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Military Training: DOD's Report on the Sustainability of Training Ranges Addresses Most of the Congressional Reporting Requirements and Continues to Improve with Each Annual Update (open access)

Military Training: DOD's Report on the Sustainability of Training Ranges Addresses Most of the Congressional Reporting Requirements and Continues to Improve with Each Annual Update

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A fundamental principle of military readiness is that the military must train as it intends to fight. Military training ranges provide the primary means to accomplish this goal. The Department of Defense's (DOD) training ranges vary in size from a few acres, for small arms training, to over a million acres for large maneuver exercises and weapons testing, and include broad open ocean areas for offshore training and testing. New advances in military technology, coupled with the complexity of recent military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world, generate the need to continually update and maintain DOD's training ranges. Senior DOD and military service officials have reported for some time that they face increasing difficulties in carrying out realistic training at military installations due to outside influences. DOD has defined a number of factors--including competition for broadcast frequencies or airspace, air pollution, noise pollution, endangered species, critical habitats and other protected resources, unexploded ordinance and munitions, urban growth around installations, and civilian access--that it says encroach upon its training ranges and capabilities. Because the military faces obstacles in acquiring new training lands, the preservation and ā€¦
Date: October 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Arts Education: Inclusion of Additional Questions in Education's Planned Research Would Help Explain Why Instruction Time Has Decreased for Some Students (open access)

Access to Arts Education: Inclusion of Additional Questions in Education's Planned Research Would Help Explain Why Instruction Time Has Decreased for Some Students

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), districts and schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) for all students. Because schools may spend more time improving students' academic skills to meet NCLBA's requirements, some are concerned that arts education might be cut back. To determine how, if at all, student access to arts education has changed since NCLBA, the Congress asked: (1) has the amount of instruction time for arts education changed and, if so, have certain groups been more affected than others, (2) to what extent have state education agencies' requirements and funding for arts education changed since NCLBA, (3) what are school officials in selected districts doing to provide arts education since NCLBA and what challenges do they face in doing so, and (4) what is known about the effect of arts education in improving student outcomes? GAO analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education (Education), surveyed 50 state arts officials, interviewed officials in 8 school districts and 19 schools, and reviewed existing research."
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections (open access)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

This fact sheet tracks the current heads of government in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It provides the dates of the last and next elections for the head of government and the national independence date for each country.
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Gomez-Granger, Julissa & Sullivan, Mark P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Pollution: Air Quality, Visibility, and the Potential Impacts of Coal-Fired Power Plants on Great Basin National Park, Nevada (open access)

Air Pollution: Air Quality, Visibility, and the Potential Impacts of Coal-Fired Power Plants on Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Great Basin National Park encompasses over 77,000 acres of White Pine County in east-central Nevada and is home to diverse geologic, topographic, and wildlife resources--including ancient bristlecone pines, the world's longest living tree species. The park was created to preserve a representative segment of the Great Basin Region and receives about 80,000 visitors annually. The park features numerous scenic areas with views of the surrounding landscape, which includes both deserts and mountains. The National Park Service (NPS), within the Department of the Interior, is responsible for managing the park, and the park's management plan lists both air quality and visibility as outstanding resources. This plan identifies threats to air quality and visibility--including air pollution from the possible development of coal-fired power plants in the region--and states that even slight increases in air pollution could cause major decreases in visibility. In 2004 and 2006, two companies each initiated the process to build new coal-fired power plants about 55 miles northwest of Great Basin National Park, near the city of Ely, Nevada. While the development of these new power plants would provide jobs, needed electric power, and other benefits, they ā€¦
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bank Secrecy Act: Suspicious Activity Report Use Is Increasing, but FinCEN Needs to Further Develop and Document Its Form Revision Process (open access)

Bank Secrecy Act: Suspicious Activity Report Use Is Increasing, but FinCEN Needs to Further Develop and Document Its Form Revision Process

