Electricity: The Road Toward Restructuring (open access)

Electricity: The Road Toward Restructuring

The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) and the Federal Power Act (FPA) were enacted to eliminate unfair practices and other abuses by electricity and gas holding companies by requiring federal control and regulation of interstate public utility holding companies. Comprehensive energy legislation has passed the House and Senate. The House passed H.R. 6 on April 11, 2003. On July 31, 2003, the Senate suspended debate on S. 14, inserted the text of H.R. 4 (107th Congress) as a substitute, and passed H.R. 6. A conference agreement was reached November 17, 2003, and passed by the House the next day. H.R. 6 includes an electricity title that would, in part, repeal PUHCA, would prospectively repeal the mandatory purchase requirement under PURPA, and would create an electric reliability organization. On June 15, 2004, H.R. 4503, a comprehensive energy policy bill, passed the House.
Date: September 30, 2004
Creator: Abel, Amy & Parker, Larry
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electricity: The Road Toward Restructuring (open access)

Electricity: The Road Toward Restructuring

The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) and the Federal Power Act (FPA) were enacted to eliminate unfair practices and other abuses by electricity and gas holding companies by requiring federal control and regulation of interstate public utility holding companies. Comprehensive energy legislation has passed the House and Senate. The House passed H.R. 6 on April 11, 2003. On July 31, 2003, the Senate suspended debate on S. 14, inserted the text of H.R. 4 (107th Congress) as a substitute, and passed H.R. 6. A conference agreement was reached November 17, 2003, and passed by the House the next day. H.R. 6 includes an electricity title that would, in part, repeal PUHCA, would prospectively repeal the mandatory purchase requirement under PURPA, and would create an electric reliability organization. On June 15, 2004, H.R. 4503, a comprehensive energy policy bill, passed the House.
Date: September 30, 2003
Creator: Abel, Amy & Parker, Larry
System: The UNT Digital Library
Guinea's 2008 Military Coup and Relations with the United States (open access)

Guinea's 2008 Military Coup and Relations with the United States

This report analyzes developments since the military's seizure of power in December 2008, Guinea's relations with the United States, and U.S. policy in the wake of the coup. It also provides background on Guinean history and politics.
Date: September 30, 2009
Creator: Arieff, Alexis & Cook, Nicolas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Internships, Fellowships, and Other Work Experience Opportunities in the Federal Government (open access)

Internships, Fellowships, and Other Work Experience Opportunities in the Federal Government

This report describes Internet resources on major internship, fellowship, and work experience programs within the federal government. It is intended as a selective guide for students of all levels: high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate.
Date: September 30, 2016
Creator: Bailey, Christina M. & Manning, Jennifer E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Selected Legislation from the 108th Congress (open access)

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Selected Legislation from the 108th Congress

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as passed in 1978, provided a statutory framework for the use of electronic surveillance in the context of foreign intelligence gathering. In doing so, Congress sought to strike a balance between national security interests and personal privacy rights. Subsequent legislation expanded federal laws dealing with foreign intelligence gathering to address physical searches, pen registers and trap and trace devices, and access to certain business records.
Date: September 30, 2004
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Streamlining Provisions in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century: Status of Implementation (open access)

Environmental Streamlining Provisions in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century: Status of Implementation

At the state and local level, many observers have expressed long-standing concerns over delays, duplication of effort, and additional costs frequently associated with the environmental review process for highway projects that must be completed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, P.L. 91-190). To address these concerns, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA21, P.L. 105-178), enacted in 1998, requires the Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) to streamline the environmental review process for highway projects.
Date: September 30, 2002
Creator: Bearden, David M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Horse Slaughter Prevention Bills and Issues (open access)

Horse Slaughter Prevention Bills and Issues

In 2006 two Texas plants and one in Illinois slaughtered nearly 105,000 horses for human food, mainly for European and Asian consumers. In 2007, court action effectively closed the Texas plants, and a new state ban in Illinois closed the plant. Meanwhile, activists have continued to press for legislative bans appropriated funds and user fees for inspection of horses for human food.
Date: September 30, 2008
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy and Water Development: FY2011 Appropriations (open access)

Energy and Water Development: FY2011 Appropriations

This report discusses the energy and water development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.
Date: September 30, 2010
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The National Intelligence Director and Intelligence Analysis (open access)

The National Intelligence Director and Intelligence Analysis

This report discusses proposed legislation placing the National Intelligence Council under the National Intelligence Director's authority and the potential issues that this would cause.
Date: September 30, 2004
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flat Tax Proposals and Fundamental Tax Reform: An Overview (open access)

