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Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress (open access)

Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

Report that introduces the main steps through which a bill (or other item of business) may travel in the legislative process, from introduction to committee and floor consideration to possible presidential consideration.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction (open access)

Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction

Report that is designed to provide Members of Congress and congressional staff with a general overview of principles and foundations of federal emergency management in the United States as well as the types of activities provided by various federal agencies.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions (open access)

The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

Report providing an overview of the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 112th Congress (open access)

Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 112th Congress

Report that describes several policy issues regarding chemical facility security and identifies policy options for congressional consideration.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Shea, Dana A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Addressing the Long-Run Budget Deficit: A Comparison of Approaches (open access)

Addressing the Long-Run Budget Deficit: A Comparison of Approaches

Report that examines alternative approaches to reducing the deficit, relating to the immediate issues arising from the Budget Control Act and the expiring tax cuts as well as to ongoing longer term decisions about how to bring the debt under control.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

Report that discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government. Election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan are also discussed.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Benefits for Members of Congress (open access)

Health Benefits for Members of Congress

Report that 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: November 30, 2012
Creator: Cornell, Ada S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress (open access)

Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress

Report that covers the logistics and background of the Congressional Pension program.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress (open access)

Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress

Report that describes the steps which precede the joint session and the procedures set in the Constitution and statute by which the House and Senate jointly certify the results of the electoral vote. It also discusses the procedures set in law governing challenges to the validity of an electoral vote, and makes reference to the procedures followed during the joint session in 2005 by which the election of George W. Bush was certified.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Maskell, Jack & Rybicki, Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources (open access)

Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources

Report that discusses House and Senate rules and guidelines, laws, and regulations affecting congressional casework, as well as the role of caseworkers. It also provides sample outlines and document templates for implementing and managing congressional casework.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management (open access)

Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management

Report that describes statutory requirements for allocating congressional nominations to service academies. It also identifies the qualifications that must be met by potential nominees. Includes a sample document.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Davis-Bacon Act: Institutional Evolution and Public Policy (open access)

The Davis-Bacon Act: Institutional Evolution and Public Policy

This report examines policy issues the Davis-Bacon Act has sparked through the years and which remain a part of the Davis-Bacon debate of the 1990s. These include such questions as: wage rate determination procedures, reporting requirements under the Copeland Act, an appropriate threshold for activation of the statute, interagency relationships with respect to Davis-Bacon enforcement and compliance activity, administrative or judicial appeals procedures, the use of "helpers" and other low-skilled workers on covered projects, and the right of a President to suspend the statute as well as the conditions under which such a suspension may occur. That the fundamental premise of the Act remains in contention after 60 years may be, itself, part of the public policy debate.
Date: November 30, 2007
Creator: Whittaker, William G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The "Son of Sam" Case: Legislative Implications (open access)

The "Son of Sam" Case: Legislative Implications

In Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the new York State Crime Victims Board, the U.S. Supreme Court held that New York State's "Son of Sam" law was inconsistent with the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech and press. This report examines the Supreme Court decision and then considers whether its rationale renders the federal law unconstitutional. Concluding that it likely does, the report considers whether it would be possible to enact a constitutional Son-of-Sam statute. Finally, the report takes note of some state Son-of-Sam statutes that have been enacted since the Supreme Court decision.
Date: November 30, 1998
Creator: Cohen, Henry
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, previously known as the TAO(X) program, a program to build a new class of 20 fleet oilers for the Navy. The report also discusses budget requests for FY2018 and FY2019.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Third Treasury Report on Regulatory Relief: Asset Management and Insurance (open access)

Third Treasury Report on Regulatory Relief: Asset Management and Insurance

This report provides an overview of the third U.S. Treasury publiscation in a series of reports describing regulations of the financial system and ways that it could be improved. This report specifically addresses asset management and insurance with background information and recommendations for improvements.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Perkins, David W. & Webel, Baird
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Senate Vacancies: Contemporary Developments and Perspectives (open access)

U.S. Senate Vacancies: Contemporary Developments and Perspectives

This report discusses senate vacancies created by a member resigning, dying, or transferring to another position as well as the the procedures to fill them.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Concurrent Receipt: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Concurrent Receipt: Background and Issues for Congress

This report addresses the issue of concurrent receipt, which is when a person receives both military retirement pay and Veterans Administration (VA) disability pay in the full amounts due to them. It discusses the two primary components of the concurrent receipt program: Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP), and also reviews the possible legislative expansion of the program to additional populations with several potential options for Congress to consider.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Kamarck, Kristy N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues (open access)

Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues

This report provides a general discussion of legislative provisions and proposals relating to the military benefits for former spouses. Questions that this report seeks to answer include: What benefits can former spouses of members or retirees of the uniformed services receive under law? What role do the services play in facilitating delivery of those benefits? What practical problems arise in the implementation of and service involvement in claims on those benefits? How does the current system for a divorce-related division of military retired pay work?
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Kamarck, Kristy N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. A total of 29 LCSs have been procured through FY2017. For FY2018, the Navy is requesting the procurement of 30th and 31st LCSs.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Money Laundering: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. §1956 and Related Federal Criminal Law (open access)

Money Laundering: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. §1956 and Related Federal Criminal Law

This report provides an overview of the elements of federal criminal money laundering statutes and the sanctions imposed for their violation. It includes an extensive overview and analysis of elements as well as legal attributes and consequences of violating various federal criminal statues related to money laundering, most specifically 18 U.S.C. § 1956, 1957, and 1952. The end of the report provides text of the statutes discussed, citations of state money laundering and money transmission statutes, and a list federal predicate offenses with their accompanying maximum terms of imprisonment.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Missing Adults: Background, Federal Programs, and Issues for Congress (open access)

Missing Adults: Background, Federal Programs, and Issues for Congress

This report discusses federal efforts to assist local law enforcement in adult missing persons cases. It discusses demographics and record keeping of missing adults and unidentified remains; federally-funded databases that are used to track data on missing adults and unidentified individuals; federal programs and initiatives to assist in locating missing adults, including funding data; and issues regarding the federal role in missing adult cases.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
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 report discusses the requested research and development funds in Navy's proposed FY2018 budget, with the intent of procuring the first LX(R) in FY2020.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Primer (open access)

Social Security Primer

This report provides an overview of Social Security financing and benefits under current law. The report covers a brief history of the program; Social Security financing and the status of the trust funds; how Social Security benefits are computed; the types of Social Security benefits available to workers and their family members; the basic eligibility requirements for each type of benefit; the scheduled increase in the Social Security retirement age; and the federal income taxation of Social Security benefits.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Nuschler, Dawn
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contested Elections in Honduras (open access)

Contested Elections in Honduras

This report discuses the November 26, 2017 Honduran presidential elections including allegations of irregularity in the voting count and uncertainty over who the election winner is with only 89% of the vote counted as a of November 30th. It provides an overview of implications of the results of the election for the United States and their relations with Honduras.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
System: The UNT Digital Library