Debt-Limit Legislation in the Congressional Budget Process (open access)

Debt-Limit Legislation in the Congressional Budget Process

The gross federal debt consists of the debt held by the public plus the debt held by government accounts. Almost all of the gross federal debt is subject to a public debt limit, as set forth in statute (31 U.S.C. 3101).This report considers legislation needed to change the public debt limit.
Date: February 22, 2005
Creator: Heniff, Bill, Jr.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Senate Committee Funding Resolutions, 109th Congress, and Funding Authorizations 104th-109th Congresses (open access)

Senate Committee Funding Resolutions, 109th Congress, and Funding Authorizations 104th-109th Congresses

All standing and select committees of the Senate (except for the Appropriations and Ethics Committees) obtain their operating budgets pursuant to a biennial committee funding resolution.
Date: February 25, 2005
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Rising Energy Competition and Energy Security in Northeast Asia: Issues for U.S. Policy (open access)

Rising Energy Competition and Energy Security in Northeast Asia: Issues for U.S. Policy

None
Date: February 9, 2005
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The President's Management Agenda: A Brief Introduction (open access)

The President's Management Agenda: A Brief Introduction

This report provides an overview of the President’s Management Agenda, announced in August 2001, and comprising five government-wide initiatives, including strategic management of human capital, competitive sourcing, improved financial performance, expanded electronic government, and budget and performance integration. Related developments, such as introduction of a Management Scorecard for gauging agency achievement on the initiatives and development of a program assessment rating tool (PART) for evaluating program performance, are also discussed. This report will be updated as developments warrant.
Date: February 14, 2005
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Future of the Balkans and U.S. Policy Concerns (open access)

Future of the Balkans and U.S. Policy Concerns

This report provides information about the Future of the Balkans and U.S. Policy Concerns where the Unites states,its allies, and local leaders have achieved substantial success in the Balkans in the mid-1990's.
Date: February 9, 2005
Creator: Woehrel, Steven
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Legislative Procedures for Adjusting the Public Debt Limit: A Brief Overview (open access)

Legislative Procedures for Adjusting the Public Debt Limit: A Brief Overview

Almost all borrowing by the federal government is conducted by the Treasury Department, within the restrictions established by a single, statutory limit on the total amount of debt that may be outstanding at any time. Most adjustments to the debt limit have been increases, but sometimes the change has been a reduction.
Date: February 11, 2005
Creator: Keith, Robert & Heniff, Bill, Jr.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Magnitude of Changes That Would Be Required to Balance the FY2006 Budget (open access)

The Magnitude of Changes That Would Be Required to Balance the FY2006 Budget

A balanced federal budget is a bipartisan goal of many Members of Congress. In addition, moving the budget closer to balance is a long-term necessity because the national debt cannot grow as a percentage of GDP indefinitely, as it would under current policy. The budget deficit in FY2006 is projected to be between $295 billion and $400 billion.
Date: February 24, 2005
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Pros and Cons of Allowing the Federal Government to Negotiate Prescription Drug Prices (open access)

The Pros and Cons of Allowing the Federal Government to Negotiate Prescription Drug Prices

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) expressly forbids the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from negotiating the price of prescription drugs on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. This report outlines the arguments for and against allowing the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. This report will be updated, as needed.
Date: February 18, 2005
Creator: Hahn, Jim
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC): Property Transfer and Disposal (open access)

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC): Property Transfer and Disposal

The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 provide the basic framework for the transfer and disposal of military installations closed during the base realignment and closure (BRAC) process. This report provides an overview of the various authorities available under the current law and describes the planning process for the redevelopment of BRAC properties.
Date: February 23, 2005
Creator: Flynn, Aaron M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Peer Review: OMB's Proposed, Revised, and Final Bulletins (open access)

Peer Review: OMB's Proposed, Revised, and Final Bulletins

In September 2003, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed bulletin on “Peer Review and Information Quality” in the Federal Register that sought to establish a process by which all “significant regulatory information” would be peer reviewed. The scope of the proposed bulletin was very broad,
Date: February 3, 2005
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W. & Fischer, Eric A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Invoking Cloture in the Senate (open access)

Invoking Cloture in the Senate

None
Date: February 9, 2005
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005 (open access)

Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005

This report describes relevant current law relating to immigration and document-security matters, how H.R. 418 would alter current law if enacted, and the degree to which the bill duplicates existing law.
Date: February 2, 2005
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.; Lee, Margaret M. & Tatelman, Todd B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005 (open access)

Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005

The 109th Congress is considering several issues carried over from the 108th Congress related to immigration enforcement and identification-document security. This report analyzes the major provisions of House-passed H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005. It describes relevant current law relating to immigration and document-security matters, how House-passed H.R. 418 would alter current law if enacted, and the degree to which the bill duplicates existing law.
Date: February 16, 2005
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.; Lee, Margaret M. & Tatelman, Todd
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Forest Fire/Wildfire Protection (open access)

