Family Planning Program Under Title X of the Public Health Service Act (open access)

Family Planning Program Under Title X of the Public Health Service Act

This report discuses the federal Family Planning Program (Title X) and its functions and funding. The FY2019 budget request is included.
Date: April 27, 2018
Creator: Napili, Angela
System: The UNT Digital Library
The First Responder Network (FirstNet) and Next-Generation Communications for Public Safety: Issues for Congress (open access)

The First Responder Network (FirstNet) and Next-Generation Communications for Public Safety: Issues for Congress

This report discusses the FirstNet communication system for first responders and other emergency personnel. Its creation, purpose, and future use are discussed.
Date: April 27, 2018
Creator: Gallagher, Jill C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, and gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations.
Date: April 27, 2018
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
OPIC, USAID, and Proposed Development Finance Reorganization (open access)

OPIC, USAID, and Proposed Development Finance Reorganization

This report discusses a proposed reorganization of U.S. developmental aid programs that would consolidate several agencies into one central agency. Various pros and cons of the proposal are also included.
Date: April 27, 2018
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias & Tarnoff, Curt
System: The UNT Digital Library
SBA Veterans Assistance Programs :An Analysis of Contemporary Issues (open access)

SBA Veterans Assistance Programs :An Analysis of Contemporary Issues

This report opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences. The report also describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015.
Date: April 27, 2018
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Loan Limits for Government-Backed Mortgages (open access)

The Loan Limits for Government-Backed Mortgages

This report contains brief program descriptions for each of the government-backed housing loan programs and discusses the maximum guarantee amounts for each. The government or quasi-government entities that insure or guarantee mortgages and are discussed in this report are the following: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS).
Date: April 27, 2017
Creator: Weiss, N. Eric; Jones, Katie; Perl, Libby & Cowan, Tadlock
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA (open access)

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively. This report explains the major events in the litigation as of the date of publication, including the Supreme Court stay, and the likely timetable of events in the near term.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corporate Expatriation, Inversions, and Mergers: Tax Issues (open access)

Corporate Expatriation, Inversions, and Mergers: Tax Issues

This report begins with a brief discussion of relevant portions of the U.S. corporate income tax system before examining how inversions were commonly structured. It then looks at how Congress and the Department of the Treasury have reduced the benefits of inversions, and concludes with an examination of methods that remain to invert and policy options available to prevent or limit these inversions.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Marples, Donald J. & Gravelle, Jane G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Judge Merrick Garland: His Jurisprudence and Potential Impact on the Supreme Court (open access)

Judge Merrick Garland: His Jurisprudence and Potential Impact on the Supreme Court

This report provides an overview of Judge Garland's jurisprudence and discusses what the impact on the Court might be if he, or a judge of a similar judicial approach, were to be confirmed to succeed Justice Scalia. The report begins with his views on two overarching issues -- the role of the judiciary and statutory interpretation -- it then addresses 14 separate areas of law, which are arranged in alphabetical order from "administrative law" to "takings."
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Nolan, Andrew; Manuel, Kate M. & Murrill, Brandon J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Legislative Options for Financing Water Infrastructure (open access)

Legislative Options for Financing Water Infrastructure

This report discusses several options considered by Congress to address the financing needs of local communities for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects and to decrease or close the gap between available funds and projected needs. It provides an overview of six options that are reflected in recent legislative proposals, including their budgetary implications.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Copeland, Claudia; Maguire, Steven & Mallett, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress (open access)

Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on maritime territorial and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) disputes in the East China (ECS) and South China Sea (SCS) involving China, with a focus on how these disputes may affect U.S. strategic and policy interests.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: Lessons Learned and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: Lessons Learned and Issues for Congress

The first section of this report provides an overview of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced "Reggie") cap-and-trade program and the participating RGGI states. The subsequent sections discuss selected issues raised by RGGI that may be of interest to Congress. The final section provides some final observations that may be instructive to policymakers.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): A Primer (open access)

Traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): A Primer

This report describes the primary features of two common retirement savings accounts that are available to individuals: traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). In response to concerns over the adequacy of retirement savings, Congress has created incentives to encourage individuals to save more for retirement through a variety of retirement plans. Some retirement plans are employer-sponsored, such as 401(k) plans, and others are established by individual employees, such as IRAs.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Topoleski, John J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (open access)

Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

This report provides an overview of the situation in Ukraine. Following the February 2014 collapse of the Kremlin-supported government of President Viktor Yanukovych, there was an emergence of a pro-Western, pro-reform government and an energized public generally anxious to lessen Moscow's influence, committed to addressing the need for serious reform and determined to draw closer to Europe and the United States.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Morelli, Vincent L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Role of Congress in Trade Policy (open access)

