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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, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The report is written in response to the Coast Guard's budget request for a new polar ice breaker (none are currently in operation).
Date: August 4, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S.-EU Cooperation on Ukraine and Russia

Description: This report examines the U.S. and EU reactions to the crisis in Ukraine, focusing on the EU's hesitation to issue severe sanctions on par with the U.S. prior to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. The report discusses the EU's new, wider-ranging sanctions in the wake of MH17 and its implications on U.S.-EU relations.
Date: August 7, 2014
Creator: Archick, Kristin & Mix, Derek E.
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: August 4, 2014
Creator: Meyerson, Noah P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: International and U.S. Responses

Description: This report discusses the Ebola virus disease (Ebola or EVD), which is a severe, often fatal disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976.
Date: August 26, 2014
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Export-Import Bank Reauthorization: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report addresses frequently asked questions about Ex-Im Bank, grouped in the following categories: congressional interest and the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization debate; market context; international context; organizational structure and management; programs; statutory requirements and policies; risk management; budget and appropriations; implications of a sunset in authority; and historical and current approaches to reauthorization.
Date: August 1, 2014
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias; Carpenter, David H.; Levit, Mindy R. & Taylor, Julia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Member Organizations: Their Purpose and Activities, History, and Formation

Description: This report examines the purpose and activities of Committee on House Administration as congressional Member organizations (CMO) and the reasons Members form them. It also identifies and describes seven CMO types, and it provides an overview of the historical development of informal Member organizations since the first Congress, focusing on their regulation in the House by the Committee on House Oversight/Committee on House Administration, the rise and fall of legislative service organizations … more
Date: August 14, 2014
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Glassman, Matthew Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Spectrum Policy: Provisions in the 2012 Spectrum Act

Description: This report discusses the Spectrum Act, a provision of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It includes an overview of the Spectrum Act, the specific policy revisions (deficit reduction, directed auctions, incentive auctions, federal spectrum use and reallocation, and unlicensed spectrum) and a conclusion discussing geographic coverage of spectrum licenses, spectrum caps, and planning for future needs.
Date: August 7, 2014
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "Militarization" of Law Enforcement and the Department of Defense's "1033 Program"

Description: This report gives an overview of the history of Special Weapons and Tactics teams, which are estimated to be deployed 45,000 times each year in the U.S. The report also discusses the "1033 Program" which authorizes federal and state law enforcement agencies to receive excess materials from Department of Defense stocks for use in counter-drug or counter-terrorism activities.
Date: August 20, 2014
Creator: James, Nathan & Else, Daniel H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy LX(R) Amphibious Ship Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the LX(R) amphibious ship program, a Navy program to build a new class of 11 amphibious ships.
Date: August 1, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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: August 26, 2014
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities--Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on the potential implications of China's naval modernization for future required U.S. Navy capabilities. The report particularly discusses how potential United States responses to China's military modernization effort -- including its naval modernization effort -- have emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning.
Date: August 5, 2014
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 provides background information and presents potential 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: August 1, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Domestic Terrorism Appears to Be Reemerging as a Priority at the Department of Justice

Description: This document examines an apparent shift in priorities at the Department of Justice (DOJ) towards a renewed focus on domestic terrorism with the reestablishment of its Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee, which had been defunct for several years. The report considers why the shift in focus may be occurring and also briefly examines different types of domestic terror threats.
Date: August 15, 2014
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Evolution of Strategic Review

Description: The quadrennial homeland security review is a process in which DHS examines the nation's homeland security strategy; the report provides an explanation of this process. Neither the review process nor the report to Congress is a strategy, instead the 2014 QHSR (both the process and report) are part of the constant reevaluation of the nation's homeland security and part of the process by which the combined National and Homeland Security Staff develops the next iteration of the national security s… more
Date: August 6, 2014
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Military Commissions Act of 2009 (MCA 2009): Overview and Legal Issues

Description: This report provides a background and analysis comparing military commissions as envisioned under the revised Military Commission ACT (MCA) to those established by the MCA 2006. The report provides an overview of the procedural safeguards provided in the MCA. Finally, the report provides two charts comparing the MCA as amended by the MCA 2009 to the original MCA enacted in 2006 and to general courts-martial.
Date: August 4, 2014
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Juvenile Victims of Domestic Sex Trafficking: Juvenile Justice Issues

Description: This report examines juvenile victims of sex trafficking and their intersection with states' juvenile justice systems throughout the United States. It outlines the federal conceptualization of minors involved in commercial sexual activities and discusses factors that may contribute to the treatment of sex trafficking victims as perpetrators. It also outlines various criminal justice policy options and approaches to victim-centered policing.
Date: August 5, 2014
Creator: Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress

Description: This report presents policy and oversight issues for Congress arising from maritime territorial disputes involving China in the South China Sea (SCS), East China Sea (ECS), and an additional dispute over whether China has a right under international law to regulate U.S. and other foreign military activities in its maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Date: August 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Social Security: Trust Fund Investment Practices

Description: This report describes Social Security trust fund investment practices under current law.
Date: August 20, 2014
Creator: Nuschler, Dawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Organization of American States: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report covers the background of the Organization of American States (OAS). It discusses the importance of U.S. participation in this organization in order to exert authority and shape outcomes in the Western Hemisphere.
Date: August 29, 2014
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Debate

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate regarding the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a federal government corporation which is the the official export credit agency (ECA) of the U.S. Government. The bank's statutory charter expires on September 30, 2014, meaning that its authority to obligations generally would cease and a wind-down of operations would be required. The report gives four possible scenarios for approaches Congress could take in regards to approaching the bank's future … more
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Policies and Issues on Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion

Description: This report discusses the criteria that foreign nationals must meet before admission to the United States, specifically examining the health-related grounds for exclusion. It provides this information in the context of recent outbreaks of communicable diseases abroad such as Ebola in West Africa, avian influenza in China, polio in the middle east, and dengue fever in the Caribbean.
Date: August 13, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990

Description: This report, updated through the 113th Congress, discusses U.S. security assistance to Taiwan (calling itself Republic of China (ROC)), including policy issues for Congress and legislation.
Date: August 29, 2014
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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