The United Kingdom and the European Union: Stay or Go? (open access)

The United Kingdom and the European Union: Stay or Go?

This report briefly discusses the vote on whether or not the UK should exit the EU, which is set to take place on June 23, 2016.
Date: February 24, 2016
Creator: Mix, Derek E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
New Nuclear Warheads: Legislative Provisions (open access)

New Nuclear Warheads: Legislative Provisions

This report reviews legislation addressing research and development on new or low-yield nuclear weapons. It does not address the policy debate on the benefits and risks of this capability.
Date: February 5, 2018
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Section 201 Safeguards on Solar Products and Washing Machines (open access)

Section 201 Safeguards on Solar Products and Washing Machines

This report discusses new U.S. tariffs on solar energy related products and certain large residential washing machines which are intended to safeguard American businesses from foreign competition temporarily while they adjust production levels and methods.
Date: February 7, 2018
Creator: Jones, Vivian C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2018 National Defense Strategy (open access)

The 2018 National Defense Strategy

This report discusses the 2018 National Defense Strategy which lays out the goals and methods of the Defense Department for the year.
Date: February 5, 2018
Creator: McInnis, Kathleen J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Extraordinary Measures" and the Debt Limit (open access)

"Extraordinary Measures" and the Debt Limit

This report discusses the statuary debt limit and the use of "extraordinary measures" by the Treasury Department to postpone when Congress must act on raising the debt limit or risk defaulting on debts.
Date: February 2, 2018
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Hughes, Joseph S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trespassing: The Leading Cause of Rail-Related Fatalities (open access)

Trespassing: The Leading Cause of Rail-Related Fatalities

This report discusses trespassing on railroad property and tracks and how it is the leading cause of train accident fatalities. Statistics on rail related fatalities and prevention strategies are discussed.
Date: February 2, 2018
Creator: Frittelli, John
System: The UNT Digital Library
Discretionary Spending Levels Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (open access)

Discretionary Spending Levels Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018

This report discusses how the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 effected discretionary spending levels and provides statistics related to discretionary levels over the past few years.
Date: February 15, 2018
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Labonte, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) (open access)

Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)

This report discusses the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) which was passed as a part of the 2018 budget bill.
Date: February 9, 2018
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
System: The UNT Digital Library
What Causes a Recession? (open access)

What Causes a Recession?

This report discusses causes of recessions and provides data on the length of time economic expansions of the past have lasted.
Date: February 2, 2018
Creator: Labonte, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Administration's Infrastructure Program Emphasizes Nonfederal Revenue (open access)

Administration's Infrastructure Program Emphasizes Nonfederal Revenue

This report discusses the Trump Administration's infrastructure plan and specifically the newly proposed Infrastructure Incentives Program. The report focuses on the potential of the program for projects submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOT), one of the agencies that would be charged with administering the program in addition to the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposal does not break out the funds that would be directed to specific agencies or types of infrastructure.
Date: February 14, 2018
Creator: Mallett, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Reserved Water Rights and Groundwater: Quantity, Quality, and Pore Space (open access)

Federal Reserved Water Rights and Groundwater: Quantity, Quality, and Pore Space

This report discusses Native American tribes rights to groundwater on tribal land and the recent Supreme Court decision to not review the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court which upheld the groundwater rights of a California Tribe. The concepts of quantity, quality, and pore space as related to groundwater are also discussed.
Date: February 8, 2018
Creator: Folger, Peter
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fiscal Year 2019 Budget: Government Reorganization and Federal Workforce Reform (open access)

Fiscal Year 2019 Budget: Government Reorganization and Federal Workforce Reform

This report discusses the proposed FY2019 general U.S. budget and its plans for government reorganization and federal workforce reform.
Date: February 22, 2018
Creator: Schwemle, Barbara L. & Hogue, Henry B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Has the Economy Reached Full Employment? If So, Will It Stay There? (open access)

Has the Economy Reached Full Employment? If So, Will It Stay There?

