Itemized Tax Deductions for Individuals: Data Analysis (open access)

Itemized Tax Deductions for Individuals: Data Analysis

This report analyzes data about reforming itemized tax deductions for individuals.
Date: February 12, 2014
Creator: Lowry, Sean
System: The UNT Digital Library
Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations

This report discusses the current state of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its relationship with the United States, and future initiatives to further develop U.S.-Saudi relations.
Date: February 12, 2014
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Visa Waiver Program (open access)

Visa Waiver Program

This report discusses the visa waiver program (VWP), which allows for a bypass of the first step by which foreign visitors are screened for admissibility to enter the United States. Some policymakers are concerned that this waiver allows terrorists to more easily enter the country. The report provides waiver-related statistics and related legislation.
Date: February 12, 2014
Creator: Siskin, Alison
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits (open access)

Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits

This report describes three kinds of unemployment benefit programs: regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08). The report explains their basic eligibility requirements, benefits, and financing structure.
Date: February 12, 2014
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M. & Isaacs, Katelin P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

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

This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and with the United States.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Secret Service Protection (open access)

U.S. Secret Service Protection

None
Date: February 12, 2015
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Israel: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief (open access)

Israel: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief

This report discusses Israel's relations with the U.S. and its neighbors, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the domestic political scene amid allegations of corruption against the Prime Minister.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Zanotti, Jim
System: The UNT Digital Library
D.C. Circuit Court Upholds as Constitutional the Structure of the CFPB: Part 2 (open access)

D.C. Circuit Court Upholds as Constitutional the Structure of the CFPB: Part 2

This report discusses the decision of the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court which upheld the structural design of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This report is Part II of a two part series and will address some of the separate opinions issued in the case and then highlight certain implications for Congress.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Cole, Jared P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individual Income Tax Rates and Other Key Elements of the Federal Individual Income Tax: 1988 to 2017 (open access)

Individual Income Tax Rates and Other Key Elements of the Federal Individual Income Tax: 1988 to 2017

This report summarizes the tax brackets and other key elements of the individual income tax that help determine taxpayers' marginal and average effective tax rates going back to 1988. It is updated to reflect indexation adjustments and changes in tax law.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Guenther, Gary
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC): Structure and Activities (open access)

Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC): Structure and Activities

This report discusses the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and its Office of Financial Research (OFR) which were established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111203) to address several potential sources of systemic risk. It provides an overview of the FSOC's structure and analyzes FSOC policy-related issues and legislation.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Stupak, Jeffrey M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Would it Violate Equal Protection to Prohibit Naturalized "Dreamers: from Sponsoring Their Parents for Immigrant Visas? (open access)

Would it Violate Equal Protection to Prohibit Naturalized "Dreamers: from Sponsoring Their Parents for Immigrant Visas?

This report discusses the question of whether "Dreamers" who were given a pathway to citizenship and became naturalized citizens could sponsor their parents for immigration visas in the same way any other U.S. citizen could. Case law and various considerations which could affect such a decision are discussed.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Harrington, Ben
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation (open access)

Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation

This report discusses federal programs which provide emergency agricultural land rehabilitation funds.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2018 Budget and Appropriations (open access)

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2018 Budget and Appropriations

This report discusses the State Department's Foreign Operations and Related Programs budget for Fiscal Year 2018 and Congressional action related to it.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Lawson, Marian L. & Gill, Cory R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
D.C. Circuit Court Upholds as Constitutional the Structure of the CFPB: Part 1 (open access)

D.C. Circuit Court Upholds as Constitutional the Structure of the CFPB: Part 1

This report discusses the decision of the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court which upheld the structural design of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This report begins with a brief summary of the Supreme Court's views of the President's removal power before addressing the PHH litigation and the en banc majority opinion. Part II of this series will address some of the separate opinions issued in the case and then highlight certain implications for Congress.
Date: February 12, 2018
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Cole, Jared P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Trade Deficit, the Dollar, and the Price of Oil (open access)

The U.S. Trade Deficit, the Dollar, and the Price of Oil

This report analyzes the relationship between the dollar and the price of oil and how the two might interact. It includes sections describing real and nominal oil prices, major currencies, oil exchanges, oil supply and demand and factors affecting the international exchange value of the dollar: capital flows, the U.S. financial balance, the foreign exchage market, and the U.S. trade deficit.
Date: February 12, 2010
Creator: Jackson, James K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nigeria (open access)

Nigeria

This report discusses the political climate, development challenges and reform in Nigeria. The report also considers the social issues and security concerns of Nigeria. In addition, other issues are mentioned, as Congress provides oversight for over $600 million in U.S. foreign assistance programs to Nigeria.
Date: February 12, 2010
Creator: Ploch, Lauren
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pandemic Flu and Medical Biodefense Countermeasure Liability Limitation (open access)

Pandemic Flu and Medical Biodefense Countermeasure Liability Limitation

This report analyzes Division C of the Department of Defense Emergency Supplemental Appropriations, P.L. 109-148, which was signed into law on December 30, 2005, and which limits liability with respect to pandemic flu and other public health countermeasures.
Date: February 12, 2010
Creator: Liu, Edward C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Community Health Center Fund: In Brief (open access)

The Community Health Center Fund: In Brief

This report provides information on the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) that may be useful for discussions about the fund's future. Specifically, it includes information on: the types of grants awarded, total funds disbursed, and the amount of CHCF funds that facilities in each state and territory received.
Date: February 12, 2015
Creator: Heisler, Elayne J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S.-South Korea Relations (open access)

U.S.-South Korea Relations

This report contains two main parts: a section describing recent events and a longer background section on key elements of the U.S.-South Korea relationship. The end of the report provides a list of CRS products on South Korea and North Korea.
Date: February 12, 2014
Creator: Manyin, Mark E.; Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Rinehart, Ian E.; Nikitin, Mary Beth & Cooper, William H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues (open access)

North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues

This report summarizes what is known from open sources about the North Korean nuclear weapons program — including weapons-usable fissile material and warhead estimates — and assesses current developments in achieving denuclearization.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Nikitin, Mary Beth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions (open access)

Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions

This report provides an overview of the Federal Reserve and issues for Congress. The Federal Reserve (the Fed) defines monetary policy as the actions it undertakes to influence the availability and cost of money and credit. Because the expectations of market participants play an important role in determining prices and growth, monetary policy can also be defined to include the directives, policies, statements, and actions of the Fed that influence how the future is perceived. In addition, the Fed acts as a "lender of last resort" to the nation's financial system, meaning that it ensures continued smooth functioning of financial intermediation by providing financial markets with adequate liquidity.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Labonte, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Benefits for Members of Congress (open access)

Health Benefits for Members of Congress

This report covers health benefits made available to Members of Congress through federal government employment, including Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), dental and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, long-term care insurance, services at the Office of the Attending Physician and military hospitals, and Medicare. It also offers a comparison of FEHBP to health benefits offered by the private sector and state and local governments and a discussion of the effect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Members' health benefits.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Cornell, Ada S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Belarus: Background and U.S. Policy Concerns (open access)

Belarus: Background and U.S. Policy Concerns

This report provides an overview of the history of U.S.A - Belarus relations. The report discusses the political and economic situation in Belarus, the relations with Russia, European Union and NATO.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Woehrel, Steven
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments (open access)

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments

This report discusses the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear explosion and was in 1996 adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but rejected by the U.S. Senate in 1997. This report discusses the Obama Administration's stated goal of pursuing U.S. ratification of the CTBT, although the Administration has mainly focused on securing Senate consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). This report also discusses other nuclear weapons-related issues as well as the long history of nuclear testing.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
System: The UNT Digital Library