Aviation War Risk Insurance: Background and Options for Congress (open access)

Aviation War Risk Insurance: Background and Options for Congress

This report discusses aviation war risk insurance that provides coverage for hostile acts of violence against airlines, such as terrorism, hijackings, and sabotage.
Date: September 5, 2014
Creator: Elias, Bart; Tang, Rachel Y. & Webel, Baird
System: The UNT Digital Library
The War Powers Resolution: After Thirty-Eight Years (open access)

The War Powers Resolution: After Thirty-Eight Years

Report that discusses and assesses the War Powers Resolution and its application since enactment in 1973, providing detailed background on various cases in which it was used, as well as cases in which issues of its applicability were raised.
Date: September 5, 2012
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2004 (open access)

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2004

This report lists hundreds of instances in which the United States has used its armed forces abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes. It was compiled in part from various older lists and is intended primarily to provide a rough survey of past U.S. military ventures abroad, without reference to the magnitude of the given instance noted.
Date: October 5, 2004
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Statutory Restrictions on the Position of Secretary of Defense: Issues for Congress (open access)

Statutory Restrictions on the Position of Secretary of Defense: Issues for Congress

This report is designed to assist Congress as it considers how to proceed with the proposed nomination of General (Ret.) James Mattis to be Secretary of Defense. After exploring the history of the statutory restriction and its evolution over time, it touches upon some of the broader questions that have recently been raised in the public debate on whether, and how, this proposed nomination might impact civilian-military relations and the principle of civilian control of the military.
Date: January 5, 2017
Creator: McInnis, Kathleen J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Status of a Member of the House Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony (open access)

Status of a Member of the House Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony

There are no federal statutes or Rules of the House of Representatives that directly affect the status of a Member of Congress who has been indicted for a crime that constitutes a felony. No rights or privileges are forfeited under the Constitution, statutory law or the Rules of the House merely upon an indictment for an offense, prior to an establishment of guilt under the judicial system. Thus, under House Rules, an indicted Member may continue to participate in congressional proceedings and considerations; under the Constitution, a person under indictment is not disqualified from being a Member of or a candidate for re-election to Congress. Internal party rules in the House, however, now require an indicted chairman or ranking member of a House committee, or a member of the House party leadership, to temporarily step aside from his or her leadership or chairmanship position.
Date: January 5, 2006
Creator: Maskell, Jack
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
Date: February 5, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oman: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

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

This report describes the relationship between the United States and the Sultanate of Oman, especially with respect to Oman's support of U.S. efforts toward peace in the Middle East, the U.S. free trade agreement with Oman, and Oman's relatively close relations with Iran.
Date: February 5, 2016
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran's Foreign Policy (open access)

Iran's Foreign Policy

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. The regional analysis discusses those countries where Iranian policy is of U.S. concern. The report also makes reference to Iran's efforts to utilize its ties to various countries to try to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions.
Date: May 5, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses (open access)

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Report that discusses the effects of economic sanctions against Iran, support to the Iranian democracy movement, opposition against Iranian human rights violations, and Iranian support for Syrian human rights violations.
Date: September 5, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses (open access)

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

This report discusses the effects of economic sanctions against Iran; support to the Iranian democracy movement; and opposition against Iranian human rights violations and Iranian support for Syrian human rights violations. The Obama Administration identifies Iran as a major threat to U.S. national security interests. The sense of imminent crisis with Iran which greeted the beginning of 2012 follows three years in which the Obama Administration first offered Iran's leaders consistent and sustained engagement in exchange for limits to its nuclear program but, since 2010, has emphasized pressuring Iran through economic sanctions.
Date: September 5, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2001. February 2002 (open access)

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2001. February 2002

This report lists hundreds of instances in which the United States has used its armed forces abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes.
Date: February 5, 2002
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court (open access)

Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court

This report provides an overview of the early judicial developments and the establishment of Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) procedures; summarizes selected court cases related to the detentions and the use of military commissions; and discusses the Detainee Treatment Act, as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Military Commissions Act of 2009, analyzing its effects on detainee-related litigation in federal court. The report summarizes the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene invalidating Congress's efforts to revoke the courts' habeas jurisdiction, and discusses some remaining issues and subsequent developments.
Date: April 5, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K. & Garcia, Michael J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office (open access)

Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office

This report discusses the manner in which a Member of Congress may be removed from office by “expulsion,” and then examines the issue of “recall” of legislators.
Date: January 5, 2012
Creator: Maskell, Jack
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medal of Honor: History and Issues (open access)

Medal of Honor: History and Issues

This report briefly describes the history of the Medal of Honor and the criteria and rules used in awarding the medal.
Date: September 5, 2014
Creator: Burrelli, David F. & Torreon, Barbara S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa (open access)

Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa

This report examines the threat posed by Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa as described by U.S. officials and outside observers, as well as the U.S. approach to date in responding to these threats.
Date: February 5, 2018
Creator: Thomas, Clayton
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Historical Perspective on Contemporary Issues (open access)

Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Historical Perspective on Contemporary Issues

This report provides a historical synopsis of the evolving nature of the federal grants-in-aid system, focusing on the role Congress has played in defining the system's scope and nature.
Date: March 5, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert J.
System: The UNT Digital Library