Legislative Actions to Repeal, Defund, or Delay the Affordable Care Act (open access)

Legislative Actions to Repeal, Defund, or Delay the Affordable Care Act

This report summarizes legislative and other actions taken to repeal, defund, or delay the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since the law's enactment. It includes some background on the ACA and four appendixes organizing relevant information.
Date: February 5, 2014
Creator: Redhead, C. S. & Kinzer, Janet
System: The UNT Digital Library
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): A Summary of the Act and Its Major Requirements (open access)

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): A Summary of the Act and Its Major Requirements

This report summarizes the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and its major programs and regulatory requirements. This report includes the drinking water security provisions added to the SDWA by the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-188), and lead reduction provisions as amended by P.L. 111-380. It also outlines amendments made in December 2013 by P.L. 113-64 (H.R. 3588) to explicitly exempt fire hydrants from coverage under the act's lead plumbing restrictions.
Date: February 5, 2014
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights (open access)

Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights

This report discusses the state of Iraqi politics, governance, and human rights, including the worsening relations between local Sunni and Shiite populations.
Date: February 5, 2014
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Highway and Public Transportation Infrastructure Provision Using Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) (open access)

Highway and Public Transportation Infrastructure Provision Using Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)

This report discusses two broad policy options for Congress as it considers reauthorizing federal surface transportation programs.
Date: March 5, 2014
Creator: Mallett, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the challenges in the transportation of oil, as refineries that once received crude oil principally from oceangoing tankers are now seeing increasing deliveries by domestic transport. It also outlines possible issues for Congress including rail transport of oil versus pipelines, and the possible increase of oil spills from rail transport.
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: Frittelli, John; Parfomak, Paul W.; Ramseur, Jonathan L.; Andrews, Anthony; Pirog, Robert & Ratner, Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Navy's irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations. The Navy's IW and CT activities pose a number of potential oversight issues for Congress, including the definition of Navy IW activities and how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response (open access)

Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response

This report discusses the recent conflict in Syria including an overview of the situation, information about anti- and pro-Asad forces, background on chemical weapons and disarmament, plans for U.S. policy and assistance, and a general sense of the future outlook.
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.; Humud, Carla E. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individual Mandate Under ACA (open access)

Individual Mandate Under ACA

This report describes the individual mandate as established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended). The report also discusses the ACA reporting requirements designed, in part, to assist individuals in providing evidence of having met the mandate.
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: Mach, Annie L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues (open access)

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues

This report provides an overview of the rationale for the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems and summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, then provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides an overview of the key issues for Congress related to Egypt and information on U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. It briefly provides a political history of modern Egypt, an overview of its political institutions, and a discussion of the prospects for democratization in Egypt, as well as addressing the following current topics: the Arab-Israeli peace process, Iraq, terrorism, democratization and reform, human rights, trade, and military cooperation.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities--Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities--Background and Issues for Congress

This report focuses on the potential implications of China's naval modernization for future required U.S. Navy capabilities. The report particularly discusses how potential United States responses to China's military modernization effort -- including its naval modernization effort -- have emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
The United Kingdom and U.S.-UK Relations (open access)

The United Kingdom and U.S.-UK Relations

This report discusses the relations between United Kingdom (UK) and the United States, including a sense of shared history, values, and culture, as well as extensive and long-established cooperation on a wide range of foreign policy and security issues.
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: Mix, Derek E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress (open access)

Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress

This report discusses the process of naming Navy ships, which have traditionally been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
International Climate Change Financing: The Green Climate Fund (GCF) (open access)

International Climate Change Financing: The Green Climate Fund (GCF)

This report discusses United States commitments for climate change through financial and technical assistance and multilateral programs.
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The National Science Foundation: Background and Selected Policy Issues (open access)

The National Science Foundation: Background and Selected Policy Issues

This report includes background information about the National Science Foundation (NSF), providing an introduction to the foundation and its work as institutional context for ongoing congressional consideration of NSF policy and fiscal issues.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: Gonzalez, Heather B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (open access)

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers

This report provides background on the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program, which provides federal assistance to workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade. The report discusses TAA eligibility and benefits as set by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011; describes how the program is funded and administered; and presents data on recent application activity and benefit usage.
Date: March 5, 2014
Creator: Collins, Benjamin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The report is written in response to the Coast Guard's budget request for a new polar ice breaker (none are currently in operation).
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Block Grants: Perspectives and Controversies (open access)

Block Grants: Perspectives and Controversies

This report provides an overview of the six grant types with criteria for defining a block grant and a list of current block grants. It also examines competing perspectives concerning the use of block grants versus other grant mechanisms to achieve national goals, provides an historical overview of the role of block grants in American federalism, and discusses recent changes to existing block grants and proposals to create new ones.
Date: July 5, 2014
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Boyd, Eugene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific relevant topics.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs).
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF): State Insolvency and Federal Loans to States (open access)

The Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF): State Insolvency and Federal Loans to States

None
Date: May 5, 2014
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2015 Appropriations and Policy (open access)

Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2015 Appropriations and Policy

This report contains the appropriations and policy during the Fiscal Year 2015 on fish and wildlife service.
Date: August 5, 2014
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Remedies: Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (open access)

Trade Remedies: Antidumping and Countervailing Duties

None
Date: December 5, 2014
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Labor Relations Statutes: An Overview (open access)

Federal Labor Relations Statutes: An Overview

This report provides a brief history, including major amendments, of each of the three statutes. The discussion of each law begins with an overview of the statute and then discusses in more detail the key statutory provisions of the law and how the law is administered and enforced.
Date: September 5, 2014
Creator: Mayer, Gerald; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Collins, Benjamin
System: The UNT Digital Library