S. 488, H.R. 1343, and Section 406 of H.R. 10: Encouraging Employee Ownership (open access)

S. 488, H.R. 1343, and Section 406 of H.R. 10: Encouraging Employee Ownership

This report provides background and a policy discussion of similar legislation, S. 488, H.R. 1343 (which passed the House on April 4, 2017), and Section 406 in H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, which passed the House on June 8, 2017. According to H.R. 1343's sponsor, Representative Randy Hultgren, the legislation is aimed at "eas[ing] the ability of companies to offer ownership to their ... employees."
Date: August 22, 2017
Creator: Shorter, Gary
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
501(c)(3) Organizations: What Qualifies as "Educational"? (open access)

501(c)(3) Organizations: What Qualifies as "Educational"?

Report that discusses the legal definition of the term "educational," as well as the constitutional implications of that definition.
Date: August 21, 2012
Creator: Lunder, Erika K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
501(c)(4)s and the Gift Tax: Legal Analysis (open access)

501(c)(4)s and the Gift Tax: Legal Analysis

This report discusses whether substantial donations to tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations are subject to the federal gift tax.
Date: August 10, 2012
Creator: Luckey, John R. & Lunder, Erika K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
S. 1961 and H.R. 4024: Legislative Responses to a Chemical Storage Facility Spill (open access)

S. 1961 and H.R. 4024: Legislative Responses to a Chemical Storage Facility Spill

From Summary: "This report describes and analyzes H.R. 4024 and S. 1961, as reported. The bill share a number of broadly similar provisions-both would direct states or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish programs to prevent and respond to releases from chemical storage facilities (H.R. 4024) or tanks (S. 1961) located near drinking water sources-but they take different approaches to doing so; S. 1961 would make programmatic changes by amending the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), while H.R. 4024 would amend the Clean Water Act (CWA)."
Date: August 12, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia & Tiemann, Mary
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: An Overview (open access)

The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: An Overview

This report describes the World Health Organization (WHO) process to determine the phase of a threatened or emerging flu pandemic, and touches on several related issues.
Date: August 6, 2009
Creator: Lister, Sarah A. & Redhead, C. Stephen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: Selected Legal Issues (open access)

The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: Selected Legal Issues

This report provides a brief overview of selected legal issues regarding the H1N1 influenza, including emergency measures, civil rights, liability issues, and employment issues.
Date: August 11, 2009
Creator: Swendiman, Kathleen S. & Jones, Nancy L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2010 Oil Spill: Criminal Liability Under Wildlife Laws (open access)

The 2010 Oil Spill: Criminal Liability Under Wildlife Laws

This report highlights the possible ways to prosecute those who caused the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The report suggests that prosecution can be done under laws such as the ESA (Endangered Species Act) or the MMPA (Marine Mammal Protection Act) both of which provide for civil and criminal punishment. However, the most likely law to be used will be the MBTA (Migratory Bird Treatment Act) which makes it a crime to kill migratory birds. The report suggests that the MBTA would be the best method to prosecute for criminal liability.
Date: August 31, 2010
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2010 Oil Spill: MMS/BOEMRE and NEPA (open access)

The 2010 Oil Spill: MMS/BOEMRE and NEPA

This report reviews the environmental procedures required following the explosion of an oil well on a tract leased by BP from the federal government.
Date: August 19, 2010
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: International and U.S. Responses (open access)

The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: International and U.S. Responses

This report discusses the Ebola virus disease (Ebola or EVD), which is a severe, often fatal disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976.
Date: August 26, 2014
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Evolution of Strategic Review (open access)

2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Evolution of Strategic Review

The quadrennial homeland security review is a process in which DHS examines the nation's homeland security strategy; the report provides an explanation of this process. Neither the review process nor the report to Congress is a strategy, instead the 2014 QHSR (both the process and report) are part of the constant reevaluation of the nation's homeland security and part of the process by which the combined National and Homeland Security Staff develops the next iteration of the national security strategy.
Date: August 6, 2014
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues (open access)

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

This report discusses a variety of issues might pose risks to the health, safety, and general well-being of athletes and their families, team personnel, and spectators participating in or attending the 2016 Olympic Games. Chief among these are the Zika virus, public safety threats, security concerns, and environmental conditions. The report also discusses the possible implications of hosting the Olympics for Brazil and the issue of doping.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine & Rollins, John W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
2016 Rio Games: Anti-Doping Testing (open access)

2016 Rio Games: Anti-Doping Testing

This report discusses the the anti-doping testing program during the 2016 Summer Olympics. Responsibility for the rests with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The testing period began July 24, 2016, when the Olympic village opened, and continues through August 21, 2016, the date of the closing ceremony.
Date: August 3, 2016
Creator: Halchin, L. E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Legislation and Policy (open access)

Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Legislation and Policy

This report details legislation and policies that restrict or place requirements on U.S. funding of abortion or family planning activities abroad. The level and extent of federal funding for these activities is an ongoing and controversial issue in U.S. foreign assistance and will likely continue to be a point of contention during the 111th Congress.
Date: August 6, 2010
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion, Justice Kennedy, and Judge Kavanaugh (open access)

Abortion, Justice Kennedy, and Judge Kavanaugh

This report addresses the questions that have arisen about the future of the Supreme Court's abortion jurisprudence, after the recent retirement of Justice Kennedy, the last remaining justice from the Casey plurality. The report first reviews the undue burden standard set from the Casey decision and discusses Justice Kennedy's views on the standard in the case law that has developed since Casey. Then, in light of President Trump's July 9, 2018 nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Kennedy, it examines Judge Kavanaugh's only substantive abortion opinion: a dissent in the 2017 case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit), Garza v. Hargan. Finally, as lower courts continue to apply the undue burden standard to new abortion regulations, the report concludes by noting some of the abortion cases that the Supreme Court could possibly review in the near future.
Date: August 8, 2018
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Abridged Sketch of Extradition To and From the United States (open access)

An Abridged Sketch of Extradition To and From the United States

Abridged synopsis of information about treaties and procedures followed by the United States related to extradition requests (originating in the U.S. or from a foreign country) to surrender a person for prosecution or punishment in another country.
Date: August 6, 2007
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Accelerated Vehicle Retirement for Fuel Economy: "Cash for Clunkers" (open access)

Accelerated Vehicle Retirement for Fuel Economy: "Cash for Clunkers"

This report outlines the key provisions of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) program, discusses the initial impact of the program and some of the concerns raised by Senators. It also summarizes similar programs in other countries.
Date: August 10, 2009
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D. & Canis, Bill
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Broadband Networks (open access)

Access to Broadband Networks

From Summary: "This report analyzes these three components to identify the parameters that network providers have within their control (such as their choices about network architecture, overall bandwidth capacity, bandwidth reserved for their own use, traffic prioritization, the terms and rates for access to their networks and for their own use, traffic prioritization, the terms and rates for access to their networks and for their retail services) that can affect how end users and independent applications providers can access their networks, how those parameters might be used strategically to harm competition for, and consumers of, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), video, and other applications that ride over broadband networks."
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Goldfarb, Charles B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Government Information in the United States (open access)

Access to Government Information in the United States

The U.S. Constitution makes no specific allowance for any one of the three branches of the federal government to have access to information held by the others. No provision in the U.S. Constitution expressly establishes a procedure for public access to government information. Congress has legislated various public access laws. Among these laws are two records access statutes, The Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and two meetings access statutes, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Government in the Sunshine Act. This report offers an overview of the four information access laws noted above, and provides citations to additional resources related to these tools.
Date: August 31, 2009
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Government Information In the United States: A Primer (open access)

Access to Government Information In the United States: A Primer

The U.S. Constitution makes no specific allowance for any one of the three branches of the federal government to have access to information held by the others. No provision in the U.S. Constitution expressly establishes a procedure for public access to government information. Congress has legislated various public access laws. Among these laws are two records access statutes, The Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and two meetings access statutes, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Government in the Sunshine Act. This report offers an overview of the four information access laws noted above, and provides citations to additional resources related to these tools.
Date: August 31, 2009
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Unapproved Drugs: FDA Policies on Compassionate Use and Emergency Use Authorization (open access)

Access to Unapproved Drugs: FDA Policies on Compassionate Use and Emergency Use Authorization

This report discuses the approval or licensure procedures of drugs and biological products which Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may permit the sponsor to provide an unapproved or unlicensed product to patients outside the standard regulatory framework.
Date: August 4, 2015
Creator: Thaul, Susan
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Adoption in the United States (open access)

Adoption in the United States

This report discusses adoption in the U.S. and includes statistics, information on adoption related legislation, and articles on challenges and current topics of discussion related to adoption.
Date: August 1, 1972
Creator: Yavis, Jean
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E): Background, Status, and Selected Issues for Congress (open access)

Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E): Background, Status, and Selected Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) design. The report discusses the legislative origins and policy debates prior to ARPA-E authorization and Bush administration response to ARPA-E authorization.
Date: August 12, 2008
Creator: Stine, Deborah D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Advanced Technology Program (open access)

The Advanced Technology Program

The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) was created by P.L. 100-418, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, to encourage public-private cooperation in the development of pre-competitive technologies with broad application across industries. This activity has been targeted for elimination as a means to cut federal spending. This report discusses the ATP and related issues of federal appropriations (or the lack thereof).
Date: August 10, 1999
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advising the President: Rules Governing Access and Accountability of Presidential Advisors (open access)

Advising the President: Rules Governing Access and Accountability of Presidential Advisors

This Sidebar examines three categories of Presidential advisors and the related ethics requirements and limitations that apply to their respective roles: employees who serve full-time, regular appointments; outside advisors who are formally appointed to temporary roles; and informal, personal advisors with whom the President consults.
Date: August 6, 2018
Creator: Brown, Cynthia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library