This report considers the question of whether the U.S. has reached full employment (defined as the lowest level of unemployment that is sustainable for the economy without over-inflating wages) and provides statistical charts of the unemployment rate and labor force participation rates along with analysis of the data.
Date: February 15, 2018
Creator: Labonte, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Renewed Crypto Wars? (open access)

Renewed Crypto Wars?

This report briefly examines renewed tensions between tech companies and the government regarding encryption "back doors" and how quickly-advancing technologies could impact law enforcement investigations.
Date: February 9, 2016
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Zika Virus: Global Health Considerations (open access)

Zika Virus: Global Health Considerations

This report gives a brief overview of the Zika Vvrus, which typically causes mild symptoms, including fever, rash, and conjunctivitis. Health experts are uncertain whether Zika causes microcephaly, a potentially-severe birth defect involving brain damage.
Date: February 9, 2016
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji
System: The UNT Digital Library
Additional U.S. Ground Troops to Counter the Islamic State? Five Questions (open access)

Additional U.S. Ground Troops to Counter the Islamic State? Five Questions

This report briefly discusses various arguments regarding the introduction of additional ground forces to secure territory once it has been taken back from the Islamic State.
Date: February 17, 2016
Creator: McInnis, Kathleen J. & Feickert, Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aung San Suu Kyi's Party Takes Control of Parliament in Burma (open access)

Aung San Suu Kyi's Party Takes Control of Parliament in Burma

This report discusses politics and government in Burma following elections in November 2015. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has now assumed control of Burma's Union Parliament. The lower chamber (People's Assembly) and the upper chamber (National Assembly) took office on February 1 and 3, 2016, respectively.
Date: February 9, 2016
Creator: Martin, Michael F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Appointment of African American U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Historical Overview and Current Data (open access)

Appointment of African American U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Historical Overview and Current Data

This report briefly provides historical and statistical information related to the appointment of African Americans as U.S. circuit and district court judges. Such information addresses ongoing congressional interest in the demographic characteristics of lower federal court judges.
Date: February 12, 2016
Creator: McMillion, Barry J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Zika Virus: Global Health Considerations (open access)

Zika Virus: Global Health Considerations

This report gives a brief overview of the Zika virus, which typically causes mild symptoms, including fever, rash, and conjunctivitis. Health experts are uncertain whether Zika causes microcephaly, a potentially-severe birth defect involving brain damage.
Date: February 6, 2016
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Shutdown of the Joint North/South Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex (open access)

The Shutdown of the Joint North/South Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex

This report briefly discusses the South Korean government's decision to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), which is an 11-year-old industrial park located in North Korea just across the demilitarized zone where more than 120 South Korean manufacturers employed over 50,000 North Korean workers.
Date: February 11, 2016
Creator: Manyin, Mark E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Is Broadband Deployment Reasonable and Timely? (open access)

Is Broadband Deployment Reasonable and Timely?

This report briefly discusses the state of broadband Internet in America as determined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its latest Broadband Progress Report.
Date: February 6, 2016
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lead in Flint, Michigan's Drinking Water: Federal Regulatory Role (open access)

Lead in Flint, Michigan's Drinking Water: Federal Regulatory Role

This report discusses the federal regulatory role in regards to drinking water, more specifically in the context of the Flint water crisis. Lead exposure is a major public health concern, particularly because low-level exposures can impair the neurodevelopment of children. The main source of lead in drinking water is the corrosion of plumbing materials in the distribution system.
Date: February 16, 2016
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
System: The UNT Digital Library
China's Recent Stock Market Volatility: What Are the Implications? (open access)

China's Recent Stock Market Volatility: What Are the Implications?

This report briefly discusses the consequences of rapid price increases from about mid-2014 to mid-2015 in China's two main stock markets, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE).
Date: February 11, 2016
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M. & Nelson, Gabriel M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Maternity and Parental Leave Policies (open access)

Military Maternity and Parental Leave Policies

This report briefly discusses the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) new policies for maternity and parental leave as part of the department's "Force of the Future" initiative.
Date: February 3, 2016
Creator: Kamarck, Kristy N.
System: The UNT Digital Library