The 2010 Oil Spill: MMS/BOEMRE and NEPA (open access)

The 2010 Oil Spill: MMS/BOEMRE and NEPA

This report reviews the environmental procedures required following the explosion of an oil well on a tract leased by BP from the federal government.
Date: August 19, 2010
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance (open access)

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
Date: February 19, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
Date: November 19, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy (open access)

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
Date: October 19, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues (open access)

Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues

The United States provides assistance to 47 African countries, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has 23 missions in Africa. In recent years, U.S. assistance to Africa saw a major increase, especially in health-related programs. This report provides an overview of U.S. aid to Africa, including the strategic objectives that shape U.S. aid to Africa, information about specific aid programs and initiatives, and the Obama Administration's FY2011 foreign aid budget request.
Date: May 19, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Export Programs: Background and Issues (open access)

Agricultural Export Programs: Background and Issues

This report considers U.S. agricultural imports and predicts that FY2010 will be the second highest on record at 77.5 billion. The report also discusses the farm bill of 2008 in relation to this information. Moreover, the report provides data on the U.S. agricultural exports.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Ho, Melissa D. & Hanrahan, Charles E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Carbon Capture: A Technology Assessment (open access)

Carbon Capture: A Technology Assessment

This report focuses on the first components of a CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) system, the CO2 capture process. This report assesses prospects for improved, lower-cost technologies for each of the three current approaches to CO2 capture.
Date: July 19, 2010
Creator: Folger, Peter
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies (open access)

Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

This list of about 150 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. In each case, the information was supplied by the agency itself and is current as of the date of publication. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Date: August 19, 2010
Creator: Crane-Hirsch, Audrey Celeste
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Department of Defense's Use of Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background, Analysis, and Options for Congress (open access)

The Department of Defense's Use of Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background, Analysis, and Options for Congress

This report examines current private security contractor (PSC) trends in Iraq and Afghanistan, steps Department of Defense (DOD) has taken to improve oversight and management, and the extent to which DOD has incorporated the role of security contractors into its doctrine and strategy. It also reviews steps Congress has taken to exercise oversight over the use of PSCs and includes options for Congress.
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise: Operational Overview and Oversight Challenges for Congress (open access)

The Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise: Operational Overview and Oversight Challenges for Congress

This report provides an overview of the DHS IE both at headquarters and within the components. It examines how DHS IE is organized and supports key departmental activities to include homeland security analysis and threat warning; border security; critical infrastructure protection; support to, and the sharing of information with, state, local, tribal, and private sector partners. It also discusses several oversight challenges and options for Congress to consider on these issues.
Date: March 19, 2010
Creator: Randol, Mark A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Displacing Coal with Generation from Existing Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants (open access)

Displacing Coal with Generation from Existing Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants

This report provides an overview of the issues involved in displacing coal-fired generation with electricity from existing and underutilized natural gas plants in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants is a focus of many proposals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Kaplan, Stan M.
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: August 19, 2010
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research (open access)

Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

This report discusses: earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, federal programs that support earthquake monitoring, the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings, and federally-supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Folger, Peter
System: The UNT Digital Library
Economic Development Administration: A Review of Elements of Its Statutory History (open access)

Economic Development Administration: A Review of Elements of Its Statutory History

This report discusses the Economic Development Administration, which was created with the enactment of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 and has a 45-year history of supporting job creation and long-term economic recovery efforts in the nation's economically distressed areas.
Date: May 19, 2010
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electricity Transmission Cost Allocation (open access)

Electricity Transmission Cost Allocation

The report makes several observations concerning current cost allocation policy for electricity transmission at the federal and state levels. The report also reviews several recent developments in the cost allocation area.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Kaplan, Stan Mark & Vann, Adam
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 111th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices (open access)

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 111th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices

None
Date: July 19, 2010
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne; Sheikh, Pervaze A.; Meltz, Robert & Alexander, Kristina
System: The UNT Digital Library
Executive Order 13438: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq (open access)

Executive Order 13438: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq

This report provides a brief history of the development of presidential powers in peacetime. It discusses some of the issues that might be raised in light of the contrast between the executive order's broad language and its narrow aim. It examines the reach of the executive order and provides legal analyses of some of the constitutional questions raised in the courts by similar sanctions programs.
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Murphy, M. Maureen
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment (open access)

The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment

This report covers the recent background of the Exon-Florio provision with special regards to issues faced in the 112th Congress. The Exon-Florio provision grants the President the authority to block proposed or pending foreign acquisitions of "persons engaged in interstate commerce in the United States" that threaten to impair the national security.
Date: July 19, 2010
Creator: Jackson, James K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Farm Price-Cost Squeeze and U.S. Farm Policy (open access)

The Farm Price-Cost Squeeze and U.S. Farm Policy

This report discusses the current farm price-cost squeeze, how it varies across commodities, and the factors behind the current situation. The report also considers the cyclical nature of agricultural markets, effects on producers, and the government's role in addressing the situation.
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Shields, Dennis A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2011 (open access)

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2011

This report summarizes the FY2011 budget request for research & development (R&D) funding, including comparisons to R&D funding requests in the FY2010 budget. Congress will play a central role in defining the nation's R&D priorities, especially with respect to two overarching issues: the extent to which the Federal R&D investment can grow in the context of increased pressure on discretionary spending and how available funding will be prioritized and allocated. This report breaks down in detail the various aspects of the President's FY2011 R&D funding request.
Date: August 19, 2010
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Supported Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Programs (open access)

Federally Supported Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Programs

This report provides background information on the types of water supply and wastewater treatment projects traditionally funded by the federal government and the several existing programs to assist communities with water supply and wastewater recycling and treatment.
Date: March 19, 2010
Creator: Copeland, Claudia; Cody, Betsy A.; Carter, Nicole T.; Tiemann, Mary & Stubbs, Megan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Issues in the 111th Congress (open access)

Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Issues in the 111th Congress

This report gives an overview of Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Issues in the 111th Congress
Date: November 19, 2010
Creator: Buck, Eugene H. & Upton, Harold F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Future of NASA: Space Policy Issues Facing Congress (open access)

The Future of NASA: Space Policy Issues Facing Congress

This report analyzes questions regarding space policy challenges and gives some possible answers. It also addresses a number of cross-cutting issues, such as NASA's interactions with other federal agencies and the growing role of the commercial space industry.
Date: April 19, 2010
Creator: Morgan, Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments (open access)

Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments

This report discusses the strategic significance of Guam for defense buildup and the force relocation and deployments from the U.S. mainland. It also discusses the concerns and issues for congress, such as allies and partner, China, and legislation.
Date: January 19, 2010
Creator: Kan, Shirley A. & Niksch, Larry A.
System: The UNT Digital Library