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Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 109th Congress (open access)

Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 109th Congress

None
Date: September 1, 2006
Creator: Gottron, Frank
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Options (open access)

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Options

Report discussing U.S. concerns with Iran, including concerns relating to endorsements given to terrorist organizations by the Iranian government, nuclear weaponry, and human rights practices. The report also discusses whether or not the U.S. will impose sanctions on Iran due to a recent violation of a previously discussed agreement regarding uranium enrichment.
Date: September 11, 2006
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues (open access)

Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues

Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops (also called GM [genetically modified] crops, or GMOs, genetically modified organisms) became commercially available in the mid-1990s, U.S. soybean, cotton, and corn farmers have rapidly adopted them. As adoption has spread, there have been policy debates over the costs and benefits of GE products. Issues include the impacts of GE crops on the environment and food safety, and whether GE foods should be specially labeled. Congress generally has been supportive of GE agricultural products, although some Members have expressed wariness about their adoption and regulation. The 109th Congress will likely continue to follow trade developments, particularly the U.S.-EU dispute, as well as U.S. regulatory mechanisms for approving biotech foods.
Date: September 5, 2006
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Cowan, Tadlock
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress (open access)

Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress

This report discusses the ongoing debate over the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition. The report provides background information and analysis over the pros and cons of the debate and gun related statistics. It is a contentious debate, with strong advocates for and against the further federal regulation of firearms.
Date: September 15, 2006
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense: FY2007 Authorization and Appropriations (open access)

Defense: FY2007 Authorization and Appropriations

The Senate began floor debate on the FY2007 defense appropriations bill, H.R. 5631 on August 1, but it did not complete the bill before adjourning for the August recess. The Senate plans to resume action on September 5. As reported by the appropriations committee, the bill provided $453.5 billion for defense, including $50 billion in appropriations for overseas operations. The total is $9.1 billion less than the Administration requested. In floor action, the Senate added substantial amounts to the $50 billion in emergency spending, including $13.1 billion to reequip units returning from abroad and $1.8 billion for border security.
Date: September 5, 2006
Creator: Daggett, Stephen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense: FY2007 Authorization and Appropriations (open access)

Defense: FY2007 Authorization and Appropriations

A conference agreement on the FY2007 defense authorization bill, H.R. 5122/S. 2766, is expected soon, and could be voted on in the House as early as September 15. Key issues in the conference have included whether to promote the head of the National Guard to four-star rank and whether to approve multiyear procurement of the F-22 fighter aircraft. On June 22, the Senate passed on its version of the FY2007 defense authorization, S. 2766. The Senate rejected two amendments on Iraq policy, one by Senator Kerry calling for withdrawal of most forces by July 1, 2007, and another by Senator Levin calling for a phased reduction of troops to begin this year. The House passed its version of the authorization, H.R. 5122, on May 11. The House bill authorizes $513 billion for national defense, equal to the request. The Senate bill authorizes $517.7 billion.
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: Daggett, Stephen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Operations (House)/State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Senate): FY2007 Appropriations (open access)

Foreign Operations (House)/State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Senate): FY2007 Appropriations

This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and the Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
Date: September 8, 2006
Creator: Nowels, Larry; Veillette, Connie & Epstein, Susan B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Coast Guard Operations - Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Homeland Security: Coast Guard Operations - Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the Coast Guard, which is the lead federal agency for maritime homeland security. For FY2007, the Coast Guard is requesting a total of about $4.5 billion for missions defined in The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) as the Coast Guard’s homeland security missions. This equates to about 54% of the Coast Guard’s total requested FY2007 budget. The Coast Guard’s homeland security operations pose several potential issues for Congress, including adequacy of Coast Guard resources for performing both homeland security and non-homeland security missions, and Coast Guard coordination with other agencies involved in maritime homeland security.
Date: September 12, 2006
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources (open access)

Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

This report is a guide to locating individual service records and military unit histories from the American Revolution to the present.
Date: September 1, 2006
Creator: Gomez-Granger, Julissa & Klarman, Kim Walker
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans' Affairs, FY2007 Appropriations (open access)

Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans' Affairs, FY2007 Appropriations

This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs and Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittees. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
Date: September 13, 2006
Creator: Else, Daniel H.; Graney, Paul J. & Panangala, Sidath Viranga
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force (open access)

Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force

The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community. Enrollment of U.S. citizens in graduate science and engineering programs has not kept pace with that of foreign students in those programs. In addition to the number of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs, a significant number of university faculty in the scientific disciplines are foreign, and foreign doctorates are employed in large numbers by industry. This report examines these issues and discusses their policy implications.
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: Matthews, Christine M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electric Reliability: Options for Electric Transmission Infrastructure Improvements (open access)

Electric Reliability: Options for Electric Transmission Infrastructure Improvements

