Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate (open access)

Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate

This report discusses the current debate over "net neutrality." While there is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality," most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network.
Date: January 26, 2010
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Access to Paper Currency by Visually Impaired Individuals: The American Council of the Blind v. Paulson (open access)

Access to Paper Currency by Visually Impaired Individuals: The American Council of the Blind v. Paulson

This report summarizes the details of The American Council of the Blind v. Paulson. The lawsuit occurred due to paper currency not being readily distinguishable by touch, which the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as discrimination against the blind. Finally, the report notes the implications for proposed solutions to the issue.
Date: January 21, 2010
Creator: Toland, Carol J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), H.R. 1318/H.R. 1886/H.R. 2410 and S. 496: Issues and Arguments (open access)

Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), H.R. 1318/H.R. 1886/H.R. 2410 and S. 496: Issues and Arguments

This report discusses legislation related to the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act (H.R. 1886), the Afghanistan-Pakistan Security and Prosperity Enhancement Act (H.R. 1318), and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410). It also discusses the Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones Act (S. 496).
Date: January 22, 2010
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
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: January 25, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
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: January 11, 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. It also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance (open access)

Afghanistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance

The U.S. program of assistance to Afghanistan is intended to stabilize and strengthen the Afghan economic, social, political, and security environment so as to blunt popular support for extremist forces in the region. Since 2001, nearly $47 billion has been appropriated toward this effort. This report provides a "big picture" overview of the U.S. aid program and congressional action. It describes what various aid agencies report they are doing in Afghanistan. It does not address the effectiveness of their programs.
Date: January 21, 2010
Creator: Tarnoff, Curt
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Disaster Assistance (open access)

Agricultural Disaster Assistance

This report discusses several programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help farmers recover financially from natural disasters, including drought and floods. All the programs have permanent authorization, and only one requires a federal disaster designation (the emergency loan program). Most programs receive funding amounts that are "such sums as necessary" and are not subject to annual discretionary appropriations.
Date: January 8, 2010
Creator: Shields, Dennis A. & Chite, Ralph M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations (open access)

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations

This report discusses various policy aspects of the Agriculture appropriations bill for FY2010, which funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the Forest Service.
Date: January 4, 2010
Creator: Monke, Jim
System: The UNT Digital Library
Airport Improvement Program (AIP): Reauthorization Issues for Congress (open access)

Airport Improvement Program (AIP): Reauthorization Issues for Congress

This report discusses the Airport Improvement Program and its complement, the passenger facility charge (PFC), within the broader context of airport capital development finance. After a brief history of federal support for airport construction and improvement, the report describes AIP funding, its source of revenues, funding distribution, and the types of projects the program funds.
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: Kirk, Robert S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Algeria: Current Issues (open access)

Algeria: Current Issues

This report examines the current state of Algeria, including the country's associations with terrorism, despite steady decreases of domestic terrorism; the lessening in power of the Algerian military; and growing oil revenues.
Date: January 21, 2010
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
System: The UNT Digital Library
Amendments Between the Houses: Procedural Options and Effects (open access)

Amendments Between the Houses: Procedural Options and Effects

This report explains the procedural options for resolving differences through amendments between the houses, and to discuss the procedural effects of resolving differences through this process as an alternative to conference committee.
Date: January 4, 2010
Creator: Rybicki, Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
America COMPETES Act and the FY2010 Budget (open access)

America COMPETES Act and the FY2010 Budget

This report discusses in detail the America COMPETES Act, which is intended to increase the nation's investment in research and development (R&D), and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This report discusses the funding increases authorized by the act for various relevant institutions; the act's education activities intended to enhance the skills of STEM educators; and if Congress will continue to similarly fund the Act in the FY2010 budget.
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Americans with Disabilities Act and Emergency Preparedness and Response (open access)

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Emergency Preparedness and Response

