IRS Will No Longer Require Disclosure of Certain Nonprofit Donor Information (open access)

IRS Will No Longer Require Disclosure of Certain Nonprofit Donor Information

This report will first provide background on the statute and regulations regarding tax-exempt organizations' (EOs') disclosure of contributor information. Next, the report will discuss the justifications of and reactions to the new policy, including the views of proponents and opponents of the new policy. The report will then discuss the litigation Montana has filed against the policy. Finally, the report will provide considerations for Congress.
Date: August 14, 2018
Creator: Carpenter, David H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Strange Occurrences Highlight Insider Threat to Aviation Security (open access)

Strange Occurrences Highlight Insider Threat to Aviation Security

This report discusses insider threats to aviation security and how those concerns can be mitigated.
Date: August 14, 2018
Creator: Elias, Bart
System: The UNT Digital Library
Supreme Court Appointment Process: Consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee (open access)

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee

This report discusses the role played by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the process for appointing Supreme Court Justices. Each appointment to the nine-member Court is of consequence because of the enormous judicial power that the Court exercises, separate from, and independent of, the executive and legislative branches.
Date: August 14, 2018
Creator: McMillion, Barry J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers and the TAA Reauthorization Act of 2015 (open access)

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers and the TAA Reauthorization Act of 2015

After a brief discussion of the program's purpose and most recent reauthorization, this report describes TAA as reauthorized by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA, Title IV of P.L. 114-27).
Date: August 14, 2018
Creator: Collins, Benjamin
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape (open access)

The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape

This report discusses the role of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), its appropriations requests for fiscal year 2018, and various proposals for restructuring the agency made in Congress.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Research and Development Funding: Fiscal Year 2018 (open access)

Federal Research and Development Funding: Fiscal Year 2018

This report begins with a discussion of the overall level of President Trump's FY2018 R&D request, followed by analyses of the R&D funding request from a variety of perspectives and for selected multiagency R&D initiatives. The report concludes with discussion and analysis of the R&D budget requests of selected federal departments and agencies that, collectively, account for nearly 99% of total federal R&D funding. Selected terms associated with federal R&D funding are defined in the text box on the next page. Appendix A provides a list of acronyms and abbreviations.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Individual Mandate for Health Insurance Coverage: In Brief (open access)

The Individual Mandate for Health Insurance Coverage: In Brief

This report provides an overview of the individual mandate, its associated penalty, and the exemptions from the mandate. It discusses the ACA reporting requirements designed, in part, to assist individuals in providing evidence of having met the mandate. The report includes some national- and state-level data on the application of the mandate's penalty in tax year (TY) 2014 and TY2015.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: Mach, Annie L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, and gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. Congress's decisions on the Aegis BMD program could significantly affect U.S. BMD capabilities and funding requirements, and the BMD-related industrial base.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Navy's irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations. The Navy's IW and CT activities pose a number of potential oversight issues for Congress, including how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy John Lewis (TAO-205) Class Oiler Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy John Lewis (TAO-205) Class Oiler Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the John Lewis (TAO205) class oiler shipbuilding program, a program to build a new class of 20 fleet oilers for the Navy. The TAO-205 program was previously known as the TAO(X) program. The first ship in the program was funded in FY2016 at a cost of $674.2 million. The Navy's proposed FY2018 budget requests $466.0 million in procurement funding for the second ship, which the Navy wants to procure in FY2018, and $75.1 million in advance procurement (AP) funding for the third ship, which the Navy wants to procure in FY2019.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on three potential new weapons that could improve the ability of Navy surface ships to defend themselves against enemy missiles--solid state lasers (SSLs), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the hypervelocity projectile (HVP).The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's funding requests and proposed acquisition strategies for these three potential new weapons. Congress's decisions on this issue could affect future Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the defense industrial base.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy LX (R) Amphibious Ship Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy LX (R) Amphibious Ship Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the LX(R) program, a program to build a new class of amphibious ships for the Navy. The Navy wants to procure the first LX(R) in FY2020. The Navy's proposed FY2018 budget requests $9.6 million in research and development funds for the LX(R) program. Decisions Congress makes on the LX(R) program will affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sifting Domestic Terrorism from Hate Crime ad Homegrown Violent Extremism (open access)

Sifting Domestic Terrorism from Hate Crime ad Homegrown Violent Extremism

This report defines the terms domestic terrorism, hate crimes, and homegrown violent extremism as used by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security and how they can intersect.
Date: August 14, 2017
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Disaster Assistance (open access)

Agricultural Disaster Assistance

This report discusses several programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help farmers recover financially from natural disasters, including drought and floods. All the programs have permanent authorization, and only one requires a federal disaster designation (the emergency loan program). Most programs receive funding amounts that are "such sums as necessary" and are not subject to annual discretionary appropriations.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Shields, Dennis A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Biopower: Background and Federal Support (open access)

Biopower: Background and Federal Support

The report begins with general summaries about bioenergy and biopower, including potential benefits and challenges, feedstocks, and biopower technologies. It also describes federal support available for biopower and relevant legislative concerns.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues (open access)

Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues

This report has three major sections. The first section answers some basic questions about Bitcoin and the operation of the Bitcoin network and its interaction with the current dollar-based monetary system. The second section summarizes likely reasons for and against widespread Bitcoin adoption. The third section discusses legal and regulatory matters that have been raised by Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Murphy, Edward V.; Murphy, M. M. & Seitzinger, Michael V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
California Drought: Hydrological and Regulatory Water Supply Issues (open access)

California Drought: Hydrological and Regulatory Water Supply Issues

This report provides a summary of California's 2012-2015 drought including: comparisons, where applicable, to previous droughts; a summary of the key regulatory requirements that at certain times limit water deliveries (or exports) from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers' Delta; and a brief discussion of California water rights with their relation to different types of federal contracts and their associated water allocations.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Cody, Betsy A.; Folger, Peter & Brown, Cynthia
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), as well as 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).
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Demand for Municipal Bonds: Issues for Congress (open access)

The Demand for Municipal Bonds: Issues for Congress

This report examines various influences on investors' demand for municipal bonds, with a particular focus on financial institutions, it also discusses policy issues for congress.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Getter, Darryl E. & Gnanarajah, Raj
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA's Clean Power Plan: Highlights of the Final Rule (open access)

EPA's Clean Power Plan: Highlights of the Final Rule

This report provides an initial analysis of EPA's final rule -- a prepublication version, known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act -- summarizing highlights and identifying differences between the final and proposed rules. The topics discussed do not represent an exhaustive list of the differences from the proposed rule or the support or opposition that may be raised by various stakeholders.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L. & McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Excise Tax on High-Cost Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage: In Brief (open access)

Excise Tax on High-Cost Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage: In Brief

This report discusses about the Excise Tax on High-Cost Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage, Cost Estimate and Relationship to the Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Insurance.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Mach, Annie L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Filling the Amendment Tree in the Senate (open access)

Filling the Amendment Tree in the Senate

None
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities (open access)

Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities

This report relies on a comprehensive set of data on capital flows represented by purchases and sales of U.S. government securities and the U.S and foreign corporate stocks and bonds into and out of the United States.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Jackson, James K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Committee Hearings: Witness Testimony (open access)

House Committee Hearings: Witness Testimony

This report provides information about the witness technology on House Committee Hearings. Witness before house committees must generally file advance copies of their written testimony with the committee and then limit their oral testimony to brief summaries.
Date: August 14, 2015
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
System: The UNT Digital Library