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Role of Congress in Trade Policy

This report presents background and analysis on the development of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which expired on July 1, 2007. The report also includes a summary of the major provisions under the recently expired authority and a discussion of the issues that have arisen in the debate over TPA renewal, as well as policy options available to Congress.
Date: April 27, 2015
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Women in Congress, 1917-2015: Biographical and Committee Assignment Information, and Listings by State and Congress (open access)

Women in Congress, 1917-2015: Biographical and Committee Assignment Information, and Listings by State and Congress

This report includes biographical information, including the names, committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 313 women who have been elected or appointed to Congress.
Date: April 27, 2015
Creator: Manning, Jennifer E. & Brudnick, Ida A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Budget "Sequestration" and Selected Program Exemptions and Special Rules (open access)

Budget "Sequestration" and Selected Program Exemptions and Special Rules

"Sequestration" is a process of automatic, largely across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently canceled to enforce certain budget policy goals. This report looks at the history and current status of sequestration at it relates to Congress. This includes how it is enacted and special rules that can apply.
Date: April 27, 2012
Creator: Spar, Karen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information (open access)

Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information

The report discusses issues that may be of interest to Congress-managing, sharing, and coordinating geospatial information-and includes examples of legislation. The report also summarizes a diverse set of recommendations and proposals from different non-governmental organizations for how to improve the coordination and management of geospatial information at the federal and state levels.
Date: April 27, 2012
Creator: Folger, Peter
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Background and Issues (open access)

The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Background and Issues

The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, or U.S. Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, is a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia, which will eventually eliminate tariffs and other barriers in bilateral trade in goods and services. The agreement will enter into force on May 15, 2012. The United States is Colombia's leading trade partner. Colombia accounts for a very small percentage of U.S. trade (1.0% in 2011), ranking 22nd among U.S. export markets and 23rd as a supplier of U.S. imports. Economic studies on the impact of a U.S.-Colombia FTA have found that, upon full implementation of an agreement, the impact on the United States would be positive but very small due to the small size of the Colombian economy when compared to that of the United States (about 2.2%). This report also discusses concerns that Congress has with Colombian human rights violations.
Date: April 27, 2012
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Support (open access)

U.S. Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Support

The most widely used solar technology involves photovoltaic (PV) solar modules, which draw on semiconducting materials to convert sunlight into electricity. By year-end 2011, the total number of grid-connected PV systems nationwide reached almost 215,000. Domestic demand is met both by imports and by about 100 U.S. manufacturing facilities. The competitiveness of solar PV as a source of electric generation in the United States will likely be adversely affected both by the expiration of tax provisions and by the rapid development of shale gas, which has the potential to lower the cost of gas-fired power generation and reduce the cost-competitiveness of solar power, particularly as an energy source for utilities. In light of these developments, the ability to build a significant U.S. production base for PV equipment is in question.
Date: April 27, 2012
Creator: Platzer, Michaela D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care (open access)

Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care

This report begins with a discussion of the foster care system and the Social Security benefits available to eligible children, including those in foster care. It then describes the role of representative payees and their responsibilities. The report provides data on the use of Social Security benefits to reimburse states for child welfare, and includes a discussion of the Keffeler decision. Finally, the report concludes with proposals supported by some advocates to change the current practice of using SSI and other Social Security benefits to fund foster care.
Date: April 27, 2011
Creator: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.; Szymendera, Scott & Stoltzfus, Emilie
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations (open access)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations

This report provides background information on key elements of the FBI terrorism investigative process based on publicly available information. This report sets forth possible considerations for Congress as it executes its oversight role. These issues include the extent to which intelligence has been integrated into FBI operations to support its counterterrorism mission and the progress the Bureau has made on its intelligence reform initiatives.
Date: April 27, 2011
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P. & Randol, Mark A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations (open access)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations

This report provides background information on key elements of the FBI terrorism investigative process based on publicly available information. This report sets forth possible considerations for Congress as it executes its oversight role. These issues include the extent to which intelligence has been integrated into FBI operations to support its counterterrorism mission and the progress the Bureau has made on its intelligence reform initiatives. In addition, these issues will also be relevant during confirmation hearings for a new director.
Date: April 27, 2011
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P. & Randol, Mark A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Peace Corps: Current Issues (open access)

The Peace Corps: Current Issues

This report provides a brief overview of the Peace Corps and discusses how the 112th Congress is considering the President's annual funding request for the Peace Corps and efforts to reauthorize the Peace Corps. Current issues for Congress include the extent to which there is available funding for Peace Corps expansion, whether the Peace Corps has the institutional capacity to expand, and whether volunteers are able to function in a safe and secure environment.
Date: April 27, 2011
Creator: Tarnoff, Curt
System: The UNT Digital Library