Homelessness: Targeted Federal Programs and Recent Legislation (open access)

Homelessness: Targeted Federal Programs and Recent Legislation

This report describes existing federal programs that provide targeted assistance to homeless individuals and families, and discusses federal efforts to end homelessness. It also contains tables that outline funding levels for various related programs.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: Perl, Libby; Bagalman, Erin; Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.; Heisler, Elayne J.; McCallion, Gail; McCarthy, Francis X. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Essential Air Service (EAS): Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Essential Air Service (EAS): Frequently Asked Questions

This report provides an overview of the Essential Air Service (EAS) program and discusses the changes introduced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: Tang, Rachel Y.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Early Release for Federal Inmates: Fact Sheet (open access)

Early Release for Federal Inmates: Fact Sheet

This report discusses ways to reduce the size of the federal prison population by reducing the amount of time inmates serve, though such measures as allowing inmates to earn credit toward their sentences for participating in rehabilitative programs.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: James, Nathan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2013 (open access)

Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2013

The report contains information on the pay procedure for members of Congress and recent adjustments. It provides information on previous actions and votes by year, from 1990-2010.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2014 Budget and Appropriations (open access)

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2014 Budget and Appropriations

This report provides a brief overview of the FY2014 State Department, Foreign Operations and Related Programs funding request, as well as top-line analysis of pending House and Senate State-Foreign Operations appropriations proposals.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Tiersky, Alex & Lawson, Marian L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) program. The Navy's proposed FY2014 budget requests $5,285.3 million in procurement and advance procurement (AP) funding for the program. Decisions that Congress makes on procurement of Virginia-class boats could substantially affect U.S. Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Legislative and Executive Branch Initiatives (open access)

Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Legislative and Executive Branch Initiatives

This report briefly summarizes and tracks congressional and State Department actions in response to the attack on U. S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, and will be updated as necessary to reflect further developments and actions on ongoing policy proposals.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: Tiersky, Alex
System: The UNT Digital Library
Overview and Issues for Implementation of the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative: Implications for Federal Information Technology Reform Management (open access)

Overview and Issues for Implementation of the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative: Implications for Federal Information Technology Reform Management

This report explains what cloud computing is -- including cloud deployment models and service models -- discusses issues that should be considered when adopting cloud services, and presents the federal government's planning for IT reform. It also provides information on assessments that have been conducted on agency cloud adoption and discusses both the challenges and drivers of cloud adoption. Finally, the report provides possible mechanisms for Congress to monitor agencies as they implement cloud computing.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney & Fischer, Eric A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
China's Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States (open access)

China's Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States

This report provides background on China's economic rise, describes its current economic structure, identifies the challenges China faces to maintain economic growth, and discusses the challenges, opportunities, and implications for the United States.
Date: February 3, 2014
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M.
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: April 3, 2014
Creator: Tehan, Rita
System: The UNT Digital Library
China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues (open access)

China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

This report discusses the security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. and other foreign concerns about its role in weapons proliferation.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons (open access)

Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons

This report provides basic information about U.S. and Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons. It begins with a brief discussion of how these weapons have appeared in public debates in the past few decades, then summarizes the differences between strategic and nonstrategic nuclear weapons. It then provides some historical background, describing the numbers and types of nonstrategic nuclear weapons deployed by both nations during the Cold War and in the past decade; the policies that guided the deployment and prospective use of these weapons; and the measures that the two sides have taken to reduce and contain their forces. The report reviews the issues that have been raised with regard to U.S. and Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons, and summarizes a number of policy options that might be explored by Congress, the United States, Russia, and other nations to address these issues.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background (open access)

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background

This report reprints the text of the five National Security Letter (NSL) statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would be returned under S.1125 and H.R. 1805).
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities (open access)

Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities

This report discusses the physical security at nuclear power plants and concerns of radiological sabotage, a deliberate act against a plant that could directly or indirectly endanger public health and safety through exposure to radiation.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Holt, Mark & Andrews, Anthony
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background (open access)

