Analysis of the Tax Exclusion for Canceled Mortgage Debt Income (open access)

Analysis of the Tax Exclusion for Canceled Mortgage Debt Income

This report provides an analysis of the tax exclusion for canceled mortgage debt income.
Date: February 23, 2018
Creator: Keightley, Mark P. & Lunder, Erika
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory (open access)

The Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory

This is a report about the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Matthews, Christine M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Broadband Infrastructure Programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (open access)

Broadband Infrastructure Programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

This report discusses the Implementation and issues related to Broadband Infrastructure Programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Date: February 23, 2010
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Budget Control Act: Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

The Budget Control Act: Frequently Asked Questions

This report addresses several frequently asked questions related to the Budget Control Act (BCA) and the federal annual budget.
Date: February 23, 2018
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Lynch, Megan S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action (open access)

The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action

This report discusses the budget reconciliation process that has been one of the chief tools used by Congress during the period covering from 1980 to the present to implement major changes in budget policy. Following a brief overview of the budget reconciliation process, this report provides information on the timing of House and Senate action on reconciliation measures.
Date: February 23, 2016
Creator: Lynch, Megan S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress (open access)

Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress

This report reviews current actions (as of January 2015) of selected federal departments and agencies to adapt their own missions, infrastructure, operations, and personnel to projected climate change.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress (open access)

Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress

This report reviews current actions (as of January 2015) of selected federal departments and agencies to adapt their own missions, infrastructure, operations, and personnel to projected climate change plans.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the background of cluster munitions in the U.S. military, and the current Department of Defense (DOD) and Obama Administration stances on the topic. It also discusses the two major international initiatives to address cluster munitions: the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and negotiations under the U.N. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).
Date: February 23, 2010
Creator: Feickert, Andrew & Kerr, Paul K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction (open access)

The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

This report provides information about The Introduction of Congressional Appropriations Process. Congress has developed certain rules and practices for the consideration of appropriate measures, referred to as Congressional Appropriations Process.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction (open access)

The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

Congress annually considers several appropriations measures, which provide funding for numerous activities, for example, national defense, education, and homeland security, as well as general government operations. Congress has developed certain rules and practices for the consideration of appropriations measures, referred to as the congressional appropriations process. This report looks at this process as well as the three types of appropriates measures: regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental appropriations bills.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Tollestrup, Jessica
System: The UNT Digital Library
Court-Ordered Access to Smart Phones: In Brief (open access)

Court-Ordered Access to Smart Phones: In Brief

This report specifically examines certain encryption issues that have been raised in the investigation of the December 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA. This report highlights certain issues that policymakers may examine as they follow the ongoing dispute between law enforcement and technology companies, and it focuses on questions related to the government's request.
Date: February 23, 2016
Creator: Finklea, Kristin; Thompson, Richard M., II & Jaikaran, Chris
System: The UNT Digital Library
CRS Issue Statement on the Middle East (open access)

CRS Issue Statement on the Middle East

None
Date: February 23, 2010
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.; Zanotti, Jim; Addis, Casey L.; Migdalovitz, Carol; Katzmann, Kenneth; Blanchard, Christopher M. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Highlighted Activities (open access)

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Highlighted Activities

A look at legislative reforms that have been passed and are in process in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Spending Under an Interim Continuing Resolution: In Brief (open access)

Defense Spending Under an Interim Continuing Resolution: In Brief

This report provides a basic overview of interim continuing resolutions (CRs) and highlights some specific issues pertaining to operations of the Department of Defense (DOD) under a CR.
Date: February 23, 2018
Creator: Williams, Lynn M. & Roscoe, Jennifer M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Depreciating Dollar: Economic Effects and Policy Response (open access)

