Invoking Cloture in the Senate (open access)

Invoking Cloture in the Senate

This report discusses cloture, the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to set an end to a debate without also rejecting the bill, amendment, conference report, motion, or other matter it has been debating.
Date: November 25, 2013
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections (open access)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

This report provides the results of recent elections in Latin America and the Caribbean. Below are three tables organized by region, including the date of each country's independence, the name of the newly elected president or prime minister, and the projected date of the next election. Information in this report was gathered from numerous sources, including the U.S. State Department, the CIA's Open Source, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and other news sources.
Date: December 3, 2013
Creator: Torreon, Barbara Salazar
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing (open access)

Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing

This report discusses the retirement systems in place for federal employees. Most civilian federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and contribute 7.0% of their pay to a retirement fund. Federal employees hired in 1984 or later are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System and contribute 0.8% of their pay to a retirement fund. Both require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax. This report also summarizes relevant legislation in the 113th Congress that would make significant changes to federal benefits and financing, including H.J.Res. 59, S. 18, S. 1678, and H.R. 3639.
Date: December 20, 2013
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Farm Income (open access)

U.S. Farm Income

This report provides the highlights of 2013 farm income forecast. The report discusses farm asset values and debt, and average farm household income. It also provides annual figures regarding U.S. farms.
Date: August 30, 2013
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Preserving Homeownership: Foreclosure Prevention Initiatives (open access)

Preserving Homeownership: Foreclosure Prevention Initiatives

This report describes the consequences of foreclosure on homeowners, outlines recent foreclosure prevention plans implemented by the government and private organizations, and discusses the challenges associated with foreclosure prevention.
Date: November 20, 2013
Creator: Jones, Katie
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO Bid Protests: Trends and Analysis (open access)

GAO Bid Protests: Trends and Analysis

This report provides an overview of the time frames and procedures in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest, including (1) what issues can be protested with GAO; (2) who can file or be a party to a GAO protest; (3) the procedures for bringing and resolving GAO protests; (4) the time frames involved in GAO protests; (5) the automatic stay of contract award or performance triggered by a GAO protest, as well as the basis for agency overrides of automatic stays and judicial review of agency override determinations; (6) the basis and effects of GAO decisions; and (7) reconsideration and "appeal" of GAO decisions.
Date: August 9, 2013
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.; Schwartz, Moshe & Martinez, Lucy P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, FL. Transferring a CVN from Norfolk, VA, to Mayport would shift from Norfolk to Mayport the local economic activity associated with homeporting a CVN, which some sources estimate as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Date: August 8, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Biomass: Comparison of Definitions in Legislation (open access)

Biomass: Comparison of Definitions in Legislation

This report discusses the use of biomass, its legislative history, and the proposed redefinition of biomass in legislation.
Date: November 26, 2013
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spectrum Policy in the Age of Broadband: Issues for Congress (open access)

Spectrum Policy in the Age of Broadband: Issues for Congress

This report discusses some of the commercial and federal radio frequency spectrum policy changes required by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It also summarizes new policy directions for spectrum management under consideration in the 112th Congress, such as the encouragement of new technologies that use spectrum more efficiently.
Date: May 28, 2013
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Member Organizations: Their Purpose and Activities, History, and Formation (open access)

Congressional Member Organizations: Their Purpose and Activities, History, and Formation

This report examines the purpose and activities of Committee on House Administration as congressional Member organizations (CMO) and the reasons Members form them. It also identifies and describes seven CMO types, and it provides an overview of the historical development of informal Member organizations since the first Congress, focusing on their regulation in the House by the Committee on House Oversight/Committee on House Administration, the rise and fall of legislative service organizations (LSOs), and the House's decision in 1995 to issue regulations for establishing CMOs and governing their behavior. It concludes with a step-by-step guide for House Members and staff who might be interested in forming a CMO.
Date: August 28, 2013
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Gerrity, Jessica C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Legal Analysis (open access)

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Legal Analysis

This report provides a legal analysis of the various constitutional challenges that have been brought against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)".
Date: August 6, 2013
Creator: Feder, Jody
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues (open access)

