Search Results

open access

Can the President Pardon Contempt of Court? Probably Yes.

Description: This report provides a brief background of contempt of court, explores the various arguments regarding whether a pardon can relieve an individual of criminal liability for contempt, and discusses potential congressional responses to the perceived abuse of the pardon power.
Date: August 10, 2018
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Glider Kit, Engine, and Vehicle Regulations

Description: This report examines EPA's and selected other federal agencies' requirements on glider kits and glider vehicles and outlines the congressional response.
Date: August 10, 2018
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K. & Lowry, Sean
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Military Child Development Program: Background and Issues

Description: This report traces the development of DOD-sponsored childcare services and discusses these issues in greater depth in order to support Members of Congress in their oversight role. The next section gives an overview of DOD's justification for the CDP program and demand for services. Next is a discussion of current CDP components, policies, and funding. This is followed by the legislative history of DOD-sponsored childcare in the military. The final section discusses issues and options for Congre… more
Date: August 10, 2018
Creator: Kamarck, Kristy N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

Description: This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules.
Date: August 10, 2018
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

Description: This report consists of a list of about 200 congressional liaison offices intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Date: August 10, 2017
Creator: Crane-Hirsch, Audrey Celeste
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: Fiscal Year 2017

Description: This report discusses the FY2017 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The report makes note of many budgetary resources provided to DHS, but its primary focus is on funding approved by Congress through the appropriations process. It includes an Appendix with definitions of key budget terms used throughout the suite of Congressional Research Service reports on homeland security appropriations. It also directs the reader to other reports providing context for and addition… more
Date: August 10, 2017
Creator: Painter, William L. & Schwemle, Barbara L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Open Skies Treaty: Issues in the Current Debate

Description: This report discuses the Open Skies Treaty that was signed in 1992 and began operation in 2002 between 34 countries in Europe and North America including the U.S. It allows member countries to fly unarmed observation flights with cameras and video capabilities within certain parameters in other member countries territory without air-space restrictions over military installations and activities to increase transparency and help prevent accidental war. Recent noncompliance by Russia in certain ar… more
Date: August 10, 2017
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Rising Costs and Delays Doom New Nuclear Reactors in South Carolina

Description: This report discusses the cancellation of building two new nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsonville, South Carolina due to budget shortfalls, the bankruptcy of the construction company Westinghouse, delays, and rising costs.
Date: August 10, 2017
Creator: Holt, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Small Business Administration HUBZone Program

Description: This report discusses the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Empowerment Contracting (HUBZone), program and examines arguments both for and against targeting assistance to geographic areas with specified characteristics as opposed to providing assistance to people or businesses with specified characteristics. It then assesses the arguments both for and against the continuation of the HUBZone program. The report also discusses the HUBZone program's structure and operation, focusing on the … more
Date: August 10, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA Review of American Samoa 2016 Section 303(d) List

Description: Review document describing the rationale for the Environmental Protection Agencies' approval of American Samoa's 2016 Section 303(d) water quality limited waters list.
Date: August 10, 2016
Creator: United States. Environmental Protection Agency.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

House Committee Hearings: Witness Testimony

Description: This report briefly discusses the witness testimony process in House of Representatives committee hearings. Witnesses before House committees must generally file advance copies of their written testimony with the committee and then limit their oral testimony to brief summaries (Rule XI, clause 2(g)(5)). A question-and-answer period usually follows a witness's opening statement. Following hearings, committees usually publish the transcripts of witness testimony and questioning.
Date: August 10, 2015
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Medicare Financial Status: In Brief

Description: This report provides an overview on Medicare, discussing its various components and sources of funding. The report also examines projections for spending within the program.
Date: August 10, 2015
Creator: Davis, Patricia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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 10, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Types of Committee Hearings

Description: This report describes the four types of congressional committee hearings: legislative, oversight, investigative, and confirmation. Hearings may be held on Capitol Hill or elsewhere (e.g., a committee member's district or state, or a site related to the subject of the hearing). These latter hearings are often referred to as field hearings.
Date: August 10, 2015
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

501(c)(4)s and the Gift Tax: Legal Analysis

Description: This report discusses whether substantial donations to tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations are subject to the federal gift tax.
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: Luckey, John R. & Lunder, Erika K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Financial Problems

Description: This report presents, in analytical question and answer form, the issues surrounding the financial conditions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are stockholder-owned government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Their federal charters give the GSEs special public policy goals aimed at providing liquidity in the mortgage market and to provide access to homeownership for underserved groups and locations. In return, their charters give the GSEs a special relationship with the government.
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: Weiss, N. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Communications Commission: Regulatory Fee Process Needs to Be Updated

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assesses regulatory fees among industry sectors and fee categories based on obsolete data, with limited transparency. The Communications Act requires FCC to base its regulatory fees on the number of full-time equivalents (FTE) that perform regulatory tasks in certain bureaus, among other things. FCC based its fiscal year 2011 regulatory fee assessments on its … more
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Protective Service: Actions Needed to Assess Risk and Better Manage Contract Guards at Federal Facilities

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Protective Service (FPS) is not assessing risks at federal facilities in a manner consistent with standards such as the National Infrastructure Protection Plan’s (NIPP) risk management framework, as FPS originally planned. Instead of conducting risk assessments, since September 2011, FPS’s inspectors have collected information, such as the location, pu… more
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Major Fiscal Issues Before Congress in FY2013

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the major tax and spending policy changes set to take effect under current law at the end of 2012 or early in 2013. Collectively, these policies have been referred to by some as the "fiscal cliff". Extending current revenue policies and changing current spending policies would increase the projected budget deficit relative to current law.
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: Levit, Mindy R.; Sherlock, Molly F.; Hahn, Jim; Mulvey, Janemarie & Whittaker, Julie M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Social Services Block Grant: Background and Funding

Description: The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is a flexible source of funds that states may use to support a wide variety of social services activities. States have broad discretion over the use of these funds. This short report provides background information on the SSBG and tracks relevant legislation and appropriations measures.
Date: August 10, 2011
Creator: Lynch, Karen E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen