Search Results

open access

Psychology and Global Climate Change: addressing a mutifaceted phenomenon and set of challenges

Description: This report examines the role of the field of psychology in understanding and dealing with global climate change. The report explores the psychological drivers for contributing to climate change and the psychological barriers to action in response to the threat of climate change. The report makes policy recommendations based on its findings.
Date: March 2010
Creator: American Psychological Association. Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress

Description: Asian Pacific Americans have served in both houses of Congress representing California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Oregon, Virginia, American Samoa, and Guam. They have served in leadership positions, including committee and subcommittee chairmanships. This report presents information on Senators, Representatives, and Delegates, including party affiliations, length and dates of service, and committee assignments.
Date: February 1, 2010
Creator: Tong, Lorraine H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

Description: This report briefly discusses the Small Business Innovation Development Act (P.L. 97-219), which in 1982 established Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs designed to increase participation of small innovative companies in federally funded research and development (R&D). The report also discusses the program's extensions and reauthorization activity over the years.
Date: August 4, 2010
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Azerbaijan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

Description: This report discusses political, economic, and security challenges facing Azerbaijan, including the unsettled conflict in the breakaway Nagorno Karabakh region. A table provides basic facts and biographical information. Related products include CRS Report RL33453, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests, by Jim Nichol.
Date: June 3, 2010
Creator: Nichol, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Turkmenistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

Description: This report examines the political, economic, and foreign policies undertaken by Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who came to power in late 2006. The report discusses U.S. policy and assistance and provides basic facts and biographical information. It may be updated. Related products include CRS Report RL33458, Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests.
Date: August 13, 2010
Creator: Nichol, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and Bahrain's relationship with the United States.
Date: September 29, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Extraterritorial Application of American Criminal Law

Description: Crime is ordinarily proscribed, tried, and punished according to the laws of the place where it occurs. American criminal law applies beyond the geographical confines of the United States, however, under certain limited circumstances. A surprising number of federal criminal statutes have extraterritorial application, but prosecutions have been few. This may be because when extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction does exist, practical and legal complications, and sometimes diplomatic consideratio… more
Date: March 26, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Abortion Services and Military Medical Facilities

Description: The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the law as well as other related legislative and administrative actions.
Date: July 8, 2010
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969

Description: Under the terms of the Federal Employees' Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-509), pay for civilian federal employees is adjusted each year to keep the salaries of federal workers competitive with comparable occupations in the private sector. The annual increases in federal employee pay are based on changes in the cash compensation paid to workers in the private sector, as measured by the ECI. Under certain circumstances, the President may limit the annual increase in federal pay by execut… more
Date: January 20, 2010
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and Bahrain's relationship with the United States.
Date: April 26, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Uganda: Current Conditions and the Crisis in North Uganda

Description: This report discusses the current political conditions of Uganda, which have long been ravaged by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), an armed rebel group backed by the government of Sudan. In particular, the report focuses on largely unsuccessful Ugandan efforts to resolve the conflict with the LRA, as well as talks with the U.S. under the Bush Administration and the recent suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, in July 2010.
Date: October 6, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Administrative Issues Related to a Change in Majority in the House of Representatives

Description: This report briefly describes how a change in majority leadership in the House of Representatives -- such as the incoming new majority that will assume control of House operations at the beginning of the 112th Congress in January 2011 -- could affect House rules, committees, and administrative and legislative operations.
Date: November 3, 2010
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric; Manning, Jennifer E. & Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Specialty Metal Provision and the Berry Amendment: Issues for Congress

Description: In order to protect the U.S. industrial base during periods of adversity and war, Congress passed a set of domestic source restrictions which became known as the Berry Amendment. Specialty metal represented one of fourteen items previously covered under the Berry Amendment. Congress took action in the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act to move the specialty metal provision from the Berry Amendmgent into a separate section of Title 10. This report examines the specialty metal provision, p… more
Date: October 5, 2010
Creator: Grasso, Valerie Bailey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Procedures for Contested Election Cases in the House of Representatives

