Federal Disaster Assistance after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav, and Ike (open access)

Federal Disaster Assistance after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav, and Ike

Report that provides information on federal financial assistance provided to the Gulf States after major disasters were declared in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas in response to the widespread destruction that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. This includes a brief summary of each hurricane and a discussion concerning federal to state cost-shares.
Date: July 5, 2013
Creator: Lindsay, Bruce R. & Nagel, Jared Conrad
System: The UNT Digital Library
Block Grants: Perspectives and Controversies (open access)

Block Grants: Perspectives and Controversies

This report provides an overview of the six grant types with criteria for defining a block grant and a list of current block grants. It also examines competing perspectives concerning the use of block grants versus other grant mechanisms to achieve national goals, provides an historical overview of the role of block grants in American federalism, and discusses recent changes to existing block grants and proposals to create new ones.
Date: July 5, 2014
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Boyd, Eugene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Section 232 Investigations: Overview and Issues for Congress (open access)

Section 232 Investigations: Overview and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which provides the President with the ability to impose restrictions on certain imports based on an affirmative determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce that the product under investigation "is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security." It also analyzes the Trump Administration's Section 232 investigations and actions, and considers potential policy and economic implications and issues for Congress.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: Fefer, Rachel F.; Jones, Vivian C.; Hammond, Keigh E.; Murrill, Brandon J.; Platzer, Michaela D. & Williams, Brock R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Congressional Review Act: Determining Which "Rules" Must Be Submitted to Congress (open access)

The Congressional Review Act: Determining Which "Rules" Must Be Submitted to Congress

This report describes what types of agency actions can be overturned using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) by providing a close examination and discussion of the statutory definition of "rule." It also explains how Members can use the CRA to overturn agency rules that have not been submitted to Congress.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: Brannon, Valerie C. & Carey, Maeve P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations (open access)

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

This report discusses federal government funding for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.
Date: July 5, 2012
Creator: Else, Daniel H.; Scott, Christine & Panangala, Sidath Viranga
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Offset Amendments to Appropriations Bills: Procedural Considerations (open access)

House Offset Amendments to Appropriations Bills: Procedural Considerations

This report is an introduction to selected House rules and practices governing the consideration of offset amendments to appropriations measures considered in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union (or Committee of the Whole).
Date: July 5, 2011
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Funding for Wildfire Control and Management (open access)

Federal Funding for Wildfire Control and Management

This report looks at four issues dominating wildfire funding debates: the high cost of fire management, funding for fuel reduction, the federal role in protecting nonfederal lands, and post-fire rehabilitation. The Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for protecting most federal lands from wildfires, however, many in Congress are concerned that wildfire costs are spiraling upward without a reduction in damages.
Date: July 5, 2011
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Definition of “Supervisor” Under the National Labor Relations Act (open access)

The Definition of “Supervisor” Under the National Labor Relations Act

This report discusses the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and their attempts to define the term "supervisor" in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) so that such employees can join or form a labor union as regular employees.
Date: July 5, 2012
Creator: Mayer, Gerald & Shimabukuro, Jon O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Palestinian Territories: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

The Palestinian Territories: Background and U.S. Relations

None
Date: July 5, 2007
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Taxation of Hedge Fund and Private Equity Managers (open access)

Taxation of Hedge Fund and Private Equity Managers

This report provides background on hedge funds and private equity and summarizes the tax issues.
Date: July 5, 2007
Creator: Jickling, Mark & Marples, Donald J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress (open access)

United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress

None
Date: July 5, 2006
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. International Trade: Data and Forecasts (open access)

U.S. International Trade: Data and Forecasts

None
Date: July 5, 2006
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Constitutionality of Regulating Political Advertisements: An Analysis of Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (open access)

The Constitutionality of Regulating Political Advertisements: An Analysis of Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc.

