Texas Safety Action Report (open access)

Texas Safety Action Report

Report regarding immediate and future actions to improve safety for Texans related to mass shootings and other attacks, and including explanations of relevant executive orders.
Date: September 12, 2019
Creator: Abbott, Greg, 1957-
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Lacey Act: Protecting the Environment by Restricting Trade (open access)

The Lacey Act: Protecting the Environment by Restricting Trade

This report looks at the history and applications of the Lacey Act. As it stands now the Act, via a 2008 amendment, allows the U.S. to enforce the laws of other countries as well. One currently proposed legislation would limit application of the law to specific wood products, while another would eliminate any reference to violations of foreign laws and end criminal prosecutions for violating the act.
Date: April 12, 2012
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The United States and Europe: Responding to Change in the Middle East and North Africa (open access)

The United States and Europe: Responding to Change in the Middle East and North Africa

This report assesses some of the policy implications of recent and ongoing events in the Middle East region, provides an overview of U.S. responses to date, and explores select case studies to illustrate some key questions and dilemmas that Congress and the executive branch may face with regard to these issues and others in the future.
Date: June 12, 2013
Creator: Archick, Kristin & Mix, Derek E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trends in Discretionary Spending (open access)

Trends in Discretionary Spending

This report discusses historical, current, and projected discretionary spending trends. It also describes how current discretionary spending trends reflect national priorities. Discretionary spending is provided in, and controlled by, annual appropriations acts, which fund many of the routine activities commonly associated with such federal government functions as running executive branch agencies, congressional offices and agencies, and international operations of the government.
Date: April 12, 2010
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew & Levit, Mindy R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
International Agreements on Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions (open access)

International Agreements on Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions

This report provides background information on global climate change negotiations. The report discuses the United Nations framework for convention for climate change, the Kyoto protocol, and the Copenhagen accord.
Date: April 12, 2010
Creator: Barbour, Emily C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
FY2010 Supplemental for Wars, Disaster Assistance, Haiti Relief, and Other Programs (open access)

FY2010 Supplemental for Wars, Disaster Assistance, Haiti Relief, and Other Programs

This report discusses the $64 billion in requested supplemental appropriations for FY2010, which includes $2.8 billion for Haiti earthquake-related reconstruction and foreign aid and $243 million for activities related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and more.
Date: May 12, 2010
Creator: Belasco, Amy; Else, Daniel H.; Lindsay, Bruce R.; Margesson, Rhoda; Nakamura, Kennon H. & Taft-Morales, Maureen
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Director of National Intelligence Statutory Authorities: Status and Proposals (open access)

Director of National Intelligence Statutory Authorities: Status and Proposals

This report discusses the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) position created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458). It includes an overview of the authorities granted to the DNI by legislation in 2004 and later as well as the varying opinions of Congress regarding new DNI authorities, as well as related legislation from FY2010 through FY2012.
Date: January 12, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr. & Cumming, Alfred
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act (open access)

Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act

This report outlines how the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (BCTPAA) regulates the eligibility of covered trade agreements for expedited consideration, describes the operation of the statutory expedited procedures for considering implementing bills, and discusses how Congress may use the procedural mechanisms established by the act, as well as other pertinent rules of each chamber, to retain a substantial measure of control over legislation to implement covered trade agreements.
Date: August 12, 2016
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate (open access)

Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate

None
Date: March 12, 2010
Creator: Beth, Richard S.; Heitshusen, Valerie & Palmer, Betsy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Gap: Should the 3% Withholding Requirement on Payments to Contractors by Government Be Repealed? (open access)

Tax Gap: Should the 3% Withholding Requirement on Payments to Contractors by Government Be Repealed?

This reports discusses tax gaps and withholding, and concerns and legislation regarding these issues in the 112th Congress.
Date: September 12, 2011
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Gap: Should the 3% Withholding Requirement on Payments to Contractors by Government Be Repealed? (open access)

Tax Gap: Should the 3% Withholding Requirement on Payments to Contractors by Government Be Repealed?

