The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals: Legislative Initiatives and Their Revenue Effects (open access)

The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals: Legislative Initiatives and Their Revenue Effects

This report discusses legislative initiatives regarding the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals, which was originally enacted to ensure that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum amount of federal taxes.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: Esenwein, Gregg A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal (open access)

Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal

This report mainly provides information about the Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal.Federal policy is based on the premise that nuclear waste can be disposed of safety.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: Holt, Mark
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress (open access)

Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

The courts and the executive branch face major decisions on clean air issues in 2006, with Congress more likely playing an oversight role. One focus is EPA's Jan. 17 2006 proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles, which are estimated to cause tens of thousands of premature deaths annually. Whether the proposal is supported by the available science and what impact its implementation would have likely issues of concern. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress (open access)

Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

The courts and the executive branch face major decisions on clean air issues in 2006, with Congress more likely playing an oversight role. One focus is EPA's Jan. 17 2006 proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles, which are estimated to cause tens of thousands of premature deaths annually. Whether the proposal is supported by the available science and what impact its implementation would have likely issues of concern. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Extending the 2001, 2003, and 2004 Tax Cuts (open access)

Extending the 2001, 2003, and 2004 Tax Cuts

This report discusses the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA, and the Working Family Tax Relief Act of 2004 (WFTRA). Since all of the tax reductions provisions of all three of these acts expire at some point in the future, Congress faces the issue of whether to extend and/or make the reductions permanent. Extending these tax reductions, however, is likely to significantly reduce federal revenues in the future.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: Esenwein, Gregg A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues (open access)

Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues

This report discusses the background and policy issues related to Internet domain names.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Space Programs: Issues Concerning DOD's SBIRS and STSS Programs (open access)

Military Space Programs: Issues Concerning DOD's SBIRS and STSS Programs

This report discusses the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS, formerly SBIRS-Low), managed by the Missile Defense Agency, which performs missile tracking and target discrimination for missile defense objectives.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (open access)

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

This report includes information regarding strategic petroleum reserve. Background and analysis, purchases of crude oil, and drawdown of the reserve are among topics discussed in this report.
Date: November 25, 2005
Creator: Bamberger, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues (open access)

Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Copson, Raymond W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disaster Response and the Appointment of a Recovery Czar: The Executive Branch's Response to the Flood of 1927 (open access)

Disaster Response and the Appointment of a Recovery Czar: The Executive Branch's Response to the Flood of 1927

This report describes the flood of 1927, and assesses the federal government’s response thereto. In short, the federal response was an executive branch response. President Calvin Coolidge created a quasi-governmental commission that included members of his Cabinet and the American National Red Cross. This commission encouraged the public to donate funds to the relief effort. It also gave Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover near-absolute authority to organize and oversee its response. Hoover used this authority to weave together federal resources, American National Red Cross volunteers, and the private sector to carry out the relief and recovery program.
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Protection Issues in the 109th Congress (open access)

Environmental Protection Issues in the 109th Congress

None
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R. & Isler, Margaret
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Reserve: Recurrent Public Policy Issues (open access)

The Federal Reserve: Recurrent Public Policy Issues

None
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Labonte, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile (open access)

Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile

"This report presents a profile of the membership of the 109th Congress" (p. 1).
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Amer, Mildred L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues (open access)

Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues

None
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Henning, Charles A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Senate Rule XIV Procedures for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar (open access)

Senate Rule XIV Procedures for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar

This report describes the Senate Rule XIV, para. 2, which requires that bills and resolutions have three readings before passage, and that they be read twice before being referred to committee.
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Koempel, Michael L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Senior Executive Service (SES) Pay System (open access)

Senior Executive Service (SES) Pay System

None
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spyware: Background and Policy Issues for Congress (open access)

Spyware: Background and Policy Issues for Congress

None
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student Loan Forgiveness Programs (open access)

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

None
Date: October 25, 2005
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Average Marginal Income Tax Rates by Adjusted Gross Income and Filing Status (open access)

Average Marginal Income Tax Rates by Adjusted Gross Income and Filing Status

This report presents average marginal income tax rates by filling status and detailed adjusted gross income(AGI) class for the 2001 tax year.
Date: August 25, 2005
Creator: Maguire, Steven
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional or Federal Charters: Overview and Current Issues (open access)

Congressional or Federal Charters: Overview and Current Issues

A congressional or federal charter is a federal statute that establishes a corporation. Congress has issued charters since 1791, although most charters were issued after the start of the 20th century. This report discusses the issues that recently, Congress has faced two issues involving its use of charters — confusion over who is responsible for the activities of chartered corporations and the challenges of managing them.
Date: August 25, 2005
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Protection Agency: Appropriations for FY2006 (open access)

Environmental Protection Agency: Appropriations for FY2006

The 109th Congress moved funding jurisdiction for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD), and Independent Agencies appropriations subcommittee to the Interior subcommittee. Title II of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-54, H.R. 2361) provides $7.73 billion for EPA, subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.476%. Section 439 of Title IV indicates that the rescission is to be applied proportionately among each account, program, project, and activity specified in the law, accompanying reports, and the President’s budget request.
Date: August 25, 2005
Creator: Esworthy, Robert & Bearden, David M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security and Labor-Management Relations: NTEU v. Chertoff (open access)

Homeland Security and Labor-Management Relations: NTEU v. Chertoff

This report examines the court's opinion on the new proposal to develop a separate human resources management system for the employees of the Department of Homeland Security.
Date: August 25, 2005
Creator: Nicola, Thomas J. & Shimabukuro, Jon O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Middle East Peace Talks (open access)

The Middle East Peace Talks

After the first Gulf war, in 1991, a new the peace process was begun, with Israel and the Palestinians discussing a five-year period of interim self-rule leading to a final settlement. Israel and Syria discussed Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace. Israel and Jordan discussed relations. Israel and Lebanon focused on Israel’s withdrawal from its self-declared security zone in south Lebanon and reciprocal Lebanese actions.
Date: August 25, 2005
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suit by Black Farmers (open access)

The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suit by Black Farmers

This report highlights some of the events that led up to the Pigford class action suit and outlines the structure of the settlement agreement. It also discusses the number of claims reviewed, denied, and awarded, and some of the issues raised by various parties.
Date: August 25, 2005
Creator: Vina, Stephen R. & Cowan, Tadlock
System: The UNT Digital Library