This report discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides broad nondiscrimination protection for individuals with disabilities in employment, public services, and public accommodations and services operated by private entities. Although the ADA does not include provisions specifically discussing its application to disasters, its nondiscrimination provisions are applicable to emergency preparedness and responses to disasters.
Date: January 5, 2010
Creator: Jones, Nancy Lee
System: The UNT Digital Library
Anaerobic Digestion: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Energy Generation (open access)

Anaerobic Digestion: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Energy Generation

Anaerobic Digestion technology may help to address two congressional concerns that have some measure of independence: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Energy Generation.
Date: January 4, 2010
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Antibiotic Use in Agriculture: Background and Legislation (open access)

Antibiotic Use in Agriculture: Background and Legislation

This report deals with Antibiotic Use in Agriculture: Background and Legislation.
Date: January 7, 2010
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Argentina's Defaulted Sovereign Debt: Dealing with the "Holdouts" (open access)

Argentina's Defaulted Sovereign Debt: Dealing with the "Holdouts"

This report reviews Argentina's financial crisis, the bond exchanges of 2005 and 2010, ongoing litigation, prospects for a final solution, related U.S. legislation, and broader policy issues. These include lessons on the effectiveness and cost of Argentina's default strategy, the ability to force sovereigns to meet their debt obligations, and ways to avoid future defaults like Argentina's.
Date: January 21, 2010
Creator: Hornbeck, J. F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests (open access)

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

This report discusses the history and political background of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia since breaking away from the former Soviet Union at the end of 1991. It looks at key issues for the 112th Congress including economies, energy, regional politics, local crime, and terrorism.
Date: January 25, 2010
Creator: Nichol, Jim
System: The UNT Digital Library
Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process (open access)

Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process

This report reviews the process and procedures that currently apply to congressional consideration of foreign arms sales proposed by the President. This includes consideration of proposals to sell major defense equipment, defense articles and services, or the re-transfer to third party nations of such military items.
Date: January 8, 2010
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
ATPA Renewal: Background and Issues (open access)

ATPA Renewal: Background and Issues

The Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) extends special duty treatment to certain U.S. imports from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru that meet domestic content and other requirements. The purpose of ATPA is to promote economic growth in the Andean region and to encourage a shift away from dependence on illegal drugs by supporting legitimate economic activities. This report outlines the impact and policy implications of the ATPA.
Date: January 21, 2010
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments: Some Economic and Practical Considerations (open access)

Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments: Some Economic and Practical Considerations

This report looks at how automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) influence the budget and identifies major programs that have indexing provisions. It also explains what price indexes attempt to measure and discusses some of their weaknesses. Finally, it points out some practical things to keep in mind when establishing an indexing provision.
Date: January 11, 2010
Creator: Cashell, Brian W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation and Climate Change (open access)

Aviation and Climate Change

This report provides background on aviation emissions and the factors affecting them; it discusses the tools available to control emissions, including existing authority under the Clean Air Act and proposed economy-wide cap-and-trade legislation; and it examines international regulatory developments that may affect U.S. commercial airlines.
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species (open access)

Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species

This report provides background on various approaches to ballast water management and reviews current ballast water management laws and programs.
Date: January 28, 2010
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Beginning and End of the Terms of United States Senators Chosen to Fill Senate Vacancies (open access)

Beginning and End of the Terms of United States Senators Chosen to Fill Senate Vacancies

Under the Constitution, the Rules of the Senate, statutory law, and consistent Senate practices, an individual elected to the United States Senate during a session of Congress to succeed an appointed Senator may begin his or her term of office upon receipt by the Senate of "credentials" in proper form from the state, and by taking the constitutionally required oath of office in open Senate session. The appointed Senator who is being succeeded remains in the office until the new "Senator-elect" is qualified (i.e. is sworn in and seated as a "Senator" by the Senate). This report details the formal and informal rules in such cases.
Date: January 20, 2010
Creator: Maskell, Jack
System: The UNT Digital Library