The 9/11 Commission and a National Counterterrorism Center: Issues and Options for Congress (open access)

The 9/11 Commission and a National Counterterrorism Center: Issues and Options for Congress

This report examines a number of issues as Congress considers codification of an NCTC. One issue is whether the centralization remedy the commission has recommended fits the problems associated specifically with the 9/11 intelligence failure, and perhaps more broadly, the systematic maladies affecting the Intelligence Community. There are at least four options for congressional consideration: (1) NCTC with intelligence and operational planning duties, (2) NCTC restricted to an intelligence role, (3) NCTC restricted to an operational planning role, and (4) status quo plus-viewing the newly forming collected entity as a pilot potential NCTC. As one of its 41 recommendations, the 9/11 Commission recommended the creation of a National Counterterroism Center (NCTC).
Date: October 22, 2004
Creator: Masse, Todd
System: The UNT Digital Library
9/11 Commission Recommendations: A Civil Liberties Oversight Board (open access)

9/11 Commission Recommendations: A Civil Liberties Oversight Board

This report discusses the recommendation made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) regarding the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government.
Date: December 22, 2004
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
9/11 Commission Recommendations: A Civil Liberties Oversight Board (open access)

9/11 Commission Recommendations: A Civil Liberties Oversight Board

From Summary: This report discusses recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) which include: "creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government."
Date: December 22, 2004
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
9/11 Commission Recommendations: The Senate Confirmation Process for Presidential Nominees (open access)

9/11 Commission Recommendations: The Senate Confirmation Process for Presidential Nominees

On July 22, 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, issued its final report, detailing the events up to and including the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks upon the United States. The 9/11 Commission recommended that the Senate adopt rules requiring hearings and votes to confirm or reject national security nominees within 30 days of their submission at the start of each new presidential administration. Implementing the commission's proposal would involve imposing new restrictions on both the power of committee chairs to control the agenda of their committees and the rights of Senators to delay or block nominations through holds and extended debate. This report discusses in detail this proposal, how it could be implemented, and the potential effects of its implementation.
Date: November 22, 2004
Creator: Palmer, Betsy
System: The UNT Digital Library
S. 488, H.R. 1343, and Section 406 of H.R. 10: Encouraging Employee Ownership (open access)

S. 488, H.R. 1343, and Section 406 of H.R. 10: Encouraging Employee Ownership

This report provides background and a policy discussion of similar legislation, S. 488, H.R. 1343 (which passed the House on April 4, 2017), and Section 406 in H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, which passed the House on June 8, 2017. According to H.R. 1343's sponsor, Representative Randy Hultgren, the legislation is aimed at "eas[ing] the ability of companies to offer ownership to their ... employees."
Date: August 22, 2017
Creator: Shorter, Gary
System: The UNT Digital Library
2014 Farm Bill Provisions and WTO Compliance (open access)

2014 Farm Bill Provisions and WTO Compliance

This report briefly describes the relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) rules governing domestic support programs under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM). The report then reviews the current U.S. farm safety net programs in light of their potential for compliance with the AoA and SCM and their potential to affect the success of the current Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.
Date: April 22, 2015
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
System: The UNT Digital Library
21st Century Community Learning Centers: A History of the Program (open access)

21st Century Community Learning Centers: A History of the Program

This report describes what Twenty-first Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) are. The report also covers the reauthorization of funding for the program in 2002, how grants were awarded, and the essential questions Congress considered when reauthorizing the program. Moreover, the report includes the requirements 21st CCLC projects had to meet to receive the funds.
Date: January 22, 2002
Creator: McCallion, Gail
System: The UNT Digital Library
ABM: A Bibliography (open access)

ABM: A Bibliography

This report is a bibliography about ABM.
Date: August 22, 1969
Creator: Wu, Leneice
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: November 22, 2004
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Adoption Records (open access)

Access to Adoption Records

From Summary: "This report summarizes the various approaches states use to allow access to adoption records."
Date: January 22, 2002
Creator: Smith, Alison M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate (open access)

Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate

This report discusses the current debate over "net neutrality." While there is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality," most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network.
Date: July 22, 2013
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Achievements of and Outlook for Sanctions on Iran (open access)