The electric utility industry is inherently capital intensive. At the same time, the industry must operate under a changing and sometimes unpredictable regulatory system at both the federal and state level. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has set in place government activities intended to relieve congestion on the transmission system. Several factors have contributed to the lack of new transmission capacity; these are outlined within this report. This report also discusses earlier pieces of energy legislation.
Date: September 20, 2006
Creator: Abel, Amy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens (open access)

Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens

"This report opens with an overview of the grounds for inadmissibility and summarizes key legislation enacted in recent years" (p. i).
Date: September 5, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Base Closures and the Impact Aid Program for Education (open access)

Military Base Closures and the Impact Aid Program for Education

This report provides a brief overview of the Impact Aid program, including the calculation of Impact Aid payments to local educational agencies (LEA), and an overview of the Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) recommendations. This is followed by a discussion of the potential effects of the BRAC recommendations on LEAs that will both lose and gain students as a result of the changes. The report concludes with a brief discussion of actions that have been taken by LEAs in anticipation of large influxes of federally connected students.
Date: September 7, 2006
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Israel: Background and Relations with the United States (open access)

Israel: Background and Relations with the United States

This report explains the background of Israel and its relation to the United States. It reviews government and politics, foreign policy, the economy, and other current issues.
Date: September 21, 2006
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues (open access)

Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues

None
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: Prados, Alfred B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy

None
Date: September 21, 2006
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lebanon: The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict (open access)

Lebanon: The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict

This report analyzes the conflict between Israel and two U.S State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO's), the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and the radical Palestinian Hamas organization.
Date: September 15, 2006
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.; Blanchard, Christopher M.; Katzman, Kenneth; Migdalovitz, Carol; Prados, Alfred; Gallis, Paul E. et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Critical Infrastructure: The National Asset Database (open access)

Critical Infrastructure: The National Asset Database

The purpose of this report is to discuss the National Asset Database: what is in it, how it is populated, what the Database apparently is, what it is not, and how it is intended to be used. The report also discusses some of the issues on which Congress could focus its oversight, including appropriation bill language.
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: Moteff, John D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Restructuring U.S. Foreign Aid: The Role of the Director of Foreign Assistance (open access)

Restructuring U.S. Foreign Aid: The Role of the Director of Foreign Assistance

None
Date: September 8, 2006
Creator: Nowels, Larry & Veillette, Connie
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
East Asian Regional Architecture: New Economic and Security Arrangements and U.S. Policy (open access)

East Asian Regional Architecture: New Economic and Security Arrangements and U.S. Policy

The end of the Cold War, the rise of China, globalization, free trade agreements, the war on terror, and an institutional approach to keeping the peace is causing dramatic shifts in relationships among countries in East Asia. A new regional architecture in the form of trade, financial, and political arrangements among countries of East Asia is developing that has significant implications for U.S. interests and policy. This report examines this regional architecture with a focus on China, South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The types of arrangements include bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), regional trade pacts, currency and monetary arrangements, and political and security arrangements.
Date: September 18, 2006
Creator: Nanto, Dick K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment (open access)

Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment

Controversy has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Congress approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees via the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which was enacted pursuant to both the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 (P.L. 109-148), and the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-163). Among other things, the DTA contains provisions that (1) require Department of Defense (DOD) personnel to employ United States Army Field Manual guidelines while interrogating detainees, and (2) prohibit the “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of persons under the detention, custody, or control of the United States Government.” These provisions of the DTA, which were first introduced by Senator John McCain, have popularly been referred to as the “McCain amendment.” This report discusses the McCain amendment, as modified and subsequently enacted into law.
Date: September 20, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment (open access)

Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment

Controversy has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Congress approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees via the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which was enacted pursuant to both the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 (P.L. 109-148), and the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-163). Among other things, the DTA contains provisions that (1) require Department of Defense (DOD) personnel to employ United States Army Field Manual guidelines while interrogating detainees, and (2) prohibit the “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of persons under the detention, custody, or control of the United States Government.” These provisions of the DTA, which were first introduced by Senator John McCain, have popularly been referred to as the “McCain Amendment.” This report discusses the McCain Amendment, as modified and subsequently enacted into law.
Date: September 25, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Michael John
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border (open access)

Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border

Congress has been considering expanding the barriers currently deployed along the U.S. international land border. Currently, the United States Border Patrol (USBP) deploys fencing, which aims to impede the illegal entry of individuals, and vehicle barriers, which aim to impede the illegal entry of vehicles (but not individuals) along the border. A number of policy issues concerning border barriers generally and fencing specifically may be of interest to Congress, including, but not limited to: their effectiveness; their costs versus their benefits; their location; their design; and their potential diplomatic ramifications. Prominent bills include House-passed H.R. 4437 and H.R. 6061, and Senate-passed S. 2611, and H.R. 5631.
Date: September 21, 2006
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas & Viña, Stephen R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library