Trade-Based Money Laundering: Overview and Policy Issues (open access)

Trade-Based Money Laundering: Overview and Policy Issues

This report discusses the scope of the trade-based money laundering (TBML) problem and analyzes selected U.S. government policy responses to address TBML. It includes a listing of hearings in the 114th Congress that addressed TBML.
Date: June 22, 2016
Creator: Miller, Rena S.; Rosen, Liana W. & Jackson, James K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations

This report discusses the kingdom of Saudi Arabia's relations with the United States; its stability, and its future trajectory are subjects of continuing congressional interest.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation (open access)

Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation

This report provides an overview of existing federal, state, and international laws governing trade secret protection, describes the limitations of these legal regimes, and reviews pending legislation, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (S. 1890), that is intended to address such deficiencies.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Education Funding: Key Concepts and FAQ (open access)

Department of Education Funding: Key Concepts and FAQ

Analyzing the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) budget requires an understanding of a broad range of federal budget and appropriations concepts. This report provides an introduction to these concepts as they are used specifically in the context of the congressional appropriations process for ED.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Gonzalez, Heather B. & Tollestrup, Jessica
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Future of Internet Governance: Should the United States Relinquish Its Authority over ICANN? (open access)

The Future of Internet Governance: Should the United States Relinquish Its Authority over ICANN?

This report discusses legislation relevant to the future of Internet governance that has been introduced in the 113th and 114th Congresses which would prevent, delay, or impose conditions or additional scrutiny on the transition of NTIA's stewardship role and procedural authority over key Internet domain name functions to the global Internet multi-stakeholder community.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mileage-Based Road User Charges (open access)

Mileage-Based Road User Charges

This report examines mileage-based user charges as an possible source of highway funding. Federal highway and public transportation programs are funded mainly by taxes on motor fuel that flow into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The tax rates, set on a per-gallon basis, have not been raised since 1993, and motor fuel tax receipts have been insufficient to support the transportation programs authorized by Congress since FY2008.
Date: June 22, 2016
Creator: Kirk, Robert S. & Levinson, Marc
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): History and Overview (open access)

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): History and Overview

This report provides an overview of the history of science and technology (S&T) advice to the President and discusses selected recurrent issues for Congress regarding Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Director, OSTP management and operations, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).
Date: June 22, 2016
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr. & Shea, Dana A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (open access)

Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles

This report briefly discusses the second phase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles jointly proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on July 13, 2015.
Date: June 22, 2016
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production in Federal and Nonfederal Areas (open access)

U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production in Federal and Nonfederal Areas

This report examines U.S. oil and natural gas production data for federal and non-federal areas with an emphasis on the past five fiscal years of production.
Date: June 22, 2016
Creator: Humphries, Marc
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa (open access)

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa

This report includes a discussion of the EB-5 visa's requirements and an overview of the Regional Center Program, information on the EB-5 application (petition) process, admissions, and the economic impacts of the visa, a review of policy issues surrounding the visa and the Regional Center Program, and a summary of current legislation on the EB-5 visa and the Regional Center Program in the 114th Congress.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N. & Siskin, Alison
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Can Agencies Take Actions That They Are Not Expressly Authorized by Statute to Take? (open access)

Can Agencies Take Actions That They Are Not Expressly Authorized by Statute to Take?

This legal sidebar on statutory interpretation addresses the question of whether executive branch agencies are barred from taking actions that Congress has not specifically authorized them to take.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congress and the Budget: 2016 Actions and Events (open access)

Congress and the Budget: 2016 Actions and Events

This report seeks to assist in (1) anticipating what budget-related actions might occur within the upcoming year, and (2) staying abreast of budget actions that occur this year. It provides a general description of the recurrent types of budgetary actions, and reflects on current events that unfold in each category during 2016.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Lynch, Megan S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Public Trust and Law Enforcement--A Brief Discussion for Policymakers (open access)

