Medicare: Beneficiary Cost-Sharing Under Proposed Prescription Drug Benefits (open access)

Medicare: Beneficiary Cost-Sharing Under Proposed Prescription Drug Benefits

This report provides background on how the cost-sharing and premium provisions under each bill would affect the amount that a beneficiary pays annually for prescription drugs. In addition, this report gives examples of how annual cost-sharing would differ for beneficiaries with various levels of total prescription drug spending in 2006 under the plans.
Date: June 26, 2003
Creator: Peterson, Chris L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm Commodity Payment Limits: Comparison of Proposals (open access)

Farm Commodity Payment Limits: Comparison of Proposals

This report discusses U.S. policy regard farm commodities. Greater public awareness of the size of commodity program payments reaching a comparatively small number of very large farms has focused the attention of Congress on payment limits. Limits on commodity program payments have been imposed since 1970. As part of the emergency economic assistance packages enacted each of the past three years, the payment limits have been doubled. In addition, a mechanism has been developed that allows farms to circumvent the limit on loan deficiency payments, namely commodity certificates
Date: April 26, 2002
Creator: Womach, Jasper
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change (open access)

Global Climate Change

This report discusses different perspectives used to consider issues related to the global climate change and issues related to the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 1997 Kyoto Agreement.
Date: September 26, 2001
Creator: Justus, John R. & Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Legal Issues Related to Proposed Drilling for Oil and Gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (open access)

Legal Issues Related to Proposed Drilling for Oil and Gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

This report discusses the legal issues considered by Congress on whether to permit drilling for oil and gas in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Date: April 26, 2002
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Appropriations for FY2003: District of Columbia (open access)

Appropriations for FY2003: District of Columbia

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees.
Date: September 26, 2002
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
FY2004 Budget: A Chronology and Resource Guide with Internet Access (open access)

FY2004 Budget: A Chronology and Resource Guide with Internet Access

This report provides a select chronology and resource guide concerning congressional and presidential actions and documents pertaining to budget for FY2004, which runs from October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004. The budget actions and documents referenced in this report relate to the President’s FY2004 budget submission, the FY2004 Congressional Budget Resolution (H.Con.Res 95), reconciliation legislation, debt-limit legislation, and FY2004 appropriation measures.
Date: September 26, 2003
Creator: Murray, Justin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Forest Service Receipt-Sharing Payments: Proposals for Change (open access)

Forest Service Receipt-Sharing Payments: Proposals for Change

In lieu of property taxes, the Forest Service generally shares 25% of receipts from the sale, lease, rental, or other use of the national forests to the states for use on roads and schools in the counties where the national forests are located. This report discusses concerns about the equity and stability of Forest Service receipt-sharing payments, especially with the decline in timber sales over the past decade, and about the incentives of the current system.
Date: April 26, 2000
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Missing and Exploited Children: Overview and Policy Concerns (open access)

Missing and Exploited Children: Overview and Policy Concerns

This report presents an overview of two national incidence studies prepared by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to determine annually the number of reported missing and recovered children in the nation. It also discusses the AMBER Alert System created to help recover reported missing children, legislation introduced in the 108th Congresses to address the missing children issue, and questions that remain regarding concerns about missing children.
Date: September 26, 2003
Creator: Cooper, Edith Fairman
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment (open access)

Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some types of speech and only limited protection to others. This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment — of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech.
Date: June 26, 2003
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Floor Procedure in the House of Representatives: A Brief Overview (open access)

Floor Procedure in the House of Representatives: A Brief Overview

The House considers bills and resolutions on the floor under several different sets of procedures governing the time for debate and the opportunities for amendment. Some procedures allow 40 or 60 minutes for debate; others permit debate to continue until a majority of Members vote to end it. Some procedures prohibit most or all floor amendments; others allow Members to offer any amendments that meet the requirements of the House’s rules and precedents. Notwithstanding these differences, the rules, precedents, and practices of the House generally are designed to permit the majority to work its will in a timely manner. This report provides a brief overview of this procedure.
Date: August 26, 2003
Creator: Rybicki, Elizabeth & Bach, Stanley
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction (open access)

How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction

This report presents a brief description of the five methods used to bring proposed legislation to the House floor for consideration.
Date: March 26, 2001
Creator: Saturno, James V.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lobbying Regulations on Non-Profit Organizations (open access)

Lobbying Regulations on Non-Profit Organizations

This report is intended to provide a brief overview of the various potential restrictions or regulations on lobbying activities of non-profit organizations. Public charities, social welfare organizations, religious groups, and other non-profit, tax-exempt organizations are not generally prohibited from engaging in all lobbying or public policy advocacy merely because of their tax-exempt status.
Date: November 26, 2002
Creator: Maskell, Jack H.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security Technologies and Procedures: Screening Passengers and Baggage (open access)

