2012 Farm Bill: Changing the Treatment of LIHEAP Receipt in the Calculation of SNAP Benefits (open access)

2012 Farm Bill: Changing the Treatment of LIHEAP Receipt in the Calculation of SNAP Benefits

This report describes the contents of the 2012 Farm Bill, cost reducing measures in the Farm Bill, and the implications of both of these. Specifically, the report focuses on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) which is a cost saving measure that addresses how certain deductions from income will be calculated.
Date: July 10, 2012
Creator: Aussenberg, Randy Alison & Perl, Libby
System: The UNT Digital Library
Auction-Rate Securities (open access)

Auction-Rate Securities

This report discusses auction-rate securities (ARSs), which most are long-term bonds, although some ARS are structured as preferred shares and so have no maturities.
Date: July 17, 2012
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Surplus Equipment Disposal: Background Information (open access)

Defense Surplus Equipment Disposal: Background Information

This report discusses the Department of Defense (DOD) policy via the Defense Utilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for disposing of government equipment and supplies considered surplus or deemed unnecessary to the agency's currently designated mission. The report focuses on DRMS background, as well as the most recent DRMS policy modifications.
Date: July 18, 2012
Creator: Bailey Grasso, Valerie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Budgetary Treatment of Federal Credit (Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees): Concepts, History, and Issues for the 112th Congress (open access)

Budgetary Treatment of Federal Credit (Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees): Concepts, History, and Issues for the 112th Congress

This report is about the Budget Trends, Highlights And Issues By Functional Fiscal Year 1975
Date: July 27, 2012
Creator: Bickley, James M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Background and Policy Issues (open access)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Background and Policy Issues

This report provides an overview of the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child's (CRC's) background and structure and examines evolving U.S. policy toward the CRC, including past and current Administration positions and congressional perspectives. It also highlights issues for the 112th Congress, including the CRC's possible impact on federal and state laws, U.S. sovereignty, parental rights, and U.S. family planning and abortion policy. In addition, the report addresses the effectiveness of CRC in protecting the rights of children internationally and its potential use as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
Date: July 2, 2012
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
System: The UNT Digital Library
District of Columbia: A Brief Review of Provisions in District of Columbia Appropriations Acts Restricting the Funding of Abortion Services (open access)

District of Columbia: A Brief Review of Provisions in District of Columbia Appropriations Acts Restricting the Funding of Abortion Services

This report provides A Brief Review of Provisions in District of Columbia Appropriations Acts Restricting the Funding of Abortion Services in the District of Columbia.
Date: July 31, 2012
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Assistance for Wildfire Response and Recovery (open access)

Federal Assistance for Wildfire Response and Recovery

This report briefly discusses the options for federal support and assistance for areas affected by wildfire disaster including the period during wildfires, in the aftermath, and later for preventing a recurrence.
Date: July 6, 2012
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wildfires: CRS Experts (open access)

Wildfires: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to wildfires. Policy areas identified include federal wildfire policy; long-term land use management; federal firefighting assistance; federal emergency management policy; federal preparedness system and response plan; hazard mitigation; armed forces and national guard assistance; supplemental disaster funding; and disaster insurance.
Date: July 5, 2012
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comparing Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Workers: An Overview (open access)

Comparing Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Workers: An Overview

This report is on Comparing Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Workers: An Overview.
Date: July 30, 2012
Creator: Bredley, David, H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
FEMA's Community Disaster Loan Program: History, Analysis, and Issues for Congress (open access)

FEMA's Community Disaster Loan Program: History, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

This report compares and analyzes three different categories of loans issued in different time periods in the program's history: "traditional" loans issued between 1974 and 2005, in 2007, and between 2009 and 2011 (TCDLs); "special" (SCDLs) loans issued in 2005-2006 following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and loans issued under unique provisions in 2008 (2008 CDLs).
Date: July 3, 2012
Creator: Brown, Jared T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Midnight Rulemaking (open access)

