Army Corps Supplemental Appropriations: History, Trends, and Policy Issues (open access)

Army Corps Supplemental Appropriations: History, Trends, and Policy Issues

This report discusses the Army Corps of Engineers and its role in disaster recovery and flood management and how supplemental appropriations from Congress assist in funding these efforts. The 115th Congress is considering possible responses to various natural disasters in 2017. H.R. 4667--Further Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements, 2017 (as passed by the House)--proposes $12.09 billion for the agency's activities associated with response, repair, and recovery from natural disasters including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: Carter, Nicole T. & Stern, Charles V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Air Act Issues in the 115th Congress: In Brief (open access)

Clean Air Act Issues in the 115th Congress: In Brief

This report discusses issues regarding the EPA and its regulations of greenhouse gas emissions and air quality standards under the Clean Air Act and various court proceedings and Congressional and executive discussions related to them.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Offices of Selected Federal Agencies (open access)

Congressional Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

This report provides a list of about 200 congressional liaison offices, intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: Crane-Hirsch, Audrey Celeste
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) (open access)

Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence)

This report provides an overview of the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence Division) and the origin of the position.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: Peters, Heidi M. & DeVine, Michael E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Fiscal Year 2018 Budget and Appropriations (open access)

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Fiscal Year 2018 Budget and Appropriations

This report discusses the FY2018 appropriations for the State Department's Foreign Operations and Related Programs section and their funding levels, as well as the legislative process.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Lawson, Marian L. & Gill, Cory R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Flood Insurance Borrowing Authority (open access)

National Flood Insurance Borrowing Authority

This report evaluates the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP's) borrowing authority to receive loans from the U.S. Department of the Treasury -- particularly in the context of major floods -- and discusses the current financial situation of the NFIP as it pays claims from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: Horn, Diane P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
What Happens if the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Lapses? (open access)

What Happens if the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Lapses?

This report provides a short overview of what would happen if the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) were not to be reauthorized by January 19, 2018, and was allowed to lapse.
Date: January 3, 2018
Creator: Horn, Diane P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Inspectors General in and Beyond the Presidential Transition Period (open access)

Inspectors General in and Beyond the Presidential Transition Period

This report discusses the federal government transition period, as a new Congress convenes and a new Administration prepares to assume leadership of the executive branch.
Date: January 3, 2017
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) Negotiations: Overview and Issues for Congress (open access)

Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) Negotiations: Overview and Issues for Congress

This report provides a brief overview of U.S. trade in services, background on services in U.S. trade agreements, and an in-depth discussion of the ongoing Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiations.
Date: January 3, 2017
Creator: Fefer, Rachel F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Vermont Utility Cybersecurity Alarm (open access)

Vermont Utility Cybersecurity Alarm

This report discusses the cyber-security alarm, which was raised after a joint report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urged electric utilities to search their networks for signs of an infiltration linked to a Russian hacking operation (called the Grizzly Steppe) suspected in the hack of Democratic Party servers.
Date: January 3, 2017
Creator: Campbell, Richard J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2015 (open access)

Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2015

This report presents data on Member tenure and a historical analysis of tenure trends. During the 19th century, the average service of Representatives and Senators remained roughly constant, with little or no change over time; the average years of service was slightly higher for the first half of the century than during the second. During the late 19th and through the 20th century, the average years of service for Senators and Representatives steadily increased.
Date: January 3, 2015
Creator: Glassman, Matthew E. & Wilhelm, Amber H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues (open access)

China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

This report discusses the security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. and other foreign concerns about its role in weapons proliferation.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy-Water Nexus: The Water Sector's Energy Use (open access)

Energy-Water Nexus: The Water Sector's Energy Use

This report provides background on energy for facilities that treat and deliver water to end users and also dispose of and discharge wastewater. This report first discusses water-related energy use broadly and then energy for facilities that treat and deliver water to end users and also dispose of and discharge wastewater.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Introduction to Public Housing (open access)

Introduction to Public Housing

This report serves as an introduction to the federal public housing program. It provides information on the history of the program, how it is administered and funded, and the characteristics of public housing properties and the households they serve. While it introduces current policy issues, a full analysis of those issues and discussion of current legislation is not included in this report.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: McCarty, Maggie
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background (open access)

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background

This report reprints the text of the five National Security Letter (NSL) statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would be returned under S.1125 and H.R. 1805).
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background (open access)

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background

This report discusses the USA PATRIOT Act (107-56) and its expanded authority to issue national security letters (NSLs). A report by the Department of Justice's Inspector General (IG) found that in its pre-amendment use of expanded USA PATRIOT Act authority the FBI had "used NSLs in violation of applicable NSL statutes, Attorney General Guidelines, and internal FBI policies," but that no criminal laws had been broken.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons (open access)

Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons

This report provides basic information about U.S. and Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons. It begins with a brief discussion of how these weapons have appeared in public debates in the past few decades, then summarizes the differences between strategic and nonstrategic nuclear weapons. It then provides some historical background, describing the numbers and types of nonstrategic nuclear weapons deployed by both nations during the Cold War and in the past decade; the policies that guided the deployment and prospective use of these weapons; and the measures that the two sides have taken to reduce and contain their forces. The report reviews the issues that have been raised with regard to U.S. and Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons, and summarizes a number of policy options that might be explored by Congress, the United States, Russia, and other nations to address these issues.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities (open access)

Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities

This report discusses the physical security at nuclear power plants and concerns of radiological sabotage, a deliberate act against a plant that could directly or indirectly endanger public health and safety through exposure to radiation.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Holt, Mark & Andrews, Anthony
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues (open access)

Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues

This report provides a historical examination of the Small Business Administration's SBA size standards, and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business. It also discusses H.R. 585, the Small Business Size Standard Flexibility Act of 2011, which would have authorized the SBA's Office of Chief Counsel for Advocacy to approve or disapprove a size standard proposed by a federal agency if it deviates from the SBA's size standards.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Dilger, Robert J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2014 Budget and Appropriations (open access)

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2014 Budget and Appropriations

This report provides a brief overview of the FY2014 State Department, Foreign Operations and Related Programs funding request, as well as top-line analysis of pending House and Senate State-Foreign Operations appropriations proposals.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Tiersky, Alex & Lawson, Marian L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States: Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States: Frequently Asked Questions

This report answers frequently asked questions about the pilot program permitting Mexican trucks into the United States.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Frittelli, John
System: The UNT Digital Library
Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the new defense strategy, which was unveiled by senior Department of Defense (DOD) leadership based on a review of potential future security challenges, current defense strategy, and budgetary constraints. This strategy will rebalance the Army's global posture and presence, emphasizing where potential problems are likely to arise, such as the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Date: January 3, 2013
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future (open access)

Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future

This report surveys existing law for legal issues that have arisen, or may arise in the future, on account of climate change and government responses thereto.
Date: January 3, 2013
Creator: Meltz, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy Policy: 113th Congress Issues (open access)

Energy Policy: 113th Congress Issues

This report discusses various aspects and considerations regarding energy policy in the United States. The report covers topics including energy conservation, efficiency, supply, prices and legislation.
Date: January 3, 2013
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
System: The UNT Digital Library