Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues (open access)

Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues

Report that surveys the various authorities governing immigration detainers, including the standard detainer form (Form I-247) sent by ICE to other law enforcement agencies. The report also discusses key legal issues raised by immigration detainers.
Date: August 31, 2012
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2011: Trends and Analyses, and Implications for Congress (open access)

Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2011: Trends and Analyses, and Implications for Congress

Report that describes the declaration process of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and the types of declarations that can be made under the Stafford Act.
Date: August 31, 2012
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R. & McCarthy, Francis X.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends (open access)

Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends

The Supreme Court has expressed an interest "that Congress be able to legislate against a background of clear interpretive rules, so that it may know the effect of the language it adopts." This report identifies and describes some of the more important rules and conventions of interpretation that the Court applies. Although this report focuses primarily on the Court's methodology in construing statutory text, the Court's approach to reliance on legislative history are also briefly described.
Date: August 31, 2008
Creator: Kim, Yule
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Primer on Major Disasters and Emergencies (open access)

Congressional Primer on Major Disasters and Emergencies

This report covers the role of the government in disaster management. While the disaster response and recovery process is fundamentally a relationship between the federal government and the requesting state government, there are roles for congressional offices to play in providing information to the federal/state response and recovery teams in their respective states and districts. Congressional offices also serve as a valuable source of accurate and timely information to their constituents.
Date: August 31, 2011
Creator: McCarthy, Francis X. & Brown, Jared T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Protection of Classified Information by Congress: Practices and Proposals (open access)

Protection of Classified Information by Congress: Practices and Proposals

This report discusses safeguards in place to protect conterolled information and proposals for change of some of the mechanisms in place. Congress uses classified national security and other controlled information to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, particularly overseeing the executive, appropriating funds, and legislating public policy.
Date: August 31, 2011
Creator: Kaiser, Frederick M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Uzbekistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests (open access)

Uzbekistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

This report discusses U.S. policy and assistance regarding Uzbekistan, including basic facts and biographical information. Uzbekistan is a potential Central Asian regional power by virtue of its relatively large population, energy and other resources, and location in the heart of the region. It has failed to make progress in economic and political reforms, and many observers criticize its human rights record.
Date: August 31, 2011
Creator: Nichol, Jim
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tanzania: Background and Current Conditions (open access)

Tanzania: Background and Current Conditions

This report discusses the current political climate in Tanzania, an important U.S. ally in Africa. The report also provides some general background information.
Date: August 31, 2011
Creator: Dagne, Ted
System: The UNT Digital Library
Securities Regulation and Initial Coin Offerings: A Legal Primer (open access)

Securities Regulation and Initial Coin Offerings: A Legal Primer

This report discusses the principles that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and courts use to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an offering of "securities" under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and the application of those principles to initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Date: August 31, 2018
Creator: Sykes, Jay B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides information and analysis on Turkish relations with the United States, Russia, Syria, and Kurdish groups. Domestic issues in Turkey include economic issues and President Erdogan's increasing authoritarianism.
Date: August 31, 2018
Creator: Zanotti, Jim & Thomas, Clayton
System: The UNT Digital Library
Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues for the 110th Congress. August 2007 (open access)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues for the 110th Congress. August 2007

This report provides an overview of U.S. relations with Latin American and the Caribbean, focusing on the role of Congress and congressional concerns.
Date: August 31, 2007
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.; Cook, Colleen W.; Hornbeck, J.F.; Olhero, Nelson; Ribando, Clare M.; Veillette, Connie et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Seat Belts on School Buses: Overview of the Issue (open access)

Seat Belts on School Buses: Overview of the Issue

None
Date: August 31, 2007
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Rules Governing Committee Markup Procedures (open access)

House Rules Governing Committee Markup Procedures

This report provides an overview of the markup procedures on the house rules governing committee. The rules of the house provides general guidance to committees for conducting meetings to markup legislation.
Date: August 31, 2015
Creator: Schneider, Judy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Proposals to Reform “Holds” in the Senate (open access)

