Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill (open access)

Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill

This report discusses the extension of the 2008 Farm Bill for 2013, and provides background information on extension and expiration of this bill.
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: Monke, Jim; Aussenberg, Randy Alison & Stubbs, Megan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Synthetic Drugs: Overview and Issues for Congress (open access)

Synthetic Drugs: Overview and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the federal scheduling of controlled substances, including the temporary scheduling of substances. It also provides an overview of current trends in selected synthetic cannabinoids and stimulants. It concludes with a review of relevant legislation as well as possible issues policymakers might consider.
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: Sacco, Lisa N. & Finklea, Kristin M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change Legislation in the 113th Congress (open access)

Climate Change Legislation in the 113th Congress

Report regarding legislative actions that explicitly address climate change issues. The provisions in these bills fall into six general categories: carbon price (i.e., tax or fee) on greenhouse (GHG) emissions; other mechanisms intended to encourage mitigation of GHG emissions (e.g., sequestration of emissions); research on climate change-related issues; adaptation activities related to expected climate change impacts; support for international climate change-related activities; and action that limits or prohibits climate change-related authorities, efforts, or considerations.
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods and the WTO Trade Dispute on Meat Labeling (open access)

Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods and the WTO Trade Dispute on Meat Labeling

This report covers the dispute between the U.S with its neighbors Canada and Mexico, who say that the recent country-of-origin labeling (COOL) system implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is unfair and does not meet its original objectives. This dispute was brought before the WTO dispute panel and found to be valid. The report ends with a discussion of options for the U.S. in regards to modifying COOL to follow WTO rulings.
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: Jurenas, Remy & Greene, Joel L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corporate Tax Expenditures: Evaluations of Tax Deferrals and Graduated Tax Rates (open access)

Corporate Tax Expenditures: Evaluations of Tax Deferrals and Graduated Tax Rates

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Deferral: Both deferral tax expenditures confer the benefit of effectively reducing taxes by delaying the taxation of certain income of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations until it is repatriated to the U.S. parent as dividends."
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Supply Chain Security: DHS Could Improve Cargo Security by Periodically Assessing Risks from Foreign Ports (open access)

Supply Chain Security: DHS Could Improve Cargo Security by Periodically Assessing Risks from Foreign Ports

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components have developed models to assess the risks of foreign ports and cargo, but not all components have applied risk management principles to assess whether maritime security programs cover the riskiest ports. The U.S. Coast Guard uses its risk model to inform operational decisions for its International Port Security (IPS) program and annually updates its assessment. In contrast, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not regularly assessed ports for risks to cargo under its Container Security Initiative (CSI) program. CBP's selection of the initial 23 CSI ports was primarily based on the volume of U.S.-bound containers, but beginning in 2003, CBP considered more threat information when it expanded the number of CSI ports. CBP has not assessed the risk posed by foreign ports that ship cargo to the United States for its CSI program since 2005. In 2009, CBP developed a model that ranked 356 potential expansion ports for a related program on the basis of risk, but it was never implemented because of budget cuts. By applying CBP's risk model to fiscal year 2012 cargo shipment data, GAO found …
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013 (open access)

A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013

A report on active shooter incidents in the United State between 2000 and 2013. Contains statistics related to shootings as well as a breakdown of shootings by location type.
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
System: The UNT Digital Library