Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations

This report discusses the current state of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its relationship with the United States, and future initiatives to further develop U.S.-Saudi relations. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ruled by the Al Saud family since its founding in 1932, wields significant global political and economic influence. Close U.S.-Saudi official relations have survived a series of challenges since the 1940s, and, in recent years, shared concerns over Sunni Islamist extremist terrorism and Iranian regional ambitions have provided a renewed logic for continued strategic cooperation.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2015 (open access)

Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2015

This report discusses the process through which members of Congress are compensated. Members of Congress only receive salaries during the terms for which they are elected. Former Members of Congress may be eligible for retirement benefits. This report contains information on actions taken affecting each pay year since the establishment of the Ethics Reform Act adjustment procedure. It also provides information on other floor action related to pay for Members of Congress.
Date: June 8, 2015
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure (open access)

EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure

This report examines recent initiatives by EPA, an integrated planning policy and a framework policy for assessing a community's financial capability to meet objectives and requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Date: October 8, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Water Quality Issues in the 113th Congress: An Overview (open access)

Water Quality Issues in the 113th Congress: An Overview

This report discusses the legislative and oversight issues regarding water quality, as well as wastewater treatment funding issues.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds a wide range of benefits and services for low-income families with children. TANF was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). This report responds to some frequently asked questions about TANF; it does not describe TANF rules.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Falk, Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Financing Issues (open access)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Financing Issues

This report discusses the financing of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. It describes the national funding level, the distribution of funds among the states, and the basis for these funding levels; describes how states may use TANF funds; describes how states have actually used TANF funding; and discusses selected policy issues regarding TANF funding.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Falk, Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations (open access)

Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations

This report provides an overview of the perennial issue involving technology outpacing law enforcement and discusses how policy makers and law enforcement officials have dealt with this issue in the past. It discusses the current debate surrounding smartphone data encryption and how this may impact U.S. law enforcement operations. The report also discusses existing law enforcement capabilities, the debate over whether law enforcement is "going dark" because of rapid technological advances, and resulting issues that policy makers may consider.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview (open access)

Human-Induced Earthquakes from Deep-Well Injection: A Brief Overview

This report reviews the current scientific understanding of induced seismicity, primarily in the context of Class II oil and gas wastewater disposal wells. The report also outlines the regulatory framework for these injection wells, and identifies several federal and state initiatives responding to recent events of induced seismicity associated with Class II disposal.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Folger, Peter & Tiemann, Mary
System: The UNT Digital Library
Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements (open access)

Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements

This report discusses key statutory authorities and requirements governing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) construction of barriers along the U.S. borders. It also includes appendixes listing federal laws that have been waived by DHS in furtherance of border construction projects.
Date: April 8, 2015
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Marijuana: Medical and Retail-- Selected Legal Issues (open access)

Marijuana: Medical and Retail-- Selected Legal Issues

This report discusses the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as it pertains to marijuana. The CSA outlaws the possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana except for authorized research. More than 20 states have regulatory schemes that allow possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause preempts any state law that conflicts with federal law.
Date: April 8, 2015
Creator: Garvey, Todd; Doyle, Charles & Carpenter, David H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 112th Congress (open access)

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 112th Congress

The President is responsible for appointing individuals to positions throughout the federal government. In some instances, the President makes these appointments using authorities granted to the President alone. Other appointments, generally referred to with the abbreviation PAS, are made by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate via the nomination and confirmation process. This report identifies, for the 112th Congress, all nominations submitted to the Senate for executive-level full-time positions in the 15 executive departments for which the Senate provides advice and consent. It excludes appointments to regulatory boards and commissions as well as to independent and other agencies.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Greene, Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
H.R. 6: The 21st Century Cures Act (open access)

H.R. 6: The 21st Century Cures Act

Report about H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, which would reauthorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through FY2018 and provide other funding to the agency through FY2020.
Date: July 8, 2015
Creator: Johnson, Judith A.; Thaul, Susan & Bagalman, Erin
System: The UNT Digital Library
The President's Immigration Accountability Executive Action of November 20, 2014: Overview and Issues (open access)

The President's Immigration Accountability Executive Action of November 20, 2014: Overview and Issues

This report discusses President Obama's Immigration Accountability Executive Action which revises some U.S. immigration policies and initiates several programs, including a revised border security policy for the Southwest border.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Kandel, William A.; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Bruno, Andorra & Siskin, Alison
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy

This report discusses the current state of reform and foreign policy in Bahrain. An uprising against Bahrain's Al Khalifa royal family that began on February 14, 2011, has not achieved the goals of Shiite oppositionists to establish a constitutional monarchy. Public unrest has diminished since 2012, but occasional large demonstrations, opposition boycotts of elections, and continued arrests of dissidents counter government assertions that Bahrain has "returned to normal."
Date: May 8, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gun Control Legislation in the 113th Congress (open access)

Gun Control Legislation in the 113th Congress

This report looks at past gun control legislation and also how recent events (such as the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; and Tucson, Arizona) have influenced current congressional discourse and legislation. The report also specifically examines certain contentious, gun related topics including universal background checks, gun trafficking, and military style firearms.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Krouse, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Reserve: Emergency Lending (open access)

Federal Reserve: Emergency Lending

This report provides a review of the history of Section 13(3) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act; P.L. 111-203), including its use in 2008. It discusses the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) authority under Section 13(3) before and after the Dodd-Frank Act. It then discusses policy issues and legislation to amend Section 13(3).
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Labonte, Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deferred Action, Advance Parole, and Adjustment of Status (open access)

Deferred Action, Advance Parole, and Adjustment of Status

None
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track? (open access)

EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

This report provides background information on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory activity during the Obama Administration. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of rules not yet promulgated (including identification of related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs and benefits, where available. The report includes tables that show which rules remain under development, and an appendix that describes major or controversial rules that are now final.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fundamentals of the U.S. Sugar Program (open access)

Fundamentals of the U.S. Sugar Program

None
Date: May 8, 2015
Creator: McMinimy, Mark A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The United Kingdom Election (open access)

The United Kingdom Election

This report briefly outlines the United Kingdom's recent election that was held on May 7, 2015 and resulted in a decisive victory for the Conservative Party.
Date: May 8, 2015
Creator: Mix, Derek E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress (open access)

The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress

This report describes the financial harm caused by data breaches and the impact of EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) chip cards on fraud. It provides information about the effect of the transition in selected foreign countries and discusses resolved and remaining impediments to completing the EMV transition in the United States. It also identifies areas of potential congressional interest.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Resources for Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Resources for Frequently Asked Questions

The report provides basic consumer sources, including broad overviews of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) law, and resources related to specific provisions. It also has links to contacts for specific questions (including websites, hotlines, and online chat assistance).
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Napili, Angela
System: The UNT Digital Library
DHS Appropriations FY2016: Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (open access)

DHS Appropriations FY2016: Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery

This report is part of a suite of reports that discuss appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2016. It specifically discusses appropriations for the components of DHS included in the third title of the homeland security appropriations bill--the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Collectively, Congress has labeled these components in the appropriations act in recent years as "Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery."
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Painter, William L.; Moteff, John D.; Lister, Sarah A.; Lindsay, Bruce R.; McCarthy, Francis X. & Kruger, Lennard G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Chronic Homelessness: Background, Research, and Outcomes (open access)

Chronic Homelessness: Background, Research, and Outcomes

This report is categorized into different categories such as what is chronic homelessness?, Evolution of the Permanent Supportive Housing Strategy, Policy Implication etc.
Date: December 8, 2015
Creator: Perl, Libby & Bagalman, Erin
System: The UNT Digital Library