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

This report examines debates regarding what constitutes an "unfunded federal mandate" and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995's (UMRA) implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that the Congressional Budget Office (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. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions which currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities.
Date: August 29, 2013
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Beth, Richard S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues (open access)

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

This report examines debates regarding what constitutes an "unfunded federal mandate" and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995's (UMRA) implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that the Congressional Budget Office (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. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions which currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities.
Date: December 12, 2013
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Beth, Richard S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage (open access)

Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage

This report provides a history and overview of the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) and examines spending patterns over three years--2005, 2006, and 2007. The data exclude non-voting Members, including Delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Members who were not in Congress for all of the first session of a Congress, whether the Member left Congress prior to the end of the year or entered any time after the beginning of the session, were also excluded.
Date: November 25, 2013
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress (open access)

The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress

This report discusses the G-20, an international forum for discussing and coordinating economic policies among major advanced and emerging economies. Previous summits have, for example, focused on financial regulatory reform, global imbalances, funding for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), voting power of emerging economies in international financial institutions, and fossil fuel subsidies.
Date: November 7, 2013
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions (open access)

The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

This report provides an overview of the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.
Date: December 5, 2013
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Administration HUBZone Program (open access)

Small Business Administration HUBZone Program

This report examines arguments both for and against targeting assistance to geographic areas with specified characteristics, such as low income, high poverty, or high unemployment, 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
Date: December 17, 2013
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Carbon Capture: A Technology Assessment (open access)

Carbon Capture: A Technology Assessment

This report is a brief summary of what carbon capture and storage (CCS) is, how it is supposed to work, why it has gained the interest and support of some members of Congress, and what some of the challenges are to its implementation and deployment across the United States.
Date: November 5, 2013
Creator: Folger, Peter
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Rare Earth Elements: The Global Supply Chain (open access)

Rare Earth Elements: The Global Supply Chain

This report provides a discussion of the major issues and concerns of the global supply chain for rare earth elements (REEs), their major end uses, and legislative and other policy proposals that Congress may consider to improve the U.S. rare earth position.
Date: December 16, 2013
Creator: Humphries, Marc
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy (open access)

Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy

This report is intended as a primer on the policy issues, science, and governance of geoengineering technologies. The report will first set the policy parameters under which geoengineering technologies may be considered. It will then describe selected technologies in detail and discuss their status. The third section provides a discussion of possible approaches to governmental involvement in, and oversight of, geoengineering, including a summary of domestic and international instruments and institutions that may affect geoengineering projects.
Date: November 26, 2013
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi & Lattanzio, Richard K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Samantar v. Yousef: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and Foreign Officials (open access)

Samantar v. Yousef: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and Foreign Officials

This report provides an overview of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), followed by a consideration of the remaining options for foreign officials who seek immunity from lawsuits, as well as some of the questions that may emerge from each option. The report also discusses legislation addressing the immunity of foreign officials (the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, H.R. 3143 and S. 1535).
Date: December 16, 2013
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Expiring Unemployment Insurance Provisions (open access)

Expiring Unemployment Insurance Provisions

This report discusses several key provisions related to extended federal unemployment benefits that are temporary and, therefore, scheduled to expire. This report describes the consequences of these expirations for the financing and availability of unemployment benefits in states. It also summarizes the last three laws that have extended these expiring provisions: P.L. 112-240, P.L. 112-96, and P.L. 112-78.
Date: November 22, 2013
Creator: Isaacs, K. P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Expiring Unemployment Insurance Provisions (open access)

Expiring Unemployment Insurance Provisions

This report discusses several key provisions related to extended federal unemployment benefits that are temporary and, therefore, scheduled to expire. This report describes the consequences of these expirations for the financing and availability of unemployment benefits in states. It also summarizes the last three laws that have extended these expiring provisions: P.L. 112-240, P.L. 112-96, and P.L. 112-78.
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Isaacs, K. P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress (open access)

The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress

This report includes updated material that emphasizes the issues most prominently before the 113th Congress. It also discusses foundational information about major elements of campaign finance policy.
Date: November 7, 2013
Creator: Garrett, R. S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library