Freedom of Information Act Legislation in the 114th Congress: Issue Summary and Side-by-Side Analysis (open access)

Freedom of Information Act Legislation in the 114th Congress: Issue Summary and Side-by-Side Analysis

This report provides a side-by-side comparison of two bills relevant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), using the versions that have passed each of their originating congressional chambers. The report also provides context related to bill amendments and language additions that occurred between bill versions, when applicable. Finally, the report provides analysis of certain provisions of the bills.
Date: April 21, 2016
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Brazil in Crisis (open access)

Brazil in Crisis

Brazil is in the midst of deepening economic and political crises that are closely intertwined and unlikely to be resolved quickly. This report briefly examines the political situation and discusses public opinion regarding the Rousseff Administration.
Date: April 6, 2016
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Negative Interest Rates (open access)

Negative Interest Rates

In a few foreign economies, including the euro area, Switzerland, and Japan, central banks have purposely set some short-term interest rates used to carry out monetary policy at negative levels. This report briefly discusses the reasons behind this phenomenon.
Date: April 20, 2016
Creator: Labonte, Marc
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.
Date: April 15, 2016
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry (open access)

Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

This report reviews efforts to combat unauthorized migration across the Southwest border in the nearly three decades since the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) initiated the modern era in migration control. In reviewing such efforts, the report takes stock of the current state of border security and considers lessons that may be learned about enhanced enforcement at U.S. borders.
Date: April 19, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1970-FY2016 (open access)

Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1970-FY2016

This report includes all the pertinent information on the passage of Department of Defense (DOD) authorization and appropriations bills (fiscal years 1970-2016) through the legislative process: bill numbers, report numbers, dates reported and passed, recorded vote numbers and vote tallies, dates of passage of the conference reports with their numbers and votes, vetoes, substitutions, dates of final passage, and public law numbers.
Date: April 20, 2016
Creator: DeBruyne, Nese F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure (open access)

EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure

This report examines recent initiatives by EPA, an integrated planning policy, and a framework policy for assessing a community's financial capability to meet objectives and requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Date: April 1, 2016
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Municipal Broadband: Background and Policy Debate (open access)

Municipal Broadband: Background and Policy Debate

This report discusses the debate surrounding Municipal Broadband, which is controversial because it involves governmental entities entering a commercial telecommunications marketplace that had previously been the exclusive domain of private sector providers.
Date: April 6, 2016
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G. & Gilroy, Angele A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Supreme Court Vacancies That Arose During One Presidency and Were Filled During a Different Presidency (open access)

Supreme Court Vacancies That Arose During One Presidency and Were Filled During a Different Presidency

This report provides data and analysis related to Supreme Court vacancies since 1797 that arose during one presidency and were filled during a different presidency.
Date: April 5, 2016
Creator: McMillion, Barry J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contested Presidential Nominating Conventions: Brief Background and Questions (open access)

Contested Presidential Nominating Conventions: Brief Background and Questions

This report briefly addresses selected questions about possible contested Democratic and Republican conventions that might be relevant as Members of Congress prepare for the 2016 election.
Date: April 15, 2016
Creator: Garrett, R. S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Goldwater-Nichols at 30: Defense Reform and Issues for Congress (open access)

Goldwater-Nichols at 30: Defense Reform and Issues for Congress

This report is designed to assist Congress as it evaluates the many different defense reform proposals suggested by the variety of stakeholders and institutions within the U.S. national security community.
Date: April 20, 2016
Creator: McInnis, Kathleen J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran's Nuclear Program: Tehran's Compliance with International Obligations (open access)

Iran's Nuclear Program: Tehran's Compliance with International Obligations

This report provides a brief overview of Iran's nuclear program and describes the legal basis for the actions taken by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board and the Security Council.
Date: April 7, 2016
Creator: Kerr, Paul K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 17, Pages 2817-3014, April 22, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 17, Pages 2817-3014, April 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: April 22, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 14, Pages 2365-2546, April 1, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 14, Pages 2365-2546, April 1, 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: April 1, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 18, Pages 3015-3204, April 29, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 18, Pages 3015-3204, April 29, 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: April 29, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 15, Pages 2547-2624, April 8, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 15, Pages 2547-2624, April 8, 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: April 8, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 16, Pages 2625-2816, April 15, 2016 (open access)

Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 16, Pages 2625-2816, April 15, 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: April 15, 2016
Creator: Texas. Secretary of State.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress (open access)

Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on maritime territorial and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) disputes in the East China (ECS) and South China Sea (SCS) involving China, with a focus on how these disputes may affect U.S. strategic and policy interests.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The World Drug Problem: UNGA Convenes for a Special Session (open access)

The World Drug Problem: UNGA Convenes for a Special Session

This report briefly discusses the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which has convened in New York for a special session on "The World Drug Problem." It is the third time the UNGA will convene such a session on global drug issues. Previous special sessions on drugs were held in 1990 and 1998.
Date: April 20, 2016
Creator: Rosen, Liana W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Flood Insurance in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) (open access)

Private Flood Insurance in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

This report briefly discusses federal law regarding flood insurance. By law or regulation, federal agencies, federally-regulated lending institutions, and government-sponsored enterprises must require certain property owners to purchase flood insurance as a condition of any mortgage that these entities make, guarantee, or purchase.
Date: April 25, 2016
Creator: Brown, Jared T. & Webel, Baird
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change Paris Agreement Opens for Signature (open access)

Climate Change Paris Agreement Opens for Signature

This report discusses the new international Paris Agreement, signed by 175 out of 196 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on April 22, 2016 to address greenhouse-gas-induced climate change.
Date: April 25, 2016
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: Lessons Learned and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: Lessons Learned and Issues for Congress

The first section of this report provides an overview of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced "Reggie") cap-and-trade program and the participating RGGI states. The subsequent sections discuss selected issues raised by RGGI that may be of interest to Congress. The final section provides some final observations that may be instructive to policymakers.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief (open access)

The Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief

This report discusses the Buy American Act of 1933, which is the earliest and arguably the best known of various statutes regarding federal procurement of domestic products. The act attempts to protect U.S. businesses and labor by restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not "domestic."
Date: April 26, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA (open access)

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively. This report explains the major events in the litigation as of the date of publication, including the Supreme Court stay, and the likely timetable of events in the near term.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library