China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues (open access)

China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

This report discusses the security problem of China’s role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Emoluments Clause: History, Law, and Precedents (open access)

The Emoluments Clause: History, Law, and Precedents

This report provides an historical review of the Emoluments Clause, focusing on the debates at the time the clause was drafted, as well as the precedents adopted by Congress and the executive branch with respect to nominations where the issue has arisen.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Tatelman, Todd B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Budget: Current and Upcoming Issues (open access)

The Federal Budget: Current and Upcoming Issues

This report provides information about The Current and Upcoming Issues on Federal Budget. The Federal Budget implements congress's " power of the purse".
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew & Levit, Mindy R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Government Corporations: An Overview (open access)

Federal Government Corporations: An Overview

This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 17 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and required to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments (open access)

Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Many Members of Congress see continued tension between "free speech" decisions of the Supreme Court, which protect flag desecration as expressive conduct under the First Amendment, and the symbolic importance of the United States flag. This report is divided into two parts. The first gives a brief history of the flag protection issue, from the enactment of the Flag Protection Act in 1968 through current consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, that struck down the state and federal flag protection statutes as applied in the context punishing expressive conduct.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Luckey, John R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran's Activities and Influence in Iraq (open access)

Iran's Activities and Influence in Iraq

This report discusses the relationship between Iraq and Iran in the post-Saddam Hussein era, with particular focus on what Iran's intentions and/or long-term goals may be for increasing its influence in Iraq. The report explores the various strategies that Iran has used to spread its influence throughout Iraq's military and political spheres. The report also addresses the United States' concern over the Iran-Iraq relationship, especially as it concerns armed Shiite factions and U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iraqi Police and Security Forces Casualties Estimates (open access)

Iraqi Police and Security Forces Casualties Estimates

This report presents various governmental and non-governmental estimates of Iraqi police and security forces fatalities. The Department of Defense (DOD) regularly updates total U.S. military deaths and wounded statistics from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), as reflected in CRS Report RS21578, Iraq: U.S. Casualties, and has released the monthly pattern of Iraqi security forces deaths. For information on Iraqi civilian deaths, see CRS Report RS22537, Iraqi Civilian Deaths Estimates. Because these estimates are based on varying time periods and have been created using differing methodologies, readers should exercise caution when using them and should look on them as guideposts rather than as statements of fact.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Fischer, Hannah
System: The UNT Digital Library
Land and Water Conservation Fund: Overview, Funding History, and Current Issues (open access)

Land and Water Conservation Fund: Overview, Funding History, and Current Issues

This Congressional Research Service Report for Congress details the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965 with emphasis on the fund's history, purpose, and current issues. - Updated January 7, 2009.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Vincent, Carol Hardy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Meat and Poultry Inspection: Background and Selected Issues (open access)

Meat and Poultry Inspection: Background and Selected Issues

None
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Overview of the Presidential Pardoning Power (open access)

An Overview of the Presidential Pardoning Power

This report provides an overview of the scope of the President's pardoning power, the legal effects of a pardon, and the procedures that have traditionally been adhered to in the consideration of requests for pardons.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Burrows, Vanessa K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pension Issues: Lump-Sum Distributions and Retirement Income Security (open access)

Pension Issues: Lump-Sum Distributions and Retirement Income Security

This report covers several issues regarding pensions. Forty-seven percent of all workers aged 21 and older participated in employer-sponsored retirement plans in 2006, but not all of these workers will receive a pension or other income from these plans when they retire.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
System: The UNT Digital Library
Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information (open access)

Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information

None
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Resources for Grantseekers (open access)

Resources for Grantseekers

This report describes key sources of information on government and private funding, and outlines eligibility for federal grants. Federal grants are intended for projects benefiting states and communities. Individuals may be eligible for other kinds of benefits or assistance, or small businesses and students may be eligible for loans. Since government funds may be limited, the report also discusses sources of private and corporate foundation funding. The Foundation Center is a clearinghouse for information about private, corporate, and community foundations, with collections of resources in every state.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Gerli, Merete F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Medicare: The 24-Month Waiting Period for SSDI Beneficiaries Under Age 65 (open access)
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: History, Perspectives and Issues (open access)

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: History, Perspectives and Issues

This reports discusses the history and establishment of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), acquisition of crude oil for the SPR. It talks about the debate over the years regarding when should the SPR be used.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Bamberger, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Recent Developments and Their Policy Implications (open access)

Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Recent Developments and Their Policy Implications

This report focuses on current developments in Taiwan, analyzing how those developments are affecting choices the United States makes about its policy toward Taiwan specifically and toward the People's Republic of China (PRC) more broadly.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Dumbaugh, Kerry
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wilderness Laws: Permitted and Prohibited Uses (open access)

Wilderness Laws: Permitted and Prohibited Uses

This report discusses the Wilderness Act generally prohibits commercial activities, motorized uses, and infrastructure developments in congressionally designated wilderness areas. However, the Wilderness Act and many subsequent laws designating wilderness areas also contain provisions authorizing activities that do not conform with these general prohibitions. The general prohibitions and the authorized uses are important because controversies persist over permissible and prohibited activities in wilderness areas, and because bills often seek to modify existing areas or activities.
Date: January 7, 2009
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer (open access)

Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer

This report provides an overview of nanotechnology, nanomanufacturing, and public understanding of and attitudes toward nanotechnology. Congress has demonstrated continuing support for nanotechnology and has directed its attention primarily to three topics that may affect the realization of this hoped for potential: federal research and development (R&D) in nanotechnology; U.S. competitiveness; and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns.
Date: February 7, 2009
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer (open access)

Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer

This report provides an overview of the nanotechnology that is believed by many to offer extraordinary economic and societal benefits, which are discussed in more detail in other CRS reports—and two others: nanomanufacturing and public understanding of and attitudes toward nanotechnology.
Date: February 7, 2009
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Israel: Background and Relations with the United States (open access)

Israel: Background and Relations with the United States

This report provides a historical overview of Israel and it discusses most recent development, politics, economy and relations with United States.
Date: March 7, 2009
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
System: The UNT Digital Library
Child Support Enforcement and Ex-Offenders (open access)

Child Support Enforcement and Ex-Offenders

This report focuses on the CSE program. It examines the CSE program within the context of large numbers of former inmates re-entering local communities.
Date: April 7, 2009
Creator: Solomon-Fears, Carmen
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases (open access)

The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases

This report gives an overview of the federal debt limit, its history, and recent increases
Date: April 7, 2009
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew & Levit, Mindy R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court (open access)

Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court

This report provides an overview of the early judicial developments and the establishment of Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) procedures; summarizes selected court cases related to the detentions and the use of military commissions; and discusses the Detainee Treatment Act, as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Military Commissions Act of 2009, analyzing its effects on detainee-related litigation in federal court. The report summarizes the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene invalidating Congress's efforts to revoke the courts' habeas jurisdiction, and discusses some remaining issues and subsequent developments.
Date: April 7, 2009
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K. & Garcia, Michael J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Global Financial Crisis: Foreign and Trade Policy Effects (open access)

The Global Financial Crisis: Foreign and Trade Policy Effects

This report provides an overview of the major non-financial effects of the global crisis of 2008.
Date: April 7, 2009
Creator: Nanto, Dick K.
System: The UNT Digital Library