Proposals to Reform “Holds” in the Senate

“Holds” are an informal senatorial custom unrecognized in Senate rules or precedents. They allow Senators to give notice to their respective party leader that certain measures or matters should not be brought up on the floor. This report examines, over a more than three-decade period, a wide range of proposals to reform holds.
Date: August 31, 2011
Creator: Oleszek, Walter J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals (open access)

Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals

None
Date: August 31, 2005
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Regulatory Reform Legislation in the 112th Congress (open access)

Regulatory Reform Legislation in the 112th Congress

None
Date: August 31, 2011
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Government Information In the United States: A Primer (open access)

Access to Government Information In the United States: A Primer

The U.S. Constitution makes no specific allowance for any one of the three branches of the federal government to have access to information held by the others. No provision in the U.S. Constitution expressly establishes a procedure for public access to government information. Congress has legislated various public access laws. Among these laws are two records access statutes, The Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and two meetings access statutes, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Government in the Sunshine Act. This report offers an overview of the four information access laws noted above, and provides citations to additional resources related to these tools.
Date: August 31, 2009
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Readiness: Background to Congressional Debate over Tiered Readiness (open access)

Military Readiness: Background to Congressional Debate over Tiered Readiness

None
Date: August 31, 1998
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animal Waste and Water Quality: EPA Regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) (open access)

Animal Waste and Water Quality: EPA Regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

This report provides background on the revised environmental rules, the previous Clean Water Act rules and the Clinton Administration proposal, and perspectives of key interest groups on the proposal and final regulations. It also identifies several issues that could be of congressional interest as implementation of the revised rules proceeds.
Date: August 31, 2007
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Paraguay: In Brief (open access)

Paraguay: In Brief

This report outlines Paraguay's governmental structure and leaders, economy, and relations between the United States and Paraguay.
Date: August 31, 2017
Creator: Beittel, June S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
FEMA Disaster Housing: The Individuals and Households Program-Implementation and Potential Issues for Congress (open access)

FEMA Disaster Housing: The Individuals and Households Program-Implementation and Potential Issues for Congress

This report explains the traditional approach for temporary housing through the IHP program following a disaster, how it is implemented, and considers if the current policy choices are equitable for disaster victims. This report will review those expenditures and provide information on the relative costs, and applications of, several categories of assistance. As a part of this examination, the report looks at other forms of housing repair assistance such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Program for homeowners as well as assistance that is provided, in some instances, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-DR) program.
Date: August 31, 2017
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Government Information in the United States (open access)

Access to Government Information in the United States

The U.S. Constitution makes no specific allowance for any one of the three branches of the federal government to have access to information held by the others. No provision in the U.S. Constitution expressly establishes a procedure for public access to government information. Congress has legislated various public access laws. Among these laws are two records access statutes, The Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and two meetings access statutes, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Government in the Sunshine Act. This report offers an overview of the four information access laws noted above, and provides citations to additional resources related to these tools.
Date: August 31, 2009
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program (open access)

Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program

This report discusses the rationale provided for the 7(a) program; the program's borrower and lender eligibility standards and program requirements; and program statistics, including loan volume, loss rates, use of proceeds, borrower satisfaction, and borrower demographics. It also examines issues raised concerning the SBA's administration of the 7(a) program, including the oversight of 7(a) lenders and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measures. The report also surveys congressional and presidential actions taken in recent years to enhance small businesses' access to capital. The Appendix to this report provides a brief description of the 7(a) program's SBAExpress, Export Express, and Community Advantage programs.
Date: August 31, 2017
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Rules Manual: Summary of Contents (open access)

House Rules Manual: Summary of Contents

This report provides a brief summary of the contents of the "House Rules and Manual" that governs the procedures of the House of Representatives.
Date: August 31, 2017
Creator: Schneider, Judy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Title X (Public Health Service Act) Family Planning Program (open access)

Title X (Public Health Service Act) Family Planning Program

This report describes the Title X Family Planning Act grant program, allowed uses for the funds, common issues encountered at family planning centers such as teen pregnancy and reporting rules, and funding for fiscal year 2018.
Date: August 31, 2017
Creator: Napili, Angela
System: The UNT Digital Library