Federal Quantum Information Science: An Overview (open access)

Federal Quantum Information Science: An Overview

This report provides an overview of quantum information science (QIS) technologies, including examples of their existing and future applications; brief summaries of funding and selected initiatives in research and development (R&D) in the United States and elsewhere around the world; a description of U.S. congressional activity; and a discussion of related policy considerations.
Date: July 2, 2018
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mongolia (open access)

Mongolia

This report provides an overview of U.S.-Mongolia relations and the politics and economy of Mongolia.
Date: July 10, 2018
Creator: Lum, Thomas & Dolven, Ben
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview (open access)

Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview

This report discusses U.S. policy towards Cuba, including issues of government-to-government engagement, travel and commerce, change in U.S. immigration policy, continued human rights concerns, injuries of U.S. Embassy personnel in Havana, and Congressional action.
Date: July 2, 2018
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (open access)

Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

This report discusses the role of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and how the position fits into the organizational structure of the Defense Department.
Date: July 27, 2018
Creator: Gallo, Marcy E. & Schwartz, Moshe
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Appropriations Bill: An Overview of Housepassed H.R. 6157 (open access)

Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Appropriations Bill: An Overview of Housepassed H.R. 6157

This report provides an overview of the appropriations and provisions of the FY2019 Defense Appropriations Bill, such as proposed funding cuts and increases.
Date: July 19, 2018
Creator: Towell, Pat
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Appropriations Bill: An Overview of S. 3159, as Reported (open access)

Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Appropriations Bill: An Overview of S. 3159, as Reported

This report provides an overview of the appropriations and provisions of the FY2019 Defense Appropriations Bill.
Date: July 27, 2018
Creator: McGarry, Brendan W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Moldova: An Overview (open access)

Moldova: An Overview

This report discusses Moldova, one of three post-Soviet states, together with Ukraine and Georgia, seeking greater integration with the West as it copes with separatist territories occupied by Russian forces.
Date: July 25, 2018
Creator: Welt, Cory
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) (open access)

National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)

This report provides a brief description of the establishment, purposes, and organization of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
Date: July 11, 2018
Creator: DeVine, Michael E. & Peters, Heidi M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Enforcing U.S. Trade Laws: Section 301 and China (open access)

Enforcing U.S. Trade Laws: Section 301 and China

This report discusses the Trump Administration's decision to proceed with a Section 301 case against China's intellectual property rights (IPR) policies and their intent to impose 25% ad valorem tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. It also looks at past use of Section 301 against China.
Date: July 23, 2018
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Argentina (open access)

Argentina

This report discusses Argentina's political and economic situation, U.S. foreign aid to Argentina, trade and investment issues, and U.S. Congressional interest.
Date: July 23, 2018
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Trade Deficit: An Overview (open access)

The U.S. Trade Deficit: An Overview

This report provides an overview of the U.S. trade deficit, which is the numerical difference between a country's exports and imports of goods and services. Topics include the source of the trade deficit, trade agreements, unemployment, and issues for Congress.
Date: July 18, 2018
Creator: Jackson, James K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Designation of Election Systems as Critical Infrastructure (open access)

The Designation of Election Systems as Critical Infrastructure

This report discusses the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designating the election infrastructure used in federal elections as a component of U.S. critical infrastructure. The designation was made in January 2017, in response to a series of cyberattacks that occurred on information systems of state and local election jurisdictions prior to the 2016 election. The report explains the concept of critical infrastructure and the implications of the designation.
Date: July 6, 2018
Creator: Fischer, Eric A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Sanctions on Russia: An Overview (open access)

U.S. Sanctions on Russia: An Overview

This report provides an overview of U.S. sanctions imposed against Russia for aggression against Ukraine, election interference, malicious cyber activity, human rights violations, weapons proliferation, and other activities.
Date: July 26, 2018
Creator: Rennack, Dianne E. & Welt, Cory
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transnational Crime Issues: Human Trafficking (open access)