Description: Under the U.S. Constitution, each House of Congress has the express authority to be the judge of the "elections and returns" of its own Members. Although initial challenges and recounts for the House are conducted at the state level, under the state's authority to administer federal elections, continuing contests may be presented to the House, which, as the final arbiter, may make a conclusive determination of a claim to the seat. This report describes these procedures.
Date: November 4, 2010
Creator: Maskell, Jack & Whitaker, L. Paige
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Coast Guard Deepwater Acquisition Programs: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: The term Deepwater refers to a collection of more than a dozen Coast Guard acquisition programs for replacing and modernizing the service's aging fleet of deepwater-capable ships and aircraft. Currently, there are plans to increase and enhance the Coast Guard's fleet through the Deepwater acquisition program. This report details the Coast Guard's budget requests and explains how the Coast Guard has improved its organization and management over the past several years.
Date: October 22, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Roles and Duties of a Member of Congress

Description: This report briefly describes the roles, expectations, and duties of a Member of Congress, namely representation, legislation, and constituent service and education, as well as political and electorcal activities.
Date: November 4, 2010
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Role of Congress in Trade Policy

Description: This report presents background and analysis on the development of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which expired on July 1, 2007. The report also includes a summary of the major provisions under the recently expired authority and a discussion of the issues that have arisen in the debate over TPA renewal. It also explores the policy options available to Congress and will be updated as the congressional debate unfolds.
Date: November 4, 2010
Creator: Hornbeck, J. F. & Cooper, William H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Defense Logistical Support Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan: Issues for Congress

Description: This report will examine logistical support contracts for troop support services (also known as service contracts) in Iraq and Afghanistan, primarily administered through a smaller program, the United States Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP) and a larger program, the United States Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). This report will focus primarily on contracts involving Department of Defense (DOD) appropriated funds, although some projects involve a blending of … more
Date: September 20, 2010
Creator: Grasso, Valerie Bailey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Surface Transportation Funding and Finance

Description: This report discusses changes in funding to the national surface transportation infrastructure, especially in light of the recession that began in 2007, which led to decreases in driving and fuel use. This report focuses on possible revenue sources for surface transportation infrastructure. It begins with a brief discussion of the problems associated with the trust fund financing system and then explores possible immediate and longer-term solutions to the financing problem.
Date: November 10, 2010
Creator: Fischer, John W.; Kirk, Robert S. & Mallett, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Tax Issues and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Legal Analysis of Payments and Tax Relief Policy Options

Description: This report will briefly discuss existing disaster-related tax provisions and their application to the recent Depewater Horizon oil rig explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The report then provides an analysis of the tax treatment of the BP payments to the individuals and businesses impacted by the oil spill as well as various policy options for providing tax relief to oil spill victims, highlighting the circumstantial differences between previous natural disasters and the … more
Date: October 14, 2010
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.; Lunder, Erika K. & Liu, Edward C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Coastal Wetland and Wildlife Impacts and Response

Description: The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, and the resulting oil spill began a cascade of effects on the coastal areas of the Gulf and on the wealth of species that inhabit those areas. This report addresses the importance of wetlands in general, the ecology of the coastal wetlands in the Gulf, impacts of oil spills on wetland habitats, response options, the implications of hurricane season for the spill's impacts, and cleanup and recovery issue… more
Date: October 15, 2010
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Agriculture-Based Biofuels: Overview and Emerging Issues

Description: This report reviews the evolution of the U.S. biofuels sector and the role that federal policy has played in shaping its development. In addition, it highlights emerging issues that are critical to the biofuels sector and of relevance to Congress.
Date: October 14, 2010
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2011 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2011 appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 26 independent agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the United States Postal Service.
Date: October 14, 2010
Creator: Hatch, Garrett
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen