Federal Public Transportation Program: In Brief (open access)

Federal Public Transportation Program: In Brief

This report is categorized into five categories: (I) Introduction, (II) What is Public Transportation, (III) Funding the Federal Transportation Program, (IV) How are Federal Dollars Spent?, and (V) Program Structure.
Date: October 1, 2014
Creator: Mallett, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2014 Appropriations (open access)

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2014 Appropriations

This report provides an overview of actions taken by Congress to provide FY2014 appropriations for the accounts funded by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Lynch, Karen E.; Cornell, Ada S.; Szymendera, Scott D; McCallion, Gail & Bradley, David H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
America COMPETES Acts: FY2008 to FY2013 Funding Tables (open access)

America COMPETES Acts: FY2008 to FY2013 Funding Tables

The 2007 America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) is designed to “invest in innovation through research and development, and to improve the competitiveness of the United States.” This report tracks accounts and activities authorized by the 2007 and 2010 COMPETES Acts during each act’s authorization period. It includes only those accounts and activities for which the acts provide a defined (i.e., specific) appropriations authorization.
Date: October 31, 2014
Creator: Gonzalez, Heather B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Resources for Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Resources for Frequently Asked Questions

This report summarizes legislative actions taken to repeal, defund, delay, or otherwise amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) since the law's enactment.
Date: October 10, 2014
Creator: Napili, Angela
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Energy Policy (open access)

Nuclear Energy Policy

This report discusses nuclear energy issues currently facing Congress, such as federal incentives for new commercial reactors, radioactive waste management policy, research and development priorities, power plant safety and regulation, nuclear weapons proliferation, and security against terrorist attacks.
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Holt, Mark
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges (open access)

Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges

This report discusses the two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) that require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) to issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in resource extraction payments.
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V. & Ruane, Kathleen Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
Monuments and Memorials Authorized and Completed Under the Commemorative Works Act in the District of Columbia (open access)

Monuments and Memorials Authorized and Completed Under the Commemorative Works Act in the District of Columbia

This report contains a catalog of the 18 authorized works that have been completed and dedicated since 1986. For each memorial, the report provides a rationale for each authorized work, as expressed by a Member of Congress, as well as the statutory authority for its creation; and identifies the group or groups which sponsored the commemoration, the memorial's location, and the dedication date. A picture of each work is also included.
Date: October 9, 2014
Creator: Straus, Jacob R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Beverage Industry Pledges to Reduce Americans' Drink Calories (open access)

Beverage Industry Pledges to Reduce Americans' Drink Calories

This report briefly covers recent initiatives by leading beverage companies to curb the obesity epidemic.
Date: October 6, 2014
Creator: Dabrowska, Agata
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Standing Committee Chairs and Ranking Minority Members: Rules Governing Selection Procedures (open access)

House Standing Committee Chairs and Ranking Minority Members: Rules Governing Selection Procedures

This report discusses house rules, Republican Conference rules, and Democratic Caucus rules each detail aspects of the procedures followed in selecting standing committee chairs and ranking minority members. This report summarizes those procedures and lists membership on each party's steering committee.
Date: October 7, 2014
Creator: Schneider, Judy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cybercrime: An Overview of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Statute and Related Federal Criminal Laws (open access)

Cybercrime: An Overview of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Statute and Related Federal Criminal Laws

This report discusses The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. 1030, which is a cyber security law that outlaws conduct that victimizes computer systems. It protects federal computers, bank computers, and computers connected to the Internet from trespassing, threats, damage, espionage, and from being corruptly used as instruments of fraud.
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations: A Fact Sheet on Legislation, FY1995-FY2015 (open access)

Department of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations: A Fact Sheet on Legislation, FY1995-FY2015

This report discusses the foreign affairs appropriations.
Date: October 6, 2014
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Pollution Control Laws: How Are They Enforced? (open access)

Federal Pollution Control Laws: How Are They Enforced?

