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The Peace Corps: Current Issues (open access)

The Peace Corps: Current Issues

None
Date: November 14, 2008
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions on Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions, 109th Congress (open access)

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions on Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions, 109th Congress

This report provides an overview of the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate. It also specifies, for the 109th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions on 33 regulatory and other collegial boards and commissions. Profiles of each board and commission provide information on their organizational structures, membership as of end of the 109th Congress, and appointment activity during that Congress. The organizational section discusses the statutory requirements for the appointed positions, including the number of members on each board or commission, their terms of office, whether or not they may continue in their positions after their terms expire, whether or not political balance is required, and the method for selection of the chair. Membership and appointment activity are provided in tabular form. The report also includes tables summarizing the collective appointment activity for all 33 bodies, and identifying Senate recesses during the 109th Congress.
Date: November 14, 2008
Creator: Hogue, Henry; Bearden, Maureen; Ely, Dana & Lisbeth, Terrence
System: The UNT Digital Library
Whales and Sonar: Environmental Exemptions for the Navy's Mid-Frequency Active Sonar Training (open access)

Whales and Sonar: Environmental Exemptions for the Navy's Mid-Frequency Active Sonar Training

This report discusses laws related to the protection of marine mammals when using mid-frequency active sonar including the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). The report discusses each of the laws generally, and then reviews the litigation surrounding the Navy's compliance with these laws in the context of using the sonar for training purposes off California's coast.
Date: November 14, 2008
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance

The central government's limited writ and perceived corruption are helping sustain a Taliban insurgency and feeding pessimism about the Afghanistan stabilization effort. However, ethnic disputes have been confined to political debate and competition, enabling Karzai to focus on improving governance, reversing security deterioration and on his re-election bid in the fall of 2009. See CRS Report RL30588, Afghanistan: Post- War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Americans with Disabilities Act: Supreme Court Decisions (open access)

The Americans with Disabilities Act: Supreme Court Decisions

This report is on The Americans with Disabilities Act: Supreme Court Decisions.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Jones, Nancy Lee
System: The UNT Digital Library
Auction Basics: Background for Assessing Proposed Treasury Purchases of Mortgage- Backed Securities (open access)

Auction Basics: Background for Assessing Proposed Treasury Purchases of Mortgage- Backed Securities

This report discusses the administrations' proposal to use reverse Dutch auctions to purchase troubled assets -- primarily mortgage-related securities from financial institutions.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Belarus: Background and U.S. Policy Concerns (open access)

Belarus: Background and U.S. Policy Concerns

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko snuffed out Belarus's modest progress toward democracy and a free market economy in the early 1990s and created an authoritarian, Soviet-style regime. Belarus held parliamentary elections in September 2008. Supporters of the government won all of the seats in the vote, which was criticized by the U.S., EU, and OSCE as falling short of international standards. Belarus's economy is the most unreformed in Europe, according to most observers. This report contains an overview of Belarus, the political and economic situation, relations of the country with Russia, relations with Nato, the European Union, and Belarus, and U.S. policy and Congressional action.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Woehrel, Steven
System: The UNT Digital Library
Community Services Block Grants (CSBG): Funding and Reauthorization (open access)

Community Services Block Grants (CSBG): Funding and Reauthorization

This report provides information about the Funding and Re authorization of Community Services Block Grants (CSBG). CSBG administered by the department of health and human services(HSS), provides federal funds to states ,territories,tribes for distribution to local agencies for activities to reduce poverty.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Spar, Karen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Personnel: Conversion of Employees from Appointed (Noncareer) Positions to Career Positions in the Executive Branch (open access)

Federal Personnel: Conversion of Employees from Appointed (Noncareer) Positions to Career Positions in the Executive Branch

This report discusses the conversion of employees from appointed (noncareer) positions to career positions in the executive branch. This practice, commonly referred to as "burrowing in," is permissible when laws and regulations governing career appointments are followed.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Schwemle, Barbara L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Protective Service and Contract Security Guards: A Statutory History and Current Status (open access)

The Federal Protective Service and Contract Security Guards: A Statutory History and Current Status

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) -- within U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -- is responsible for protecting federal government property, personnel, visitors, and customers, including property leased by the General Services Administration (GSA). FPS currently employs over 15,000 contract security guards to protect federal property. DHS intends, according to its FY2009 budget justification, to continue the use of contract security guards to focus FPS activities on maintaining security policy and standards, conducting building security assessments, and monitoring federal agency compliance with security standards.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Reese, Shawn
System: The UNT Digital Library
The McNulty Memorandum: Attorneys’ Fees and Waiver of Corporate Attorney-Client and Work Product Protection (open access)
The McNulty Memorandum In Short: Attorneys’ Fees and Waiver of Corporate Attorney-Client and Work Product Protection (open access)
Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations (open access)

Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

None
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Implementation of the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (open access)

Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Implementation of the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

This report outlines the implementation process for the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and describes issues raised as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states develop implementation strategies.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Potential Offset Supply in a Cap-and-Trade Program (open access)

Potential Offset Supply in a Cap-and-Trade Program

This report discusses the enactment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction program, such as a cap-and-trade system. An estimate of the quantity and type of offset projects that might be available would provide for a more informed debate over the design elements of a cap-and-trade program.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Runaway and Homeless Youth: Demographics and Programs (open access)

Runaway and Homeless Youth: Demographics and Programs

None
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Runaway and Homeless Youth: Reauthorization Legislation and Issues in the 110th Congress (open access)

Runaway and Homeless Youth: Reauthorization Legislation and Issues in the 110th Congress

None
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Striving Readers Program (open access)

The Striving Readers Program

None
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Taxation of Unemployment Benefits (open access)

Taxation of Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment compensation (UC) benefits have been fully subject to the federal income tax since the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-514). Individuals who receive UC benefits during a year may elect to have the federal (and in some cases state) income tax withheld from their benefits. H.R. 6844 would provide a two-year suspension of the taxation of UC benefits. This report provides an overview of the taxation of UC benefits and legislation related to taxing UC benefits.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions (open access)

The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions

This report frames potential policy questions concerning the Service's mission and organization through an examination of the USSS history and its statutory authorities, mission, and present activities within DHS.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Reese, Shawn
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wireless Technology and Spectrum Demand: Advanced Wireless Services (open access)

Wireless Technology and Spectrum Demand: Advanced Wireless Services

This report contains an overview of the development and demand on advanced wireless technology services.
Date: October 14, 2008
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Legislation for Disaster Assistance: Summary Data (open access)

Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Legislation for Disaster Assistance: Summary Data

This report provides summary information on emergency supplemental appropriations enacted after major disasters since 1989. The report discusses the most recent and costly disasters occurred in the summer of 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma made landfall in Gulf Coast states.
Date: August 14, 2008
Creator: Murray, Justin & Lindsay, Bruce R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Legislation for Disaster Assistance: Summary Data (open access)

Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Legislation for Disaster Assistance: Summary Data

This report provides summary information on emergency supplemental appropriations enacted after major disasters since 1989. The report discusses the most recent and costly disasters occurred in the summer of 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma made landfall in Gulf Coast states.
Date: August 14, 2008
Creator: Murray, Justin & Lindsay, Bruce R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
FDA Authority to Regulate On-Farm Activity (open access)

FDA Authority to Regulate On-Farm Activity

None
Date: August 14, 2008
Creator: Burrows, Vanessa K.
System: The UNT Digital Library