The Depreciating Dollar: Economic Effects and Policy Response

This report discusses the trend of depreciation of the dollar since 2002. This raises concern among some in Congress and the public that the dollar's decline is a symptom of broader economic problems, such as a weak economic recovery, rising public debt, and a diminished standing in the global economy. However, a falling currency is not always a problem, but possibly an element of economic adjustments that are, on balance, beneficial to the economy.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disclosure of International Travel by Congress (open access)

Disclosure of International Travel by Congress

None
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
System: The UNT Digital Library
Domestic Human Trafficking Legislation in the 114th Congress (open access)

Domestic Human Trafficking Legislation in the 114th Congress

This report discusses domestic human trafficking-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant interest in the 114th Congress.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Finklea, Kristin; Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L. & Siskin, Alison
System: The UNT Digital Library
Domestic Human Trafficking Legislation in the 114th Congress (open access)

Domestic Human Trafficking Legislation in the 114th Congress

This report discusses domestic human trafficking-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant interest in the 114th Congress.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Finklea, Kristin; Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L. & Siskin, Alison
System: The UNT Digital Library
Enforcement of Congressional Rules of Conduct: A Historical Overview (open access)

Enforcement of Congressional Rules of Conduct: A Historical Overview

This report describes the evolution of congressional enforcement of congressional rules of conduct and summarizes the disciplinary action taken by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. It also discusses the recommendations of the House Special Task Force on Ethics and related proposals as well as selected other recent changes.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Straus, Jacob R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
ESEA Reauthorization Proposals in the 114th Congress: Selected Key Issues (open access)

ESEA Reauthorization Proposals in the 114th Congress: Selected Key Issues

This report examines major features of H.R. 5 with respect to current law. It begins by discussing the approach that H.R. 5 takes toward reshaping the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in key areas. Next, the report considers the ESEA by title and part to examine how the ESEA would be reconfigured under H.R. 5, followed by an examination of proposed program authorizations included in H.R. 5.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R. & Kuenzi, Jeffrey J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The European Union: Questions and Answers (open access)

The European Union: Questions and Answers

This report serves as a primer on the EU. Despite the UK's vote to leave the EU, the UK remains a full member of the bloc until it completes withdrawal negotiations and officially exits the EU (expected to occur in March 2019). As such, this report largely addresses the EU and its institutions as they currently exist. It also briefly describes U.S.-EU political and economic relations that may be of interest in the 115th Congress.
Date: February 23, 2018
Creator: Archick, Kristin
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Excise Tax on Motor Fuels and the Highway Trust Fund: Current Law and Legislative History (open access)

The Federal Excise Tax on Motor Fuels and the Highway Trust Fund: Current Law and Legislative History

None
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: Lowry, Sean
System: The UNT Digital Library
Free Trade Agreements: Impact on U.S. Trade and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy (open access)

Free Trade Agreements: Impact on U.S. Trade and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy

This report provides background on free trade areas (FTAs) -- arrangements among two or more countries under which they agree to eliminate tariffs and nontariff barriers on trade in goods among themselves -- why countries form them, and how they relate to U.S. trade policy. It also discusses recent developments, the economic impact of FTAs, the relation of FTAs to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and debate points, as well as general conclusions and implications for Congress.
Date: February 23, 2010
Creator: Cooper, William H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Generalized System of Preferences: Background and Renewal Debate (open access)

Generalized System of Preferences: Background and Renewal Debate

This report presents, first, a brief history, economic rationale, and legal background leading to the establishment of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which provides non-reciprocal, duty-free tariff treatment to certain products imported from designated beneficiary developing countries (BDC's). A brief comparison of GSP programs worldwide, especially as they compare to the U.S. system, is also presented. Second, the report presents a discussion of U.S. implementation of the GSP, along with the present debate surrounding its renewal and legislative developments to date. Third, an analysis of the U.S. program's effectiveness and the positions of various stakeholders is presented. Fourth, implications of the expiration of the U.S. program and possible options for Congress are discussed.
Date: February 23, 2011
Creator: Jones, Vivian C.
System: The UNT Digital Library