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To assist law enforcement agencies in their efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requires financial institutions to file suspicious activity reports (SAR) to inform the federal government of transactions related to possible violations of law or regulation. Depository institutions have been concerned about the resources required to file SARs and the extent to which SARs are used. GAO was asked to examine (1) factors affecting the number of SARs filed, (2) actions agencies have taken to improve the usefulness of SARs, (3) federal agencies' use of SARs, and (4) the effectiveness of the process used to revise SAR forms. GAO reviewed laws and agency documents; analyzed SAR filings; and interviewed representatives from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), law enforcement agencies, bank regulators, and depository institutions."
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unemployment Insurance Measures Included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as of July 2009 (open access)

Unemployment Insurance Measures Included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as of July 2009

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter is in response to Congressional request to provide information on measures in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to augment unemployment compensation. Unemployment has risen sharply in the current recession, with the June 2009 rate reaching 9.5 percent of the labor force nationally; 15 states and the District of Columbia have unemployment rates exceeding 10 percent. The Recovery Act enacted measures that expanded unemployment compensation benefits for individuals and provided additional funding to states to pay and administer these benefits. These measures include an extension of benefits under Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) through 2009; Unemployment Insurance (UI) "modernization" grants to states that expand eligibility according to specific criteria; an increase in weekly benefits of $25; and an exemption of the first $2,400 in unemployment benefits received by individuals in 2009 from taxation."
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Defense: Actions Needed to Improve Management of Air Sovereignty Alert Operations to Protect U.S. Airspace (open access)

Homeland Defense: Actions Needed to Improve Management of Air Sovereignty Alert Operations to Protect U.S. Airspace

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to U.S. intelligence, the threat to U.S airspace remains. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is to defend U.S. air space and the U.S. Air Force has 18 sites in the United States that conduct air sovereignty alert (ASA) operations. ASA operations support fighter aircraft in conducting homeland air defense operations. GAO examined the extent to which (1) NORAD has adopted a risk-based management approach to determine ASA operational requirements; (2) the Air Force has implemented ASA operations as a steady-state mission in accordance with Department of Defense (DOD), NORAD, and Air Force directives and guidance; (3) the Air Force assesses the readiness of units conducting ASA operations; and (4) the Air Force faces challenges in sustaining ASA operations for the future and what plans, if any, it has to address such challenges. GAO reviewed relevant ASA guidance, directives, and planning documents; and interviewed DOD officials, including the commanders of all 18 ASA sites."
Date: January 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Commercial Vehicle Security: Risk-Based Approach Needed to Secure the Commercial Vehicle Sector (open access)

Commercial Vehicle Security: Risk-Based Approach Needed to Secure the Commercial Vehicle Sector

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Numerous incidents around the world have highlighted the vulnerability of commercial vehicles to terrorist acts. Commercial vehicles include over 1 million highly diverse truck and intercity bus firms. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has primary federal responsibility for ensuring the security of the commercial vehicle sector, while vehicle operators are responsible for implementing security measures for their firms. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the extent to which TSA has assessed security risks for commercial vehicles; (2) actions taken by key stakeholders to mitigate identified risks; and (3) TSA efforts to coordinate its security strategy with other federal, state, and private sector stakeholders. GAO reviewed TSA plans, assessments, and other documents; visited a nonrandom sample of 26 commercial truck and bus companies of varying sizes, locations, and types of operations; and interviewed TSA and other federal and state officials and industry representatives."
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Whistleblower Protection Program: Better Data and Improved Oversight Would Help Ensure Program Quality and Consistency (open access)

Whistleblower Protection Program: Better Data and Improved Oversight Would Help Ensure Program Quality and Consistency

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Workers who "blow the whistle" on prohibited practices play a role in enforcing federal laws, but these workers risk reprisals from their employers. The Whistleblower Protection Program at the Department of Labor's (Labor) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for investigating whistleblowers' complaints. OSHA's decisions generally may be appealed to the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) and, ultimately, the Administrative Review Board (ARB). GAO examined (1) what is known about processing times for complaints and what affects these times, (2) what outcomes resulted, and (3) what challenges OSHA faces in administering the program. To answer these questions, GAO analyzed electronic data files from OSHA, OALJ, and ARB; visited five OSHA regional offices; reviewed case files; conducted a Web-based survey of investigators; and interviewed key officials."
Date: January 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Public Diplomacy: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight (open access)