Flat Tax Proposals and Fundamental Tax Reform: An Overview

The idea of replacing our current income tax system with a "flat-rate tax" is receiving renewed congressional interest. This report contains information on recent developments regarding flat-rate taxes, the relationship between income and consumption, international comparisons, other fundamental tax reforms, and descriptions of selected proposals.
Date: September 30, 2004
Creator: Bickley, James M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Value-Added Tax Contrasted with a National Sales Tax (open access)

A Value-Added Tax Contrasted with a National Sales Tax

Proposals to replace all or part of the income tax, proposals for national health care, and a proposal to finance America’s war effort have sparked congressional interest in the possibility of a broad-based consumption tax as a new source of revenue. A value-added tax (VAT) or a national sales tax (NST) have been frequently discussed as possible new tax sources. Both the VAT and the NST are taxes on the consumption of goods and services and are conceptually similar. Yet, these taxes also have significant differences. This issue brief discusses some of the potential policy implications associated with these differences.
Date: September 30, 2004
Creator: Bickley, James M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Frequently Asked Questions

This report discusses the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) June 15, 2012 announcement that certain individuals who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria would be considered for relief from removal for two years, subject to renewal, under an initiative known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
Date: September 30, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
System: The UNT Digital Library
Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation (open access)

Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation

The debate about consular identification cards in the United States has centered around the matrícula consular, the consular identification card issued by Mexican consulates to Mexican citizens in the United States. In May 2003, the Treasury Department issued regulations allowing acceptance of the cards as proof of identity for the purpose of opening a bank account, and the cards are accepted for other purposes as well, including issuance of drivers’ licenses.
Date: September 30, 2003
Creator: Bruno, Andorra & Storrs, K. Larry
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 112th Congress (open access)

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 112th Congress

Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 112th Congress, with a focus on comprehensive reform.
Date: September 30, 2011
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Ester, Karma; Lee, Margaret Mikyung; Manuel, Kate M.; Rosenblum, Marc R. & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea: Living Resources Provisions (open access)

U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea: Living Resources Provisions

None
Date: September 30, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Charitable Choice, Faith-Based Initiatives, and TANF (open access)

Charitable Choice, Faith-Based Initiatives, and TANF

The 108th Congress has resumed efforts to pass tax incentives for private giving (S. 476, passed by the Senate on April 9, and H.R. 7, introduced May 7, 2003). However, these bills do not contain provisions intended to promote religious organizations as providers of federally funded social services – charitable choice provisions.. The House voted in 2001 to extend charitable choice rules, which now apply to a limited set of programs, to numerous new programs (H.R. 7 in the 107th Congress), as the President urged, but the Senate refused. However, in an Executive Order, President Bush on December 12, 2002, directed six cabinet-level departments and the Agency for International Development (AID) to bring policies concerning social service programs into line with charitable choice principles set forth in the Order.
Date: September 30, 2003
Creator: Burke, Vee
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians (open access)

Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan, but OEF casualties also include American casualties in other countries, listed within this report.
Date: September 30, 2010
Creator: Chesser, Susan G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians (open access)

Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
Date: September 30, 2011
Creator: Chesser, Susan G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S.-Japan Economic Ties: Status and Outlook (open access)

U.S.-Japan Economic Ties: Status and Outlook

None
Date: September 30, 2003
Creator: Cooper, William H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement (open access)

Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, intended to produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.
Date: September 30, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animal Waste and Hazardous Substances: Current Laws and Legislative Issues (open access)

Animal Waste and Hazardous Substances: Current Laws and Legislative Issues

This report is about the animal sector of agriculture and rise of concerns over the management of animal wastes and potential impacts on environmental quality.
Date: September 30, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Workforce: Characteristics and Trends (open access)

The Federal Workforce: Characteristics and Trends

This report discusses the federal workforce, which is also expected by some to reflect the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of the country as a whole. In addition, understanding recent changes in the overall size and composition of the federal workforce can indicate what changes may lie in the future.
Date: September 30, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Poverty in the United States in 2014: In Brief (open access)

Poverty in the United States in 2014: In Brief

This report discusses poverty in United States that varies widely across the population according to age, education, family living arrangements, and area of residence, among other factors. The report elaborates on the poverty among selected groups, the geography of poverty, and the research supplemental poverty measure.
Date: September 30, 2015
Creator: Dalaker, Joseph
System: The UNT Digital Library
Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus (open access)

Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus

Affirmative action remains a focal point of public debate as the result of legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. This report discusses legislation related to affirmative action, as well as legal rulings on the topic and the federal government's role in first establishing and, later, attempting to curb affirmative action policies.
Date: September 30, 2002
Creator: Dale, Charles V.
System: The UNT Digital Library