The Medical Device Excise Tax: Economic Analysis (open access)

The Medical Device Excise Tax: Economic Analysis

This report reviews the issues surrounding the medical devices tax within the framework of basic principles surrounding the choice of commodities to tax under excise taxes. The next section describes the tax and its legislative origins. After that, the report analyzes the arguments for retaining and repealing the tax.
Date: January 9, 2015
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Lowry, Sean
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effect of Corinthian Colleges’ Closure on Student Financial Aid: Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Effect of Corinthian Colleges’ Closure on Student Financial Aid: Frequently Asked Questions

This report answers several frequently asked questions regarding the effect of the sale and closure of CCI's schools as they relate to former CCI students aid.
Date: June 17, 2015
Creator: Hegji, Alexandra
System: The UNT Digital Library
Introduction to Financial Services: International Supervision (open access)

Introduction to Financial Services: International Supervision

This report discusses the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and subsequent global economic turmoil that underscored the interconnectedness of the global financial system as well as its weaknesses. In the wake of the crisis, leaders from the United States and other countries have pursued a wide range of reforms to the international financial regulatory system.
Date: February 10, 2015
Creator: Weiss, Martin A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Qualified Charitable Distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts: Features and Legislative History (open access)

Qualified Charitable Distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts: Features and Legislative History

A provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-280) allows tax-free distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes. This report describes the IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) provision.
Date: February 4, 2015
Creator: Topoleski, John J. & Sidor, Gary
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Funeral Honors and Military Cemeteries: Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Military Funeral Honors and Military Cemeteries: Frequently Asked Questions

This report is written in response to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about military funeral honors and military cemeteries. It provides information to questions in three general areas: implementation of the funeral honors and eligibility criteria; components of the honor detail and the funeral ceremony; and specific questions on burial and honors at Arlington National Cemetery. It also cites legislation requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to make military funeral honors available to every eligible veteran upon request.
Date: April 10, 2015
Creator: Salazar Torreon, Barbara
System: The UNT Digital Library
Softwood Lumber Imports From Canada: Current Issues (open access)

Softwood Lumber Imports From Canada: Current Issues

This report examines the status and current issues surrounding Canadian softwood lumber imports since 2006. After providing background information on what constitutes softwood lumber, the stakeholders in the dispute, and the history of the dispute, the report introduces the 2006 SLA and analyzes its impacts on the U.S. lumber industry as well as on the trade relationship between the United States and Canada. Finally, the report discusses the potential issues Congress may consider when the agreement expires in 2015.
Date: August 27, 2015
Creator: Hoover, Katie & Fergusson, Ian F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Legal Challenges and Solutions (open access)

Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Legal Challenges and Solutions

While considerable debate exists with regard to the best strategies for protecting America’s various cyber-systems and promoting cybersecurity, one point of general agreement amongst cyber-analysts is the perceived need for enhanced and timely exchange of cyber-threat intelligence both within the private sector and between the private sector and the government. This report examines the various legal issues that arise with respect to the sharing of cybersecurity intelligence, with a special focus on two distinct concepts: (1) sharing of cyberinformation within the government’s possession and (2) sharing of cyber-information within the possession of the private sector.
Date: March 16, 2015
Creator: Nolan, Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Administration and Job Creation (open access)

Small Business Administration and Job Creation

The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty programs, disaster loan programs, management and technical assistance training programs, and federal contracting programs. Congressional interest in these programs has increased in recent years, primarily because they are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and assist in the national economic recovery. This report examines the economic research on net job creation to identify the types of businesses that appear to create the most jobs.
Date: January 29, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wilderness: Overview and Statistics (open access)

Wilderness: Overview and Statistics

In 1964, the Wilderness Act established a national system of congressionally designated areas to be preserved in a wilderness condition: “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” This report provides a brief history of wilderness, describes what wilderness is, identifies permitted and prohibited uses in wilderness areas, and provides data on the 109.8 million acres of designated wilderness areas as of January 1, 2015.
Date: January 12, 2015
Creator: Hoover, Katie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pharmaceutical Patent-Antitrust: Reverse Payment Settlements and Product Hopping (open access)

Pharmaceutical Patent-Antitrust: Reverse Payment Settlements and Product Hopping

This report introduces and analyzes innovation and competition policy issues associated with the pharmaceutical industry. It begins with a review of the Hatch-Waxman Act and its implications upon the availability of generic substitutes for brand-name medications. The report then turns to a basic review of the antitrust law. It then addresses judicial developments with respect to reverse payment settlements and product hopping. The report closes with a summary of congressional issues and possible alternatives.
Date: October 7, 2015
Creator: Thomas, John R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation (open access)

Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation

Committee hearings allow Senators an opportunity to gather information on—and draw attention to—legislation and issues within a committee’s purview, conduct oversight of programs or agencies, and investigate allegations of wrongdoing. This checklist identifies, primarily for staff, many of the tasks that need to be performed by a full committee and, in most cases, subcommittees in advance of a hearing. Some of the tasks are required by Senate or committee rules; others are common committee practice. Some tasks are usually the responsibility of the committee’s majority staff, some are shared by majority and minority staff, and some are performed by a Senator’s personal office staff.
Date: March 16, 2015
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Columbia River Treaty Review (open access)

Columbia River Treaty Review

This report provides a brief overview of the Columbia River Treaty review. It includes background on the history of the basin and consideration of the treaty, as well as a brief summary of studies and analyses of the Columbia River Treaty review process to date.
Date: May 1, 2015
Creator: Stern, Charles V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Transactions Taxes: In Brief (open access)

Financial Transactions Taxes: In Brief

None
Date: October 22, 2015
Creator: Knightley, Mark P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
FEMA DRF Major Disaster Assistance: Kentucky (open access)

FEMA DRF Major Disaster Assistance: Kentucky

None
Date: January 28, 2015
Creator: Richardson, Daniel J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Research Tax Credit: Current Law and Policy Issues for the 114th Congress (open access)

Research Tax Credit: Current Law and Policy Issues for the 114th Congress

Technological innovation is a primary engine of long-term economic growth, and research and development (R&D) serves as the lifeblood of innovation. The federal government encourages businesses to invest more in R&D than they otherwise would in several ways, including a tax credit for increases in spending on qualified research above a base amount. This report describes the current status of the credit, summarizes its legislative history, discusses policy issues it raises, and describes legislation to modify and extend it.
Date: May 22, 2015
Creator: Guenther, Gary
System: The UNT Digital Library
Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks Mergers: Overview and Issues (open access)

Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks Mergers: Overview and Issues

The combination of Charter, Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), and Bright House Networks (BHN) would create a single entity providing cable television and broadband access service to 23.9 million customers in 41 states, making it the nation’s second-largest cable television operator and broadband access provider. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must approve the transactions before they can close.This report describes recent trends in the television industry, the events leading up to the proposed transactions, and the criteria and process of regulatory review.
Date: July 24, 2015
Creator: Scherer, Dana A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Standards of Conduct of Brokers, Dealers, and Investment Advisers (open access)

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Standards of Conduct of Brokers, Dealers, and Investment Advisers

None
Date: April 6, 2015
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Missing Adults: Background, Federal Programs, and Issues for Congress (open access)

Missing Adults: Background, Federal Programs, and Issues for Congress

The first section of this report discusses demographics and record keeping of missing adults and unidentified remains, as well as some of the factors that may contribute to the disappearance of adults. This section also discusses federally-funded databases that are used to track data on missing adults and unidentified individuals. The second section of the report describes the federal programs and initiatives to assist in locating missing adults, including funding data where applicable. Finally, the third section discusses issues about the federal role in missing adult cases.
Date: February 11, 2015
Creator: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
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 discusses The Coast Guard's Program of Record (POR) calls for procuring 8 national security cutters (NSCs), 25 offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters and Patrol Craft.
Date: March 26, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
FEMA DRF Major Disaster Assistance: Vermont (open access)

FEMA DRF Major Disaster Assistance: Vermont

None
Date: January 28, 2015
Creator: Richardson, Daniel J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies (open access)

Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies

This report provides background on regulatory requirements, controversies and legal challenges to mountaintop mining, and recent Administration actions. Attention to EPA’s veto of the West Virginia mining permit and other federal agency actions has increased in Congress. Congressional interest in these issues is discussed, including legislation seeking to restrict the practice of mountaintop mining and other legislation intended to block the Obama Administration’s regulatory actions.
Date: April 20, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy LX(R) Amphibious Ship Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy LX(R) Amphibious Ship Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the LX(R) amphibious ship program, a Navy program to build a new class of 11 amphibious ships. The Navy wants to procure the first LX(R) in FY2020.
Date: March 25, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Background and Overview (open access)

The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Background and Overview

This report provides background information on the historical circumstances that led to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a summary of its major provisions, and a brief discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court decision and related legislation in the 113th and 114th Congresses.
Date: April 14, 2015
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Administration Microloan Program (open access)

Small Business Administration Microloan Program

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Microloan program provides direct loans to qualified nonprofit intermediary lenders who, in turn, provide “microloans” of up to $50,000 to small businesses and nonprofit child care centers. It also provides marketing, management, and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and potential borrowers. This report opens with a discussion of the rationale provided for having a Microloan program, describes the program’s eligibility standards and operating requirements for lenders and borrowers, and examines the arguments presented by the program’s critics and advocates. It then discusses P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which increased the Microloan program’s loan limit for borrowers from $35,000 to $50,000, and the aggregate loan limit for intermediaries after their first year of participation in the program from $3.5 million to $5 million.
Date: May 28, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
System: The UNT Digital Library