U.S. Public Diplomacy: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. government has spent at least $10 billion on communication efforts designed to advance the strategic interests of the United States. However, foreign public opinion polling data shows that negative views towards the United States persist despite the collective efforts to counteract them by the State Department (State), Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Defense (DOD), and other U.S. government agencies. Based on the significant role U.S. strategic communication and public diplomacy efforts can play in promoting U.S. national security objectives, such as countering ideological support for violent extremism, we highlighted these efforts as an urgent issue for the new administration and Congress."
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: American Battle Monuments Commission's Financial Statements for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007 (open access)

Financial Audit: American Battle Monuments Commission's Financial Statements for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with 36 U.S.C. 2103, GAO is responsible for conducting audits of the agencywide financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission (the Commission). GAO audited the financial statements of the Commission for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008, and 2007. The audits were done to determine whether, in all material respects, (1) the Commission's financial statements were presented fairly and (2) Commission management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations. Also, GAO tested Commission management's compliance with selected laws and regulations. The Commission was created in 1923 to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of U.S. Armed Forces where they have served overseas since April 6, 1917, and locations within the United States as directed by Congress. The Commission designs, operates, and maintains 24 American military cemeteries on foreign soil and 25 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, 22 of which are on foreign soil, that were financed from appropriated funds. The Commission was also responsible for designing and constructing the national World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., and for maintaining seven nonfederal memorials ā€¦
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Research: Information on the Government's Right to Assert Ownership Control over Federally Funded Inventions (open access)

Federal Research: Information on the Government's Right to Assert Ownership Control over Federally Funded Inventions

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980, allows recipients of federal research funds the option to retain patents on any inventions they create using those funds. At the same time, the act provides the government with rights intended to ensure that the public benefits from these federal research investments. One of these rights is known as the "march-in" authority, which allows federal agencies to take control of a patent when they have credible information that certain conditions described in the act have been met. Until March 2009, the Bayh-Dole Act required GAO to report periodically on its implementation. To meet that requirement, for select federal agencies, GAO reviewed (1) the policies and procedures used to determine whether march-in authority should be exercised; (2) how the march-in authority has been used; and (3) what barriers and disincentives have been encountered in exercising the march-in authority. GAO selected four agencies for this review that accounted for 89 percent of the federal research funding for fiscal year 2006. These were the Departments of Defense and Energy (DOD and DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Institutes ā€¦
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Management: DOD Needs to Clarify Its General Gift Fund Policies to Provide for Effective Oversight (open access)

Financial Management: DOD Needs to Clarify Its General Gift Fund Policies to Provide for Effective Oversight

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2008, the military services received about $295 million in monetary and nonmonetary gifts from individuals and organizations wishing to donate gifts to the Department of Defense (DOD). Section 2601(a) of Title 10, U.S. Code is a long-standing authority under which the secretaries overseeing DOD, the military services, and the Coast Guard may accept a gift on the condition that the gift be used for the benefit of or in connection with the establishment, operation, or maintenance of schools, hospitals, libraries, museums, cemeteries, or other institutions or organizations under the jurisdiction of the secretary concerned. In 2008, gifts to benefit such institutions or organizations included a monetary gift to construct an education center and nonmonetary gifts of a bronze statue and granite benches. In 2006, Congress enacted additional authority, under 10 U.S.C. 2601(b) to allow the acceptance of gifts and services to benefit certain members of the armed forces and civilian employees of DOD who incurred a wound, injury, or illness in the line of duty and to benefit the dependents and survivors of those who are killed or wounded. For example, ā€¦
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Perspectives on Potential Changes to Department of Defense Acquisition Management Framework (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Perspectives on Potential Changes to Department of Defense Acquisition Management Framework