This brief discusses the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) report titled Options to Improve Tax Compliance and Reform Tax Expenditures. The JCT report identified many options, including several to increase withholding.
Date: September 12, 2011
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
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.
Date: February 12, 2014
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law and Policy (open access)

Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law 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 113th Congress.
Date: February 12, 2013
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Issues in the U.S. Ratification Debate (open access)

The U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Issues in the U.S. Ratification Debate

The Senate may consider providing its advice and consent to U.S. ratification of the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, or the Convention) during the 112th Congress. CEDAW is the only international human rights treaty that specifically addresses the rights of women. This report provides an overview of CEDAW's background, objectives, and structure, including the role of the Convention's monitoring body, the CEDAW Committee. It examines U.S. policy and issues in the U.S. ratification debate, including the Convention's possible impact on U.S. sovereignty, its effectiveness in combating discrimination, and its role as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
Date: November 12, 2010
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Community Development Block Grant Funds in Disaster Relief and Recovery (open access)

Community Development Block Grant Funds in Disaster Relief and Recovery

This report discusses how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs are funded by Congress and what they have been used for in recent years: recovery efforts following terrorist attacks, riots, and natural disasters. The 111th Congress is considering $100 million in CDBG funds to help states and communities undertake disaster recovery activities in presidentially declared disaster areas affected by severe storms and flooding during the period from March 2010 through May 2010. The act limited distribution of these funds to states where the entire state was declared a disaster area (Rhode Island) and to states where at least 20 counties within the state were declared disaster areas (Tennessee, Kentucky, and Nebraska).
Date: July 12, 2010
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wildfire Damages to Homes and Resources: Understanding Causes and Reducing Losses (open access)

Wildfire Damages to Homes and Resources: Understanding Causes and Reducing Losses

Wildfires are getting more severe, with more acres and houses burned and more people at risk. This results from excess biomass in the forests, due to past logging and grazing and a century of fire suppression, combined with an expanding wild land-urban interface-more people and houses in and near the forests-and climate change, exacerbating drought and insect and disease problems. This report looks at the causes of wildfires, and the pros and cons of their treatment.
Date: March 12, 2012
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Congressional Research Service and the American Legislative Process (open access)

The Congressional Research Service and the American Legislative Process

The Legislative Reference Service, it was charged with responding to congressional requests for information. For more than 50 years, this department assisted Congress primarily by providing facts and publications and by transmitting research and analysis done largely by other government agencies, private organizations, and individual scholars. In 1970, Congress enacted a law transforming the Legislative Reference Service into the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and directing CRS to devote more of its efforts and increased resources to performing research and analysis that assists Congress in direct support of the legislative process.
Date: April 12, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Legislative Branch Agency Appointments: History, Processes, and Recent Proposals (open access)

Legislative Branch Agency Appointments: History, Processes, and Recent Proposals

Report that contains information on the legislative branch agency heads' appointment processes, length of tenures (if terms are set), reappointment or removal provisions (if any), salaries and benefits, and most recent appointments.
Date: June 12, 2013
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables (open access)

Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables

This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Congress since 1789; the adjustments projected by the Ethics Reform Act as compared to actual adjustments in Member pay; details on past legislation enacted with language prohibiting the annual pay adjustment; and Member pay in constant and current dollars since 1992.
Date: January 12, 2010
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 112th Congress (open access)

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 112th Congress

This report discusses immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant congressional interest in the 112th Congress.
Date: January 12, 2012
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs (open access)

Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs

This report analyzes the special immigrant visa (SIV) classifications for Iraqis and Afghans within the context of both the larger Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) special immigrant category and selected other permanent admissions categories. It discusses the legislative changes to the individual Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant programs since their initial authorization, provides statistics on visa issuance, and considers challenges facing the programs today.
Date: September 12, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues (open access)

Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues

The purpose of this report is to provide a general discussion of legislative provisions and proposals relating to the military benefits for former spouses.
Date: January 12, 2011
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Military Survivor Benefit Plan: A Description of Its Provisions (open access)

The Military Survivor Benefit Plan: A Description of Its Provisions

This report describes the basic provisions of the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and all relevant changes or modifications that have occurred since its creation in 1972.
Date: January 12, 2011
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transcript of Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan Hearing: July 12, 2010 (open access)

Transcript of Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan Hearing: July 12, 2010

Transcript of a public hearing held by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan held July 12, 2010 in Washington D.C.This hearing includes testimony from a panel of Department of Defense witnesses on the Department's manpower planning, strategic planning, and operational planning for operational contract support in contingency operations.
Date: July 12, 2010
Creator: CQ Transcriptions
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library