Public Trust and Law Enforcement--A Brief Discussion for Policymakers

This report provides a brief overview of police-community relations and how the federal government might be able to promote more accountability and better relationships between citizens and law enforcement.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: James, Nathan; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Finklea, Kristin; Keegan, Natalie; Lister, Sarah A.; Sacco, Lisa N. et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Filers and the Child Tax Credit: Overview and Legislation (open access)

Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Filers and the Child Tax Credit: Overview and Legislation

This report discusses the child tax credit, which was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34) to help ease the financial burden on families when they have children. The ACTC is available to taxpayers with little or no federal income tax liability.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: Crandall-Hollick, Margot L. & Lunder, Erika K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). The Coast Guard's proposed FY2017 budget requests a total of $467 million in acquisition funding for the three programs.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 114th Congress (open access)

Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 114th Congress

The 114th Congress continues to consider many issues related to unemployment insurance (UI) programs: Unemployment Compensation (UC), the temporary, now-expired Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08), and Extended Benefits (EB). This report gives a brief overview of the UI programs that may provide benefits to eligible unemployed workers, and briefly summarizes the President's budget proposal for FY2017.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M. & Isaacs, Katelin P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Argentina: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Argentina: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides information and analysis relevant for Congress on the following: Assessments of U.S.-Turkey relations, Turkish foreign policy, and Turkey's strategic orientation, Turkish efforts to cooperate with the United States against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and key issues regarding Turkey's domestic politics.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P. & Nelson, Rebecca M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congress and the Budget: 2016 Actions and Events (open access)

Congress and the Budget: 2016 Actions and Events

This report seeks to assist in (1) anticipating what budget-related actions might occur within the upcoming year, and (2) staying abreast of budget actions that occur this year. It provides a general description of the recurrent types of budgetary actions, and reflects on current events that unfold in each category during 2016.
Date: July 22, 2016
Creator: Driessen, Grant A. & Lynch, Megan S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 30, Pages 5277-5476, July 22, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 30, Pages 5277-5476, July 22, 2016

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.
Date: July 22, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Iran: U.S. Economic Sanctions and the Authority to Lift Restrictions (open access)

Iran: U.S. Economic Sanctions and the Authority to Lift Restrictions

This report identifies the legislative bases for sanctions imposed on Iran, and the nature of the authority to waive or lift those restrictions. It comprises two tables that present legislation and executive orders that are specific to Iran and its objectionable activities in the areas of terrorism, human rights, and weapons proliferation.
Date: January 22, 2016
Creator: Rennack, Dianne E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (open access)

Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

This report provides an overview of the situation in Ukraine, two years after the February 2014 collapse of the Kremlin-supported government of President Viktor Yanukovych. Following the collapse, there was an emergence of a pro-Western, pro-reform government and an energized public generally anxious to lessen Moscow's influence, committed to addressing the need for serious reform and determined to draw closer to Europe and the United States.
Date: February 22, 2016
Creator: Morelli, Vincent L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Overview of Labor Enforcement Issues in Free Trade Agreements (open access)

Overview of Labor Enforcement Issues in Free Trade Agreements

This report discusses free trade agreements (FTAs) that have enforceable labor provisions, grouped into four model types. It outlines the provisions for each and identifies two types of labor enforcement issues: (1) those that relate to the FTA provisions themselves, including their definitions and their enforceability, and (2) those that relate to executive branch responsibilities, such as resource availability and determining dispute settlement case priorities. This report does not address other labor issues in the various free trade agreements, including cooperative consultation and capacity-building provisions.
Date: February 22, 2016
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape (open access)

The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape

This report discusses current issues regarding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is an independent federal agency charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The mission of the FCC is to ensure that the American people have available--at reasonable cost and without discrimination--rapid, efficient, nation- and world-wide communication services, whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable.
Date: February 22, 2016
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (open access)

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel

This report provides an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to Israel. It includes a review of past aid programs, data on annual assistance, and an analysis of current issues.
Date: December 22, 2016
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library