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2008 directed GAO to report on potential modifications of the organization and structure of the Department of Defense (DOD) for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP). In preparing the report, the review was required to include the feasibility and advisability of seven potential modifications of DOD's organization and structure for MDAPs. We were charged with reporting on the feasibility and advisability of (1) establishing a process in which the commanders of combatant commands (COCOM) assess and provide input on the capabilities needed to successfully accomplish their missions over a long-term planning horizon of 15 years or more; (2) establishing a materiel solutions process for addressing identified gaps in critical warfighting capabilities, under which the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD (AT&L)) circulates among the military departments and appropriate defense agencies requests for proposals for technologies and systems to address such gaps; (3) revising the acquisition process by establishing shorter, more frequent acquisition program milestones; (4) requiring the milestone decision authority (MDA) to specify at the time of milestone B approval the period of time that will ā€¦
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transportation Security: Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Stronger Internal Controls Needed to Help Inform TSA Resource Allocation (open access)

Transportation Security: Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Stronger Internal Controls Needed to Help Inform TSA Resource Allocation

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called for using risk-informed approaches to help prioritize its investments, develop plans, and allocate resources in a way that balances security and commerce. Within DHS, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for making risk-informed investments to secure the transportation system. GAO evaluated to what extent TSA (1) implemented a risk management approach to inform the allocation of resources across the transportation sector and (2) followed internal control standards in its efforts to implement and use a risk management approach to inform resource allocation."
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information on Proposed Changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (open access)

Information on Proposed Changes to the National Flood Insurance Program

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 and currently has more than 5.6 million policyholders that are insured for about $1.1 trillion. The program collects about $2.9 billion in annual premiums. As of January 2009, NFIP owed approximately $19.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury, primarily as a result of loans that the program received to pay claims from the 2005 hurricane season. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers the program, this debt is greater than the sum of all previous losses since the program's inception in 1968. While FEMA officials told us that interest payments are estimated to be lower in 2010, as of October 2008, NFIP owed interest payments of $730 million a year to Treasury and has had to borrow more from the Treasury to make these payments. As a result, it is unlikely that NFIP will ever be able to repay the entire debt. Because of NFIP's financial situation, in 2006 GAO placed the program on the high-risk list. In 2008, GAO issued three reports covering issues directly related to NFIP. ā€¦
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ryan White CARE Act: Implementation of the New Minority AIDS Initiative Provisions (open access)

Ryan White CARE Act: Implementation of the New Minority AIDS Initiative Provisions

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act) makes federal funds available to assist individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awards CARE Act funding to grantees that include states, territories, and metropolitan areas. Because minorities have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, the CARE Act's Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) provides funding through five parts (A, B, C, D, and F) of the act with the goal of reducing HIV-related health care disparities among minorities. The reauthorization of CARE Act programs changed the process by which HRSA awards MAI grants under Part A (funding for metropolitan areas) and Part B (for states and territories) from a formula based solely on demographics of the metropolitan area, state, or territory to a competitive process. The CARE Act requires GAO to report on MAI and related issues. This report provides information on (1) the effect on grantees and service providers of the new competitive process for awarding Part A and B MAI funds, (2) the types of services grantees funded under MAI, and (3) barriers ā€¦
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Recovery Act: Preliminary Observations on the Implementation of Broadband Programs (open access)

Recovery Act: Preliminary Observations on the Implementation of Broadband Programs

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Access to broadband service is seen as vital to economic, social, and educational development, yet many areas of the country lack access to, or their residents do not use, broadband. To expand broadband deployment and adoption, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act) provided $7.2 billion to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for grants or loans to a variety of program applicants. The agencies must award all funds by September 30, 2010. This testimony provides preliminary information on the challenges NTIA and RUS face; the steps taken to address challenges; and the remaining risks in (1) evaluating applications and awarding funds and (2) overseeing funded projects. This statement is based on related ongoing work that GAO expects to complete in November. To conduct this work, GAO is reviewing relevant laws and program documents and interviewing agency officials and industry stakeholders. While this testimony does not include recommendations, GAO expects to make recommendations in its November report."
Date: October 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telecommunications: Long-Term Strategic Vision Would Help Ensure Targeting of E-rate Funds to Highest-Priority Uses (open access)