Aviation Security Technologies and Procedures: Screening Passengers and Baggage

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, there is intense congressional interest in improving the security screening process for airline passengers and their baggage. In the United States, screening is the responsibility of the airlines, which generally contract the work out to screening companies. The Federal Aviation Administration has regulatory authority, deploys security equipment in airports, and conducts research and development on security technology. Congress has begun to consider several bills in this area that have been introduced since the September 11 attacks, as well as Administration proposals and actions.
Date: October 26, 2001
Creator: Morgan, Daniel
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Idaho Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized (open access)

Idaho Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

This report is one of a series that profiles the emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and three territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. This report focuses on the state of Idaho.
Date: March 26, 2004
Creator: Bea, Keith; Runyon, L. Cheryl & Warnock, Kae M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Indiana Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized (open access)

Indiana Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

This report is one of a series that profiles the emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and three territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. This report focuses on the state of Indiana.
Date: March 26, 2004
Creator: Bea, Keith; Runyon, L. Cheryl & Warnock, Kae M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Colorado Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized (open access)

Colorado Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

This report is one of a series that profiles the emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and three territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. This report focuses on the state of Colorado.
Date: March 26, 2004
Creator: Bea, Keith; Runyon, L. Cheryl & Warnock, Kae M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Florida Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized (open access)

Florida Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

This report is one of a series that profiles the emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and three territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. This report focuses on the state of Florida.
Date: March 26, 2004
Creator: Bea, Keith; Runyon, L. Cheryl & Warnock, Kae M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Terrorism Legislation: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 (open access)

Terrorism Legislation: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001

This report discusses wiretapping and other controversial issues as a part of USA PATRIOT Act which bolsters the ability of federal authorities to conduct criminal and intelligence investigations, to bar and expel foreign terrorists from the United States, to separate terrorists from their sources of financial support, to punish acts of terrorism, and to address the needs of the direct victims of the events of September 11.
Date: October 26, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security Act of 2002: Legislative History and Pagination Key (open access)

Homeland Security Act of 2002: Legislative History and Pagination Key

This report presents an abbreviated legislative history of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, providing information on the sequence of events leading up to passage and references to related legislative proposals.
Date: November 26, 2002
Creator: Gressle, Sharon S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration (open access)

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread damage and destruction to wetlands along the central Gulf Coast. Prior to these hurricanes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been seeking approval from the 109th Congress for a $1.1 billion multiyear program to construct five projects that would help to restore portions of the coastal Louisiana ecosystem by slowing the rate of wetland loss and restoring some wetlands. This funding would also be used to continue planning several other related projects. The state of Louisiana and several federal agencies have participated in the development of this program. This report introduces this program, discusses whether it might have muted the impacts of a hurricane of the magnitude and paths of Katrina or Rita, and whether the devastation caused by both hurricanes might cause the Corps and other restoration supporters to propose either altering aspects of this proposed program, or expanding it.
Date: September 26, 2005
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
NASA's Voyager Spacecraft: A Fact Sheet (open access)

NASA's Voyager Spacecraft: A Fact Sheet

This report discusses the Voyager 2, which was launched on August 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral. Their current mission is to extend the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) exploration of the outermost edge of the solar system and the region where the sun’s influence ends.
Date: September 26, 2005
Creator: Gurevitz, Mark
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library

Kaufman County Courthouse

Photograph of the Kaufman County Courthouse. An American flag flies from the building, and cars are parked in front of the building.
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Belden, Dreanna L.
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

Historic Plaque, Colonel Isham Chisum

Photograph of a historic plaque. It reads "Colonel Isham Chisum (1818-1884) One of the leading early citizens of Kaufman County. Represented the county in Texas Secession Convention, Jan. - March 1861. Later in 1861, he fought in Confederate Cavalry of Col. Tom Green in New Mexico campaign. As Colonel of 2nd Partisan Rangers, Walker's Division, fought at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill (La.), in Red River campaign to prevent a Federal invasion of Texas in 1864. A cousin of Jesse Chisholm, who pioneered famous Chisholm Cattle Trail, and of cattle baron John Simpson Chisum, Col. Chisum married Charlotte Martin. They have many descendants in Texas. (1971)"
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Belden, Dreanna L.
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

First National Bank, Kaufman

Photograph of the First National Bank in Kaufman. It has four columns in front of the entrance. The two innermost columns have signs on them. The left sign reads "Gift shop" and the other says "Tea room".
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Belden, Dreanna L.
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History