Forest Fire/Wildfire Protection

Congress continues to face questions about forestry practices, funding levels, and the federal role in wildland fire protection. The 2000 and 2002 fire seasons were, by most standards, among the worst in the past half-century. National attention began to focus on wildfires when a prescribed burn in May 2000 escaped control and burned 239 homes in Los Alamos, NM. President Clinton responded by requesting a doubling of wildfire management funds, and Congress enacted much of this proposal in the FY2001 Interior Appropriations Act (P.L. 106-291).
Date: February 14, 2005
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Assistance to North Korea: A Fact Sheet (open access)

U.S. Assistance to North Korea: A Fact Sheet

Report detailing the assistance the United States sends to North Korea, including food aid, energy aid, human rights discussions, and nuclear disarmament discussions.
Date: February 11, 2005
Creator: Manyin, Mark E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Computer Services Personnel: Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (open access)

Computer Services Personnel: Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), as amended, is the primary federal statute in the area of minimum wages and overtime pay. Through administrative rulemaking, the Secretary of Labor has established two tests through which to define eligibility under the Section 13(a)(1) exemption: a duties test and an earnings test. In the 106th Congress, legislation was introduced by Representatives Andrews and Lazio that would have increased the scope of the exemption: first, by expanding the range of exempt job titles, and then, through a relative reduction in the value of the earnings threshold or test. For example, were the minimum wage increased to $6.15 per hour, as pending proposals would do, the value of the computer services exemption threshold would be 4.5 times the federal minimum wage. Ultimately, neither bill was enacted, but the issue has re-emerged as H.R. 1545 (Andrews) and H.R. 546 (Quinn).
Date: February 7, 2005
Creator: Whittaker, William G.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
CALFED Bay-Delta Program: Overview of Institutional and Water Use Issues (open access)

CALFED Bay-Delta Program: Overview of Institutional and Water Use Issues

The California Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) was initiated in 1995 to resolve water resources conflicts in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Rivers Delta and San Francisco Bay (Bay-Delta) in California. The program planning effort focused on developing a plan to address three main problem areas in the Bay-Delta: ecosystem health, water quality, and water supply reliability. CALFED was authorized to receive federal funding from FY1998 to FY2000, and is now being considered for reauthorization.
Date: February 2, 2005
Creator: Sheikh, Pervaze A. & Cody, Betsy A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S.-European Union Trade Relations: Issues and Policy Challenges (open access)

U.S.-European Union Trade Relations: Issues and Policy Challenges

None
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Ahearn, Raymond J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Arsenic in Drinking Water: Regulatory Develpoments and Issues (open access)

Arsenic in Drinking Water: Regulatory Develpoments and Issues

This report discusses issues regarding the arsenic’s health effects and how to reduce the uncertainty in assessing health risks associated with exposure to low levels of arsenic. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the current standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb) in 1975. . This report reviews EPA efforts to develop a new arsenic rule and summarizes key provisions and subsequent events.
Date: February 7, 2005
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Everglades Restoration: The Federal Role in Funding (open access)

Everglades Restoration: The Federal Role in Funding

In 2000, Congress approved a 30-year, $7.8 billion restoration plan, termed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), for the Everglades ecosystem in southern Florida, and authorized an initial set of projects at a cost of $1.4 billion. This report provides information on federal appropriations for Everglades restoration, and discusses some issues related to the authorization and appropriations for restoration projects.
Date: February 11, 2005
Creator: Sheikh, Pervaze A. & Carter, Nicole T.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues (open access)

Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues

None
Date: February 11, 2005
Creator: Prados, Alfred B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles (open access)

Homeland Security: Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles

Recent events have focused attention on the threat that terrorists with shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), referred to as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), pose to commercial airliners. This report discusses SAMs and examines options for mitigating missile threats.
Date: February 15, 2005
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher; Feickert, Andrew & Elias, Bartholomew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses (open access)

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Report discussing the most recent updates regarding concerns surrounding Iran, including the potential support they offer to terrorist organizations, as well as detailing the measure that the U.S. took in order to peacefully discuss these matters. The report also details major concerns the U.S. has relating to Iran's human rights practices, limits on democracy, and violence against the U.S.-led Middle East peace process.
Date: February 11, 2005
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress (open access)

Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress

This issue brief discusses the increasing attention being paid to alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles, the proponents of which point to their potential to improve urban air quality, decrease dependence on foreign oil, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The brief also discusses the major barriers currently preventing widespread use of such technologies, and discusses these technologies in the particular contexts of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Date: February 28, 2005
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library