Telecommunications: Long-Term Strategic Vision Would Help Ensure Targeting of E-rate Funds to Highest-Priority Uses

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism--also known as the E-rate program--is a significant source of federal funding for information technology for schools and libraries, providing about $2 billion a year. As requested, GAO assessed issues related to the E-rate program's long-term goals, including (1) key trends in the demand for and use of E-rate funding and the implications of these trends; (2) the rate of program participation, participants' views on requirements, and FCC's actions to facilitate participation; and (3) FCC's performance goals and measures for the program and how they compare to key characteristics of successful goals and measures. To perform this work, GAO analyzed data going back to the first year of the program, surveyed a sample of participating schools and libraries, reviewed agency documents, and interviewed agency officials and program stakeholders."
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Improvements Needed to Address Improper Payments in Home Health (open access)

Medicare: Improvements Needed to Address Improper Payments in Home Health

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare spending on home health totaled $12.9 billion in 2006, up 44 percent from 2002. Concerns have been raised that improper payments from practices indicating fraud and abuse may have contributed to Medicare home health spending and utilization. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, is responsible for minimizing improper payments made on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. GAO was asked to examine the growth in Medicare home health spending and utilization and the benefit's vulnerability to improper payments. GAO focused on states with the highest growth in Medicare home health spending or utilization; fraudulent and abusive practices contributing to recent spending and utilization; and administrative issues that make it vulnerable to improper payments. GAO analyzed Medicare claims data; reviewed Medicare laws and regulations and CMS documents; and interviewed stakeholders and contractors that administer and protect the home health benefit."
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Health Insurance: 2008 Survey Results on Number and Market Share of Carriers in the Small Group Health Insurance Market (open access)

Private Health Insurance: 2008 Survey Results on Number and Market Share of Carriers in the Small Group Health Insurance Market

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a follow-up to our 2005 and 2002 reports on the competitiveness of the small group health insurance market, Congress requested updated information on each state and the District of Columbia. Specifically, this report provides information from states and the District of Columbia (hereafter referred to as a state) on the number of carriers licensed in the small group market, the largest carriers, and their market share."
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) possesses a divergent family of cinnamoyl CoA reductases with distinct biochemical properties (open access)

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) possesses a divergent family of cinnamoyl CoA reductases with distinct biochemical properties

Article on switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) possessing a divergent family of cinnamoyl CoA reductases with distinct biochemical properties.
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: Escamilla-TreviƱo, Luis; Shen, Hui; Uppalapati, Srinivasa Rao; Ray, Tui; Tang, Yuhong; Hernandez, Timothy et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Science and Technology Policymaking: A Primer (open access)

Science and Technology Policymaking: A Primer

Science and technology policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for and encouragement of scientific and engineering research and development, the use of scientific and technical knowledge to enhance the nations' response to societal challenges, and the education of Americans in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This report describes the science and engineering community, policymakers' interest in that community and its various endeavors, and the organizations that provide science and technology policy advice to agencies of the federal government and/or Members of Congress.
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: Stine, Deborah D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gun Control: Statutory Disclosure Limitations on ATF Firearms Trace Data and Multiple Handgun Sales Reports (open access)

Gun Control: Statutory Disclosure Limitations on ATF Firearms Trace Data and Multiple Handgun Sales Reports

This report briefly describes a provision known as the "Tiahrt" amendment, a rider on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) appropriations that prohibits ATF from disclosing firearm trace data and multiple handgun sales reports data for any purpose other than supporting a criminal investigatoin or agency licensing proceeding. The Tiahrt amendment is so called because its sponsor is Representative Todd Tiahrt. A coalition of 210 city mayors favors the repeal of this rider, but there is much opposition to that motion.
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library