Transnational Crime Issues: Human Trafficking

This report discusses U.S. and international responses to the issue of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a domestic and international phenomenon that refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to exploitative conditions that may be tantamount to slavery.
Date: July 19, 2018
Creator: Rosen, Liana W. & Weber, Michael A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The European Union and China (open access)

The European Union and China

This report discusses the political and economic relationship between the European Union (EU) and China. The EU and China have over 70 high-level and senior-level dialogues, working groups, and steering committees reflecting the wide-ranging scope of the relationship, including in areas such as cyber, transnational crime, economics, high-tech innovation, tourism, energy, and the environment.
Date: July 26, 2018
Creator: Morelli, Vincent L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emergency Department Boarding of Behavioral Health Patients (open access)

Emergency Department Boarding of Behavioral Health Patients

This report outlines emergency department (ED) boarding of behavioral health (BH) patients and highlights areas for research and discusses policy options Congress may consider to reduce BH patient boarding. Behavioral health refers to patients with psychiatric and/or substance use disorders. Boarding refers to the holding of inpatients in an ED after an admission or transfer decision has been made.
Date: July 19, 2018
Creator: Heisler, Elayne J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
FY2019 Funding for CCS and Other DOE Fossil Energy R&D (open access)

FY2019 Funding for CCS and Other DOE Fossil Energy R&D

This report discusses carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), a process that aims to capture man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) at its source and store it to prevent its release to the atmosphere.
Date: July 2, 2018
Creator: Folger, Peter
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S.-EU Trade and Economic Issues (open access)

U.S.-EU Trade and Economic Issues

This report discusses U.S.-EU trade and economic relations, which currently face heightened tension, particularly due to the Trump Administration's trade policy, which is focusing on unilateral tariff measures under U.S. trade law and taking a critical view of the U.S. role in international economic cooperation. Given U.S.-EU historical joint leadership on global trade and economic issues, these developments could have implications for the rules-based international trading system, a foundation of the global economic order that has contributed to global economic growth and stability in the post-World War II era.
Date: July 20, 2018
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cyprus (open access)

Cyprus

This report briefly describes the political situation, economic conditions, energy policy of Cyprus.
Date: July 25, 2018
Creator: Morelli, Vincent L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mexico: Evolution of the Mérida Initiative, 2007-2019 (open access)

Mexico: Evolution of the Mérida Initiative, 2007-2019

This report begins with a brief discussion of security challenges in Mexico and Mexico's security strategy. It then provides information on congressional funding and oversight of the Mérida Initiative, with details about each of the program's four pillars. The report concludes by raising policy issues that Congress may wish to consider.
Date: July 23, 2018
Creator: Seelke, Clare Ribando
System: The UNT Digital Library
Taiwan: Select Political and Security Issues (open access)

Taiwan: Select Political and Security Issues

This report discusses the political situation of Taiwan, which officially calls itself the Republic of China (ROC). Topics covered include the Trump Administration's policy toward Taiwan, the relationship between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC), and legislation in the 115th Congress.
Date: July 31, 2018
Creator: Lawrence, Susan V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Zimbabwe: Forthcoming Elections (open access)

Zimbabwe: Forthcoming Elections

This report discusses the election players, electoral challenges, and U.S. role in the July 2018 Zimbabwe elections -- the first since the November 2017 resignation of President Robert Mugabe after 37 years in office. The election has raised hopes for the resolution of a persistent economic crisis and for a democratic transition ending a long pattern of human rights violations and undemocratic governance--and an end to the years of international condemnation, sanctions, and isolation generated by such trends.
Date: July 26, 2018
Creator: Cook, Nicolas
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S.-EU Trade and Investment Ties: Magnitude and Scope (open access)

U.S.-EU Trade and Investment Ties: Magnitude and Scope

This report provides background information and analysis on the trade and investment relationship between the United States and the European Union. It also discusses the EU economy and issues for Congress.
Date: July 20, 2018
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias
System: The UNT Digital Library