Achievements of and Outlook for Sanctions on Iran

This report analyzes the effect that sanctions have had in contributing to the achievement of U.S. objectives on Iran and analyzes several scenarios that might affect whether sanctions are eased or increased, or that might affect the effectiveness of the sanctions. It briefly reviews the imposition of sanctions, both by the United States and the international community, and discusses their stated objectives.
Date: April 22, 2014
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Active Military Sonar and Marine Mammals: Events and References (open access)

Active Military Sonar and Marine Mammals: Events and References

The deployment of active sonar by the U.S. Navy and its potential impacts on marine mammals has been an ongoing issue of intense debate; regulatory, legislative, and judicial activity; and international concern. This report summarizes legal and political events related to active sonar and marine mammals since 1994. This report summarizes some of the more significant recent events pertaining to active military sonar, in particular.
Date: November 22, 2005
Creator: Buck, Eugene H. & Calvert, Kori
System: The UNT Digital Library
Active Sonar and Marine Mammals: Chronology with References (open access)

Active Sonar and Marine Mammals: Chronology with References

The deployment of active sonar by the U.S. Navy and its potential impacts on marine mammals has been an ongoing issue of intense debate; regulatory, legislative, and judicial activity; and international concern. This report provides a chronology of significant events and documents since 1994.
Date: June 22, 2005
Creator: Calvert, Kori & Buck, Eugene H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Administration’s FY2005 Request for $25 Billion for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan: Precedents, Options, and Congressional Action (open access)

The Administration’s FY2005 Request for $25 Billion for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan: Precedents, Options, and Congressional Action

This report discusses the military's request for 25 billion dollars as a "contingent reserve emergency fund" for FY2005. The report covers previous decisions made by Congress to lend insight on whether the total amount will be distributed or not. Moreover, the report discusses a variety of options that may be undertaken to acquire the funding such as using the Department of Defense's ability to transfer funds (DOD).
Date: July 22, 2004
Creator: Belasco, Amy & Daggett, Stephen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Administrative Law Primer: Statutory Definitions of "Agency" and Characteristics of Agency Independence (open access)

Administrative Law Primer: Statutory Definitions of "Agency" and Characteristics of Agency Independence

This report explores several important statutes that regulate agencies and these statutes' respective definitions of "agency." These statutes include the Administrative Procedure Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Records Act, statutes governing federal employees, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Date: May 22, 2014
Creator: Cole, Jared P. & Shedd, Daniel T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advance Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance Funding (open access)

Advance Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance Funding

pppropriations acts generally make budget authority (or BA) available for use (or obligation) at the start of the fiscal year covered by the act. Sometimes appropriations bills provide a different date for specified budget authority within the act to become first available so that the funding cycle does not coincide with the fiscal year generally covered by the act. There are three types of this kind of budget authority: advance appropriations, forward funding, and advance funding.
Date: November 22, 2010
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aereo and FilmOn X: Internet Television Streaming and Copyright Law (open access)

Aereo and FilmOn X: Internet Television Streaming and Copyright Law

This report begins with a discussion of the technology used by Aereo and FilmOn X that permit subscribers to watch live broadcast television as well as already-aired programming. It then examines the public performance right in the Copyright Act and discusses the interpretation of the transmit clause and public performance right by the courts in the Aereo and FilmOn cases. The report concludes with a brief overview of future litigation by these parties and related legislative proposals in the 113th Congress.
Date: January 22, 2015
Creator: Lanza, Emily M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Affirmative Action and Diversity in Public Education — Legal Developments (open access)

Affirmative Action and Diversity in Public Education — Legal Developments

The first part of this report briefly reviews the judicial evolution of race-based affirmative action, particularly in relation to public education. Recent rulings challenging the use of racial admissions and hiring practices by public educational institutions are then considered for their implications on the future development of affirmative action law.
Date: July 22, 2003
Creator: Dale, Charles V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), H.R. 1318/H.R. 1886/H.R. 2410 and S. 496: Issues and Arguments (open access)

Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), H.R. 1318/H.R. 1886/H.R. 2410 and S. 496: Issues and Arguments

This report discusses legislation related to the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act (H.R. 1886), the Afghanistan-Pakistan Security and Prosperity Enhancement Act (H.R. 1318), and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410). It also discusses the Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones Act (S. 496).
Date: January 22, 2010
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians (open access)

Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

This report presents statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
Date: July 22, 2011
Creator: Chesser, Susan G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
Date: December 22, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.
Date: November 22, 2013
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
Date: August 22, 2011
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library