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background

This report discusses the USA PATRIOT Act (107-56) and its expanded authority to issue national security letters (NSLs). A report by the Department of Justice's Inspector General (IG) found that in its pre-amendment use of expanded USA PATRIOT Act authority the FBI had "used NSLs in violation of applicable NSL statutes, Attorney General Guidelines, and internal FBI policies," but that no criminal laws had been broken.
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Support for Streetcars: Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Federal Support for Streetcars: Frequently Asked Questions

This report answers some frequently asked questions about streetcars and federal involvement in their construction and operation. It concludes by laying out policy options for Congress in dealing with streetcars.
Date: April 3, 2014
Creator: Mallett, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): An Overview (open access)

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): An Overview

This report discusses the earned income tax credit (EITC), established in the tax code in 1975, which offers cash aid to working parents with relatively low incomes who care for dependent children.
Date: April 3, 2014
Creator: Scott, Christine & Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet (open access)

The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet

This report provides data on the number of veterans and VA health care users, and discusses the allegations of long delays in treatments.
Date: June 3, 2014
Creator: Bagalman, Erin
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

The report provides basic consumer sources, including broad overviews of the Affordable Care Act. The next sections focus on health coverage, as well as public health care programs. The report then lists sources on employer-sponsored coverage. Sources on ACA's provisions on mental health, public health, workforce, quality, and taxes are also provided. Finally, the report lists sources on ACA costs and appropriations, and sources for obtaining the law's full-text.
Date: April 3, 2014
Creator: Napili, Angela
System: The UNT Digital Library
Domestic Federal Law Enforcement Coordination: Through the Lens of the Southwest Border (open access)

Domestic Federal Law Enforcement Coordination: Through the Lens of the Southwest Border

This report discusses the law enforcement task forces and intelligence information sharing centers. The report focuses on those task forces and information sharing efforts that respond to federal counterdrug and counterterrorism priorities in the Southwest border region.
Date: June 3, 2014
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Export-Import Bank: Overview and Reauthorization Issues (open access)

Export-Import Bank: Overview and Reauthorization Issues

This report provides: (1) a general background of Ex-Im Bank; (2) a discussion of the international context of the Bank; (3) analysis of key issues that Congress may consider in a reauthorization debate; and (4) the congressional outlook on Ex-Im Bank.
Date: June 3, 2014
Creator: Akhtar, Shayerah Ilias
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iraq Crisis and U.S. Policy (open access)

Iraq Crisis and U.S. Policy

This report analyzes the offensive in northern and central Iraq led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, aka ISIS) -- a Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group -- with a discussion of the offensive's implications, the U.S. response, and related issues.
Date: July 3, 2014
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth; Humud, Carla E.; Blanchard, Christopher M.; Margesson, Rhoda & Tiersky, Alex
System: The UNT Digital Library
Canada-U.S. Relations (open access)

Canada-U.S. Relations

This report provides an overview of Canada's political scene, economic conditions, security and foreign policy, and environmental initiatives, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers. This country survey is followed by several summaries of current bilateral issues in the political, international security, trade, and environmental arenas. The questions following each summary are designed as potential inquiries to Canadian officials to promote thought and discussion among policymakers.
Date: June 3, 2014
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F. & Mix, Derek E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA's Proposed Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

EPA's Proposed Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions

This report summarizes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposal regarding greenhouse gas regulations. In addition to discussing details of the proposed rule, the report addresses a number of questions regarding the reasons for the proposal; the EPA's authority under Section 111 of the CAA; the EPA's previous experience using that authority; the steps the agency must take to finalize the proposed rule; and various other background questions.
Date: July 3, 2014
Creator: McCarthy, James E.; Meltz, Robert; Leggett, Jane A.; Ramseur, Jonathan L. & Dolan, Alissa M.
System: The UNT Digital Library