicaid. It also discusses the verification of alien status under the ACA and related legislation in the 113th Congress.
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

Description: This report provides an overview of the situation in Ukraine. Following the February 2014 collapse of the Kremlin-supported government of President Viktor Yanukovych, there was an emergence of a pro-Western, pro-reform government and an energized public generally anxious to lessen Moscow's influence, committed to addressing the need for serious reform and determined to draw closer to Europe and the United States.
Date: October 27, 2016
Creator: Morelli, Vincent L.
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: October 27, 2016
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Security Cooperation and the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Description: This report discusses provisions in the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that have elevated ongoing debates over U.S. security sector assistance to foreign countries--and raised questions over whether the policy architecture is suited to meet current and emerging requirements.
Date: July 27, 2016
Creator: Rosen, Liana W.; Serafino, Nina M.; McInnis, Kathleen J. & Skorupski, Bolko J.
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: June 27, 2016
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Relief for Disaster-Damaged Roads and Transit Systems: In Brief

Description: This report describes Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) assistance for the repair and reconstruction of highways and bridges damaged by disasters (such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012) or catastrophic failures (such as the collapse of the Skagit River Bridge in Washington State in 2013). It begins with a brief discussion of the legislative origins of federal assistance, and then addresses eligibility issues and program operation.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Kirk, Robert S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives

Description: This report discusses the processes of expulsion and censure in the House of Representatives. The House is expressly authorized within the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 5, clause 2) to discipline or "punish" its own Members. It is designed as a measure to protect the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, its proceedings and its reputation.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Maskell, Jack
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran's Foreign Policy

Description: This report provides an overview of Iran's foreign policy, which has been a subject of numerous congressional hearings and of sanctions and other legislation for many years. The report analyzes Iranian foreign policy as a whole and by region.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Islamic State and U.S. Policy

Description: This report provides background on the Islamic State organization, discusses its goals, operations, and affiliates, reviews U.S. legislative and policy debates, and describes select FY2017 legislative proposals.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M. & Humud, Carla E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Midnight Rules: Congressional Oversight and Options

Description: This report discusses "midnight rulemaking," referring to the phenomenon during the final months of recent presidential administrations when federal agencies have typically issued a larger number of rules relative to comparable time periods earlier in the administration. It likely occurs because the outgoing presidential administration wants to achieve certain policy goals before the end of its term.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Carey, Maeve P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Policy

Description: This report provides background information on the Zika virus, discusses challenges faced by governments and implementing partners in the Latin America and Caribbean region that are attempting to control the ongoing outbreak, and analyzes these above issues in the context of the U.S. Zika response.
Date: June 27, 2016
Creator: Platzer, Michaela D. & Sargent, John F., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). These 91 planned cutters are intended as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters and patrol craft. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2017 budget requests a total of $467 million in acquisition funding for the three programs.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2017 budget requests $150 million in acquisition funding for a new polar icebreaker that the Coast Guard wants to begin building in FY2020. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration's FY2017 acquisition funding request for a new polar icebreaker, and, more generally, whether to … more
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intellectual Property Rights Violations: Federal Civil Remedies and Criminal Penalties Related to Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, and Trade Secrets

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting (BBC), which are special contracting mechanisms that Congress permits the Department of Defense (DOD) to use for a limited number of defense acquisition programs.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Multiyear Procurement (MYP) and Block Buy Contracting in Defense Acquisition: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting (BBC), which are special contracting mechanisms that Congress permits the Department of Defense (DOD) to use for a limited number of defense acquisition programs.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald & Schwartz, Moshe
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report presents background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Navy's Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer programs. The Navy's proposed FY2017 budget requests funding for the procurement of two DDG-51s.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report presents background information and issues for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy's shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. The Navy's proposed FY2017 budget requests a total of $2,662.6 million in procurement and advance procurement (AP) funding for CVN-79 and CVN-80, the second and third ships in the program.
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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