States

A Shift in the International Security Environment: Potential Implications for Defense--Issues for Congress (open access)

A Shift in the International Security Environment: Potential Implications for Defense--Issues for Congress

This report briefly describes the shift in the international security environment that some observers believe has occurred, and identifies some defense-related issues for Congress that could arise from it. Congress's decisions on these issues could have significant implications for U.S. defense capabilities and funding requirements.
Date: June 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909, S. 2943) (open access)

Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909, S. 2943)

This report provides selected highlights of the version of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House on May 18, 2016 (H.R. 4909) and the version reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee on the same date (S. 2943). Table 1 provides a summary of amounts recommended for authorization. Table 2 provides a summary of selected congressional budget reductions and restrictions, and Table 3 provides a summary of selected Administration policy and cost-cutting proposals. Table 4 provides a summary of selected congressional budget increases and policy initiatives.
Date: June 8, 2016
Creator: Towell, Pat & Williams, Lynn M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cybersecurity: Critical Infrastructure Authoritative Reports and Resources (open access)

Cybersecurity: Critical Infrastructure Authoritative Reports and Resources

This report serves as a starting point for congressional staff assigned to cover cybersecurity issues as they relate to critical infrastructure. Much is written about protecting U.S. critical infrastructure, and this report directs the reader to authoritative sources that address many of the most prominent issues.
Date: March 8, 2016
Creator: Tehan, Rita
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Ohio replacement program (ORP), a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy's current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs.
Date: March 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Some general issues include Arctic territorial disputes; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic, which could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Advocacy of Terrorism on the Internet: Freedom of Speech Issues and the Material Support Statutes (open access)

The Advocacy of Terrorism on the Internet: Freedom of Speech Issues and the Material Support Statutes

This report discusses relevant precedent concerning the extent to which advocacy of terrorism may be restricted in a manner consistent with the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech Clause. The report also discusses the potential application of the federal ban on the provision of material support to foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) to the advocacy of terrorism, including as it relates to the dissemination of such advocacy via online services like Twitter or Facebook.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen Ann
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2016 G-20 Summit (open access)

The 2016 G-20 Summit

This report discusses the 2016 G-20 summit where the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries met in Hangzhou, China.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues (open access)

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

This report discusses a variety of issues might pose risks to the health, safety, and general well-being of athletes and their families, team personnel, and spectators participating in or attending the 2016 Olympic Games. Chief among these are the Zika virus, public safety threats, security concerns, and environmental conditions. The report also discusses the possible implications of hosting the Olympics for Brazil and the issue of doping.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine & Rollins, John W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute (open access)

The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute

This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Intelligence Community Programs, Management, and Enduring Issues (open access)

Intelligence Community Programs, Management, and Enduring Issues

This report explains the management structure for the National Intelligence Program (NIP), and Military Intelligence Program (MIP), to include their two separate budget processes and the roles of the Director of National Intelligence and the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence). The concluding section of this report considers the ability of the U.S. government to make the best use of its intelligence-related resources when: (1) total intelligence spending is impossible to calculate; (2) its management and oversight is completely decentralized; and (3) IC funding alone is largely divided into two categories (NIP and MIP)-- managed within the executive branch separately, justified to Congress separately, and overseen by separate congressional committees.
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Daugherty Miles, Anne
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Digital Searches and Seizures: Overview of Proposed Amendments to Rule 41 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure (open access)

Digital Searches and Seizures: Overview of Proposed Amendments to Rule 41 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure

This report provides a brief overview of the proposed amendment to Rule 41, which would amend the federal search and seizure rules to permit the government to remotely access electronic devices although the location of the device may be unknown. First, the report provides a background on the origin of, and rationale underlying, the proposed amendment and a description of the rule as currently written. Second, it reviews the potential changes made by the proposed amendment and will survey various concerns commenters have raised with the proposal. Lastly, this report addresses efforts being made in Congress to alter, delay, or stop this rule change.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Veterans Affairs FY2017 Appropriations (open access)

Department of Veterans Affairs FY2017 Appropriations

This report provides and overview of department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and range of benefits and services to veterans. The report discusses VA budget and the President's budget request for FY2017 and congressional action
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Intelligence Community Spending: Trends and Issues (open access)

Intelligence Community Spending: Trends and Issues

This report examines Intelligence Community (IC) funding over the past several decades, with an emphasis on the period from 2007-2017--the period in which total national and military intelligence program (NIP and MIP) spending dollars have been publicly disclosed on an annual basis. Intelligence-related spending (such as the Homeland Security Intelligence Program) that does not fall within the NIP and MIP is outside the scope of this report.
Date: November 8, 2016
Creator: Daugherty Miles, Anne
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act (open access)

Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act

This report examines the changing definition of the phrase, "waters of the United States." The scope of waters that are properly the subject of federal water pollution legislation has been the subject of long-standing consideration by all three branches of the federal government, particularly in the aftermath of the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA (open access)

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP or Rule) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs (open access)

Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs

This report describes four programs operated by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and remove criminal and other removable aliens.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Kandel, William A.
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 over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act's (UMRA's) implementation. It also discusses particular mandates and procedures associated with UMRA, and assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Beth, Richard S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Automakers Seek to Align Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Regulations (open access)

Automakers Seek to Align Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Regulations

This report briefly discusses proposed regulatory changes to revise federal fuel economy and environmental standards and reduce potentially large penalties. The technical proposals would be the first major structural change in these standards since 2012, and they come at a time when federal agencies are undertaking a regulatory review that may result in far greater changes.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Canis, Bill
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 28, Pages 4911-5120, July 8, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 28, Pages 4911-5120, July 8, 2016

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.
Date: July 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0105 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0105

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Application ofthe conflict of interest rules in chapter 171 of the Local Government Code to members of a planning and zoning commission or historic landmark commission who reside or own property within the historic district (RQ-0094-KP).
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0055 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0055

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Responsibilities of the Texas Forensic Science Commission under article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedme (RQ-0032-KP).
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0068 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0068

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Disposition of revenue collected pursuant to section 502.403 of the Transportation Code, authorizing an optional county fee for child safety (RQ-0052-KP).
Date: March 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0106 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0106

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether and to what extent limitations exist on the Texas Facilities Commission's ability to renew leases for space under section 2167.055 of the Government Code (RQ-0095-KP).
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0056 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0056

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether state law authorizes a municipality to reimburse an appellant for costs incurred in a successful appeal to a zoning board (RQ-0037-KP).
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History