Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry (open access)

Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

This report is on Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry.
Date: December 18, 2014
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Action on FY2015 Appropriations Measures (open access)

Congressional Action on FY2015 Appropriations Measures

This report provides background and analysis on congressional action related to the FY2015 appropriations process. The first section discusses the status of discretionary budget enforcement for FY2015, including the statutory spending limits and allocations normally associated with the congressional budget resolution. The second section provides information on the consideration and enactment of regular appropriations and an overview of aggregate discretionary spending. The third section discusses the legislative action on FY2015 CRs and associated budget enforcement considerations.
Date: December 18, 2014
Creator: Tollestrup, Jessica
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Islamic State in Egypt: Implications for U.S.-Egyptian Relations (open access)

The Islamic State in Egypt: Implications for U.S.-Egyptian Relations

This report discusses Islamist militancy in Egypt; specifically the presence the Islamic State organization (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS). The report also briefly discusses what the propagation of militants means for relations between the United States and Egypt.
Date: December 18, 2014
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions (open access)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions

This report discusses potential policy questions for the upcoming 114th Congress concerning the Service’s mission and organization through an examination of the USSS history and its statutory authorities, mission, and present activities within DHS. The policy questions presented in this report are only considerations, since the Service is widely perceived to be operating and performing its missions effectively for the past 11 years as part of DHS.
Date: December 18, 2014
Creator: Reese, Shawn
System: The UNT Digital Library
Everglades Restoration: Federal Funding and Implementation Progress (open access)

Everglades Restoration: Federal Funding and Implementation Progress

This report summarizes historical and current funding trends for Everglades restoration, with a focus on federal funding totals and issues for Congress. It also provides a brief summary of some of the major accomplishments in Everglades restoration since the enactment of CERP in 2000, as well as ongoing challenges facing the effort.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Stern, Charles V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm and Food Support Under USDA's Section 32 Program (open access)

Farm and Food Support Under USDA's Section 32 Program

"Section 32" is a permanent appropriation that since 1935 has set aside the equivalent of 30% of annual customs receipts to support the farm sector through the purchase of surplus commodities and a variety of other activities. This report first describes how the Section 32 account operates by tracing funds flowing into and out of the account. Second, a more detailed discussion is provided for each type of use, including historical policies.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Shields, Dennis A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Capital Offenses: An Abridged Overview of Substantive and Procedural Law (open access)

Federal Capital Offenses: An Abridged Overview of Substantive and Procedural Law

None
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Capital Offenses: An Overview of Substantive and Procedural Law (open access)

Federal Capital Offenses: An Overview of Substantive and Procedural Law

Murder, committed under any of more than 50 jurisdictional circumstances, is a federal capital offense. So are treason, espionage, and certain drug kingpin offenses. The Federal Death Penalty Act and related provisions establish the procedure that must be followed before a defendant convicted of a federal capital offense may be executed. This report is an overview of the law in the area.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Internships, Fellowships, and Other Work Experience Opportunities in the Federal Government (open access)

Internships, Fellowships, and Other Work Experience Opportunities in the Federal Government

This report describes Internet resources on major internship, fellowship, and work experience programs within the federal government. It is intended as a selective guide for students of all levels: high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Bailey, Christina M. & Manning, Jennifer E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
State Minimum Wages: An Overview (open access)

State Minimum Wages: An Overview

This report begins with a brief discussion of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage coverage. It then provides a summary of state minimum wage laws, followed by an examination of rates and mechanisms of adjustments in states with minimum wage levels above the FLSA rate. The report also discusses the interaction of federal and state minimum wages over time.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Bradley, David H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans Affairs: Presumptive Service Connection and Disability Compensation (open access)

Veterans Affairs: Presumptive Service Connection and Disability Compensation

This report discusses presumptive service connection, its legislative history, and current challenges in making evidence-based determinations of presumptions. It also discusses the Agent Orange Act (P.L. 102-4) and suggests implications of the process established by the act for future presumptive service-connected determinations.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga; Shedd, Daniel T. & Moulta-Ali, Umar
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange: Legislative History, Litigation, and Current Issues (open access)

Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange: Legislative History, Litigation, and Current Issues

This report provides an overview of how Congress and the judiciary have addressed the concerns of Vietnam-era veterans and briefly describes some of the current issues raised by Vietnam-era veterans.
Date: November 18, 2014
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga & Shedd, Daniel T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agriculture in the WTO: Rules and Limits on Domestic Support (open access)

Agriculture in the WTO: Rules and Limits on Domestic Support

This report provides a brief overview of the World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments most relevant for U.S. domestic farm policy. The report discusses a key question that policy makers ask of virtually every new farm proposal is, how will it affect U.S. commitments under the WTO? The answer depends not only on cost, but also on the proposal's design and objectives, as described below.
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy Policy: 113th Congress Issues (open access)

Energy Policy: 113th Congress Issues

None
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy Policy: 113th Congress Issues (open access)

Energy Policy: 113th Congress Issues

This report discusses the energy policy in the United States that is focused on three major goals: assuring a secure supply of energy, keeping energy costs low, and protecting the environment.
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The No Fly List: Procedural Due Process and Hurdles to Litigation (open access)

The No Fly List: Procedural Due Process and Hurdles to Litigation

This report provides an overview of the operation of the government's watchlists, examine some of the legal issues implicated by challenges to the No Fly list, and describe recent case law on the matter.
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Cole, Jared P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer (open access)

Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Poverty: Major Themes in Past Debates and Current Proposals (open access)

Poverty: Major Themes in Past Debates and Current Proposals

This report begins with an overview of trends affecting both the incidence of poverty and characteristics of the population, and highlights changing perceptions of the poor and causes of poverty. The report then provides a short history of key federal policies enacted over the past century to address poverty. To provide a framework for analyzing current and future proposals, the report then presents several overarching themes that have recurred in poverty policy debates over the course of this history.
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene & Spar, Karen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Russia's Compliance with the INF Treaty (open access)

Russia's Compliance with the INF Treaty

This report discusses the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Obama administration's claim that Russia has violated the treaty by testing a land-based cruise missile with a range greater than 500 kilometers.
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement (open access)

Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, that would produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Debate (open access)

Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Debate

This report discusses the ongoing debate regarding the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a federal government corporation which is the the official export credit agency (ECA) of the U.S. Government. The bank's statutory charter expires on September 30, 2014, meaning that its authority to obligations generally would cease and a wind-down of operations would be required. The report gives four possible scenarios for approaches Congress could take in regards to approaching the bank's future authorization status.
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federalism Issues in Surface Transportation Policy: A Historical Perspective (open access)

Federalism Issues in Surface Transportation Policy: A Historical Perspective

This report provides a historical perspective on contemporary federalism issues in surface transportation policy, from the beginning of the nation through MAP-21. This analysis may prove useful as Congress debates legislation reauthorizing surface transportation programs during the 113th Congress.
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
System: The UNT Digital Library
Improper Payments in High Priority Programs: In Brief (open access)

Improper Payments in High Priority Programs: In Brief

This report provides a brief overview of the improper payments in high priority programs.
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: Hatch, Garrett Leigh
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Survivors Benefits (open access)

Social Security Survivors Benefits

None
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library