On June 25, 2007, in a 5-4 decision, the Sumpreme Court in Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC affirmed a lower court ruling, finding that a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, prohibiting corporate or labor union treasury funds from being spent on advertisements broadcast within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election, was unconstitutional as applied to ads that Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. sought to run. In later decisions, it was ruled that advertisements that may reasonably be interpreted as something other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate are not the functional equivalent of express advocacy and, therefore, cannot be regulated. This report examines and analyzes these decisions and how they effect campaign law.
Date: July 5, 2007
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cuba: Issues for the 110th Congress (open access)

Cuba: Issues for the 110th Congress

This report gives an overview of Cuba's issues for the 110th Congress. The contents include the most recent developments, political and economic conditions, U.S. policy towards Cuba, issues in the U.S.- Cuban relations, legislations in the 109th congress, and legislative initiatives in the 110th Congress.
Date: July 5, 2007
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Economic Effects of Trade: Overview and Policy Challenges (open access)

The Economic Effects of Trade: Overview and Policy Challenges

This report focuses on some of the major issues associated with trade and trade agreements and the impact of trade on the U.S. economy. Discussions of trade and trade agreements often focus on a number of issues, including the role that trade plays in the U.S. economy, the impact of trade agreements on employment gains and losses, and the size of the U.S. trade deficit.
Date: July 5, 2016
Creator: Jackson, James K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
North American Leaders' Summit (open access)

North American Leaders' Summit

This report discusses the 10th annual North American Leaders' Summit (NALS), in which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Date: July 5, 2016
Creator: Villarreal, M. A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
No "Bivens" for You? (open access)

No "Bivens" for You?

This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in "Ziglar v. Abbassi" and the "Bivens" remedy that the plaintiffs were attempting to use to win their case. The "Bivens" remedy is a legal precedent that came from a 1971 case where the plaintiff Bivens sued federal agents with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for violations of the fourth amendment due to them handcuffing him inside his own home without a warrant. It has been used two other times for suits against federal officials related to breaches of constitutional rights, one related to gender bias and equality and the other for lack of medical care in prison.
Date: July 5, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on three new ship-based weapons the Navy is developing that could improve the ability of Navy surface ships to defend themselves against missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and surface craft: the Surface Navy Laser Weapon System (SNLWS), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the gunlaunched guided projectile (GLGP), previously known as the hypervelocity projectile (HVP). The Navy refers to the initial (i.e., Increment 1) version of SNLWS as HELIOS, an acronym meaning high-energy laser with integrated optical dazzler and surveillance.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
NATO's 2018 Brussels Summit (open access)

NATO's 2018 Brussels Summit

This report discusses the meeting of leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) 29 member states, scheduled to take place on hold a summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on July 11-12, 2018. Despite the heightened U.S.-European tensions, NATO officials say they expect the allies to announce new NATO initiatives in six main areas at the summit: enhancing collective defense and deterrence, defense spending and burdensharing, countering terrorism, enhancing NATO cooperation with the European Union, and NATO enlargement.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: Belkin, Paul
System: The UNT Digital Library
Questions Remain, Litigation Continues, over Military Service by Transgender Individuals (open access)

Questions Remain, Litigation Continues, over Military Service by Transgender Individuals

This report discusses the controversy regarding transgender individuals serving in the military, President Trump's memorandums on the subject, and the four lawsuits challenging the President's memorandums.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: Back, Christine J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, and gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations.
Date: July 5, 2018
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Some Past Trends and Future Demographic Projections for the United States (open access)

Some Past Trends and Future Demographic Projections for the United States

This report is a compilation of past demographic trends and projections for the United States.
Date: July 5, 1977
Creator: Huston, Cynthia F. & Little, Dennis L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Trade Deficit: Role of Foreign Governments (open access)

The U.S. Trade Deficit: Role of Foreign Governments

The nation’s trade deficit is equal to the imbalance between national investment and national saving. This report discusses several trends in U.S. trade balance and what they mean for the economy.
Date: July 5, 2006
Creator: Labonte, Marc & Makinen, Gail
System: The UNT Digital Library
Campaign Finance Bills in the 107th Congress: Comparison of S. 27 (McCain-Feingold), H.R. 2356 (Shays-Meehan), H.R. 2360 (Ney-Wynn), and Current Law (open access)

Campaign Finance Bills in the 107th Congress: Comparison of S. 27 (McCain-Feingold), H.R. 2356 (Shays-Meehan), H.R. 2360 (Ney-Wynn), and Current Law

This report summarizes and compares three major campaign finance reform bills before the 107th Congress and current law (in most cases, the Federal Election Campaign Act, or FECA, 2 U.S.C. § 431 et seq.).
Date: July 5, 2001
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E. & Whitaker, L. Paige
System: The UNT Digital Library