Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

CVN-78, CVN-79, and CVN-80 are the first three ships in the Navy's new Gerald R. Ford (CVN- 78) class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the CVN-78 program.
Date: February 9, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran Sanctions (open access)

Iran Sanctions

This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue. That approach was not initially altered because of the Iranian dispute over its June 12, 2009, elections. However, with subsequent negotiations yielding no firm Iranian agreement to compromise, since early 2010 the Administration has focused on achieving the imposition of additional U.N., U.S., and allied country sanctions whose cumulative effect would be to compel it to accept a nuclear bargain.
Date: February 10, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy

This report provides a brief overview on the current political state of Kuwait, which has been pivotal to nearly two decades of U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East. This report also discusses relations between Kuwait and the U.S., and the continuing domestic unrest in Kuwait, an issue separate from the unrest currently sweeping the rest of the Middle East.
Date: February 8, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Kosovo: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (open access)

Kosovo: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

This report discusses challenges that Kosovo faces on its road to democracy and US funding of this goal.
Date: February 9, 2012
Creator: Woehrel, Steven
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights (open access)

Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights

This report discusses the situation immediately following the completion of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq on December 18, 2011, when relations among major political factions worsened substantially, threatening Iraq's stability and the legacy of the U.S. intervention in Iraq. It includes an overview of historical and current political, military, and governance issues as well as an analysis of Iraq in relation to the other nations in the region.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts (open access)

Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts

The most recent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission submitted its final report to the Administration on September 8, 2005. Implementation of the BRAC round was officially completed on September 15, 2011. In the report, the commission rejected 13 of the initial Department of Defense recommendations, significantly modified the recommendations for 13 other installations, and approved 22 major closures. Early planning and decisive leadership from officials are important factors in addressing local socioeconomic impacts from base realignment and closing. Drawing from existing studies, this report assesses the potential community impacts and proposals for minimizing those impacts.
Date: February 7, 2012
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Legislative Considerations (open access)

Congressional Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Legislative Considerations

This report provides an overview and analysis of congressional advisory commissions, information on the general statutory structure of a congressional commission, and a catalog of congressional commissions created since the 101st Congress.
Date: February 15, 2012
Creator: Glassman, Matthew Eric & Straus, Jacob R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges (open access)

Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges

Since President Bush signed the FY2005 Intelligence Authorization bill in December 2004, no subsequent intelligence authorization legislation was enacted until the FY2010 bill was signed by President Obama in October 2010 (after the end of FY2010), becoming P.L. 111-259. Although the National Security Act requires intelligence activities to be specifically authorized, this requirement has been satisfied in recent years by one-sentence catchall provisions in defense appropriations acts authorizing intelligence activities. This procedure meets the statutory requirement but has, according to some observers, weakened the ability of Congress to oversee intelligence activities.
Date: February 13, 2012
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, FL. Transferring a CVN from Norfolk, VA, to Mayport would shift from Norfolk to Mayport the local economic activity associated with homeporting a CVN, which some sources estimate as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Date: February 9, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cyprus: Reunification Proving Elusive (open access)

Cyprus: Reunification Proving Elusive

Attempts to resolve the political division of Cyprus and reunify the island have undergone various levels of negotiation for over 45 years. The United States Congress continues to maintain its interest in a resolution of the Cyprus issue. Language expressing continued support for the negotiation process had been included in the House FY2012 Foreign Assistance Authorization bill. The chairman of the House Europe Subcommittee also led a delegation to Cyprus during a late 2011 recess to assess the peace process. This report provides a brief overview of the early history of the negotiations, a more detailed review of the negotiations since 2008, and a description of some of the issues involved in the talks.
Date: February 22, 2012
Creator: Morelli, Vincent
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

This report gives an overview of the situation in the Arctic region. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The Arctic has increasingly become a subject of discussion among political leaders of the nations in the region. In varying degrees, the Arctic coastal states have indicated a willingness to establish and maintain a military presence in the high north. U.S. military forces, particularly the Navy and Coast Guard, have begun to pay more attention to the region.
Date: February 7, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions (open access)

The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

The United States and Russia signed a new strategic arms reduction treaty - known as New START - on April 8, 2010. This treaty is designed to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), which expired, after 15 years of implementation, on December 5, 2009. This report provides an overview of New START, including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START (and, indeed, the entire issue of U.S.-Russian arms control) is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.
Date: February 14, 2012
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations

Congress has an active role to play in shaping and overseeing U.S. relations with Turkey, and several Turkish domestic and foreign policy issues have significant relevance for U.S. interests. This report provides background information on Turkey and discusses possible policy options for Members of Congress and the Obama Administration. U.S. relations with Turkey—a longtime North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally—have evolved over time as global challenges to U.S. interests have changed. Turkey's economic dynamism and geopolitical importance—it straddles Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia and now has the world's 16th-largest economy—have increased its influence regionally and globally.
Date: February 2, 2012
Creator: Zanotti, Jim
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues (open access)

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues

Prompt global strike (PGS) would allow the United States to strike targets anywhere on Earth with conventional weapons in as little as an hour. This capability may bolster U.S. efforts to deter and defeat adversaries by allowing the United States to attack high-value targets or “fleeting targets” at the start of or during a conflict. Congress has generally supported the PGS mission, but it has restricted funding and suggested some changes in funding for specific programs. Some concerns that Congress has shown are the Department of Defenses' rationale for the mission, the Air Force's ability to set up the system in a timely manner, and how the new START Treaty between the US and Russia will affect the system.
Date: February 13, 2012
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Keeping America's Pipelines Safe and Secure: Key Issues for Congress (open access)