This report focuses on enforcement of federal environmental pollution control requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Clean Water Act (CWA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund); and other statutes for which EPA is the primary federal implementing agency.1 The report provides a brief synopsis of the statutory framework that serves as the basis for pollution control enforcement, including an overview of the key players responsible for correcting violations and maintaining compliance. Implementation and enforcement of pollution control laws are interdependent and carried out by a wide range of actors including federal, state, tribal, and local governments; the regulated entities themselves; the courts; interest groups; and the general public.
Date: October 7, 2014
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Appointment Process for U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: An Overview (open access)

The Appointment Process for U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: An Overview

The report's exclusive focus is the process of appointment of U.S. circuit and district court judges through presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.
Date: October 22, 2014
Creator: Rutkus, Denis Steven
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ozone Air Quality Standards: EPA's 2015 Revision (open access)

Ozone Air Quality Standards: EPA's 2015 Revision

This report discusses the standard-setting process, the specifics of the current and most recent reviews, and issues that may be raised as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brings the current review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone to completion.
Date: October 3, 2014
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Assistance: Summary Data and Analysis (open access)

Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Assistance: Summary Data and Analysis

This report provides summary information on supplemental appropriations legislation enacted since FY2000 after significant large-scale disasters. It includes funds appropriated to various departments and agencies.
Date: October 1, 2014
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R. & Murray, Justin
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA's Upcoming Ozone Standard: How Much Will Compliance Cost? (open access)

EPA's Upcoming Ozone Standard: How Much Will Compliance Cost?

This report briefly discusses upcoming changes in climate policy and cost associated with them. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under a court order to complete a review of its ambient air quality standard for ozone (the "ozone NAAQS") by October 1, 2015. The agency must propose any change to the standard by December 1 of [2014].
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Increased Department of Defense Role in U.S. Ebola Response (open access)

Increased Department of Defense Role in U.S. Ebola Response

On September 16, 2014, President Obama announced a major increase in the United States response to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Department of Defense (DOD) submitted requests to Congress to make excess Overseas Contingency Operations funds appropriated for FY2014 available to support this effort. This report briefly outlines these requests.
Date: October 10, 2014
Creator: Jansen, Don J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Palestinian Authority: U.S. Payments to Creditors as Alternative to Direct Budgetary Assistance? (open access)

Palestinian Authority: U.S. Payments to Creditors as Alternative to Direct Budgetary Assistance?

A September 24, 2014, congressional notification (CN) from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) may reflect a new executive branch approach in assisting the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay off some of the debts it incurs in providing various benefits and services to West Bank and Gaza residents. The CN indicates that USAID plans to obligate a total of $100 million in FY2014 bilateral economic assistance for the Palestinians toward direct U.S. payments to PA creditors. This report briefly discusses the details and implications of this new alternative method.
Date: October 20, 2014
Creator: Zanotti, Jim
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mobile Technology and Spectrum Policy: Innovation and Competition (open access)

Mobile Technology and Spectrum Policy: Innovation and Competition

This report traces the current and possible future evolution of mobile communications networks and some of the changes in spectrum policy that might better accommodate innovation.
Date: October 30, 2014
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments (open access)

House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments

This report discusses rules for committee assignments in the House of Representatives. House rules address the election and membership of committees, especially limitations on membership. The Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference rules designate categories of committees and specify service limitations in addition to those in the House rules.
Date: October 17, 2014
Creator: Schneider, Judy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Smartphone Data Encryption: A Renewed Boundary for Law Enforcement? (open access)

Smartphone Data Encryption: A Renewed Boundary for Law Enforcement?

This report briefly examines new issues for law enforcement regarding data encryption and smartphones including cyber-criminals and Apple's new privacy policy that removes the back-doors that law enforcement used to be able to use to access user data.
Date: October 17, 2014
Creator: Finklea, Kristin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, by Topic (open access)

Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, by Topic

This report provides references to analytical reports on cybersecurity from CRS, other government agencies, trade associations, and interest groups. The reports and related websites are grouped under the following cybersecurity topics: policy overview; National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC); cloud computing and FedRAMP; critical infrastructure; cybercrime, data breaches and data security; national security, cyber espionage, and cyberwar (including Stuxnet); international efforts; education/training/workforce; and research and development (R&D).
Date: October 14, 2014
Creator: Tehan, Rita
System: The UNT Digital Library
Extending Unemployment Compensation Benefits During Recessions (open access)

Extending Unemployment Compensation Benefits During Recessions

This report describes the history of temporary federal extensions to unemployment benefits from 1980 to the present. Among these extensions is the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program created by P.L. 110-252.
Date: October 1, 2014
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M. & Isaacs, Katelin P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ebola: Basics About the Disease (open access)

Ebola: Basics About the Disease

This report discusses Ebola virus disease (EVD) in general, including symptoms, modes of transmission, incubation period, and treatments; presents projections of the future course of the outbreak; and lists additional CRS products, including products focused on the situation in West Africa. Unless otherwise cited, information in this report is drawn from Ebola information pages of CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Date: October 3, 2014
Creator: Lister, Sarah A.
System: The UNT Digital Library