Keeping America's Pipelines Safe and Secure: Key Issues for Congress

Nearly half a million miles of pipeline transporting natural gas, oil, and other hazardous liquids crisscross the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage. The nation's pipeline networks are also widespread and vulnerable to accidents and terrorist attack. As it oversees the federal pipeline safety program and the federal role in pipeline security, Congress may wish to assess how the various elements of U.S. pipeline safety and security fit together in the nation's overall strategy to protect transportation infrastructure. Pipeline safety and security necessarily involve many groups: federal agencies, oil and gas pipeline associations, large and small pipeline operators, and local communities. Reviewing how these groups work together to achieve common goals could be an oversight challenge for Congress.
Date: February 13, 2012
Creator: Parfomak, Paul W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Closing Yucca Mountain: Litigation Associated with Attempts to Abandon the Planned Nuclear Waste Repository (open access)

Closing Yucca Mountain: Litigation Associated with Attempts to Abandon the Planned Nuclear Waste Repository

Passed in 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was an effort to establish an explicit statutory basis for the Department of Energy (DOE) to dispose of the nation's most highly radioactive nuclear waste. The Obama Administration, in conjunction with DOE, has taken three important steps directed toward terminating the Yucca Mountain project. While the result of the ongoing dispute over the legality of the attempted termination of the Yucca Mountain program remains uncertain, congressional action could have a significant impact on the fate of the Yucca Mountain facility. A number of leading House Republicans have voiced strong opposition to shutting down the Yucca Mountain facility. Consequently, the Yucca Mountain dispute will not only be contested before the NRC and the D.C. Circuit, but also in Congress.
Date: February 2, 2012
Creator: Garvey, Todd
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview (open access)

Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview

President Obama's FY2013 budget submission was released on February 13, 2012. This report provides a graphical overview of historical trends in discretionary budget authority (BA) from FY1976 through FY2011, enacted levels for FY2012 spending, and the levels consistent with the President's proposals for FY2013 through FY2017. Spending caps and budget enforcement mechanisms established in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 will probably strongly affect the FY2013 budget cycle. This report may provide a starting point for discussions about spending trends and federal priorities, but it does not attempt to explain spending patterns in each policy area.
Date: February 14, 2012
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Reducing the Budget Deficit: Policy Issues (open access)

Reducing the Budget Deficit: Policy Issues

This report discusses why the federal government's fiscal path is unsustainable and provides an overview of proposals of selected groups that have published detailed recommendations on how to return the federal budget to a sustainable course.
Date: February 15, 2012
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present (open access)

Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present

This report provides roll call vote data identified by the Congressional Research Service for measures to adjust the statutory debt limit.
Date: February 1, 2012
Creator: Murray, Justin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense: FY2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations (open access)

Defense: FY2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations

This report discusses legislative action that applied the Budget Control Act (BCA)-mandated spending reduction to FY2012 defense funding legislation was taken by the Senate Appropriations Committee on September 7, 2011, when it adopted discretionary spending ceilings for each of its 12 subcommittees that required the Defense Subcommittee to cut $25.9 billion from the President's request for programs funded by the DOD Appropriations bill. On September 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported an amended version of the House-passed DOD Appropriations bill (H.R. 2219) that would cut $29.3 billion from the Administration request.
Date: February 13, 2012
Creator: Towell, Pat
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Export Control System and the President's Reform Initiative (open access)

The U.S. Export Control System and the President's Reform Initiative

The 112th Congress may consider reforms of the U.S. export control system. The balance between national security and export competitiveness has made the subject of export controls controversial for decades. Through the Export Administration Act (EAA), the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and other authorities, the United States restricts the export of defense items or munitions; so-called “dual-use” goods and technology—items with both civilian and military applications; certain nuclear materials and technology; and items that would assist in the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons or the missile technology used to deliver them. U.S. export controls are also used to restrict exports to certain countries on which the United States imposes economic sanctions. At present, the EAA has expired and dual-use controls are maintained under IEEPA authorities.
Date: February 16, 2012
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F. & Kerr, Paul K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents (open access)

Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents

This report provides a background to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012, the Authorization to use Military Force act, and the President's power to detain "enemy combatants." It then gives a brief introduction to the law of war pertinent to the detention of different categories of individuals and an overview of U.S. practice during wartime to detain persons deemed dangerous to national security. It concludes by discussion Congress's role in prescribing rules for wartime detention as well as legislative proposals in the 112th Congress to address the detention of U.S. persons.
Date: February 1, 2012
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lebanon and the Uprising in Syria: Issue for Congress (open access)

Lebanon and the Uprising in Syria: Issue for Congress

This report gives an overview of the social and political situation in Lebanon and in Syria, and discusses how the uprising in Syria could affect U.S. relations with Lebanon. Syria exerts a strong political influence on Lebanon and Syrian business interests remain prominent in the Lebanese economy. Both Lebanon and Syria have diverse societies where ethnic and sectarian groups compete and cooperate as they seek power within the confines of a rigid political system. Congress may review U.S. priorities and programs in relation to future U.S. policy in Lebanon.
Date: February 2, 2012
Creator: Hopkins, Rebecca A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Construction: A Snapshot of the President's FY2013 Appropriations Request (open access)

Military Construction: A Snapshot of the President's FY2013 Appropriations Request

This report looks at President Obama's FY2013 budget request, which included an $11.2 billion for military construction appropriations.
Date: February 28, 2012
Creator: Else, Daniel H.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library