Midnight Rulemaking

This report provides an overview of midnight rulemaking (regulations issued at the end of a presidential administration) and discusses actions that recent outgoing and incoming administrations have taken pertaining to midnight rules. It explains how an incoming President could change or eliminate midnight rules, and provides options for congressional oversight of midnight rules.
Date: July 18, 2012
Creator: Carey, Maeve P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Firearms at Army Corps Water Resources Projects: Proposed Legislation and Issues for Congress (open access)

Firearms at Army Corps Water Resources Projects: Proposed Legislation and Issues for Congress

This rport discusses issues for Congress regarding public safety and infrastructure security at water resource projects managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Proposed legislation would bar the Secretary of the Army from promulgating or enforcing regulations that prohibit individuals from possessing firearms (including assembled or functional firearms) at Corps projects and instead require that firearms possession comply with state law.
Date: July 12, 2012
Creator: Carter, Nicole T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians (open access)

Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

This report presents statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
Date: July 12, 2012
Creator: Chesser, Susan G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2012 Farm Bill: A Comparison of SenatePassed S. 3240 and the House Agriculture Committee’s H.R. 6083 with Current Law (open access)

The 2012 Farm Bill: A Comparison of SenatePassed S. 3240 and the House Agriculture Committee’s H.R. 6083 with Current Law

From Summary: "This report contains a more detailed summary of the major similarities and differences between the House and Senate 2012 farm bills and also provides a side-by-side comparison of every provision in the two farm bills and how these provisions relate to current federal law or policy."
Date: July 23, 2012
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Executive Budget Process: An Overview (open access)

The Executive Budget Process: An Overview

This report outlines many of the budgetary procedures that are performed by the President, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and agencies. This report provides an overview of the development, submission, and justification of the President’s budget proposal. This report also describes how the President, OMB, and agencies execute the federal budget following the enactment of appropriations and other budgetary legislation by Congress.
Date: July 27, 2012
Creator: Christensen, Michelle D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act: Overview and Issues (open access)

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act: Overview and Issues

This report discusses the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), under which members of the uniformed services and U.S. citizens who live abroad are eligible to register and vote absentee in federal elections. The report discusses recent improvements to UOCAVA, necessary as the result of controversy surrounding ballots received in Florida from absentee voters in the 2000 presidential election. The report also discusses related legislation, such as the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, which provided for a major overhaul of UOCAVA.
Date: July 11, 2012
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (open access)

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers

This report provides background on the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program. After a brief introduction, it discusses TAA eligibility and benefits as set by TAAEA. It then describes how the program is funded and administered. The report concludes by presenting data on recent application activity and benefit usage.
Date: July 11, 2012
Creator: Collins, Benjamin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (open access)

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers

This report provides background on the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program, which provides federal assistance to workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade. It was most recently authorized by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (TAAEA; Title II of P.L. 112-40). The report discusses TAA eligibility and benefits as set by TAAEA; describes how the program is funded and administered; and presents data on recent application activity and benefit usage.
Date: July 11, 2012
Creator: Collins, Benjamin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conflict Minerals in Central Africa: U.S. and International Responses (open access)

Conflict Minerals in Central Africa: U.S. and International Responses

This report discusses how Congress has focused on ways to help end or mitigate the effects of conflicts and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including several hearingw which have become law. The main issue is related to "conflict minerals," the so-called “3TGs”: ores of tantalum and niobium, tin, tungsten, and gold, and their derivatives.
Date: July 20, 2012
Creator: Cook, Nicolas
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Jackson-Vanik Amendment and Candidate Countries for WTO Accession: Issues for Congress (open access)

The Jackson-Vanik Amendment and Candidate Countries for WTO Accession: Issues for Congress

This report gives an analysis of the unconditional most-favored-nation (MFN) status, or in U.S. statutory parlance, normal trade relations (NTR) status, which is a fundamental principle of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This conflicts with the U.S. laws under Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 that limits trade status with several nations undergoing accession into the WTO. On June 12, 2012, Sen. Max Baucus introduced a bill with bipartisan co-sponsorship to authorize PNTR for Russia. The report includes information about MFN status and the WTO, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment restricting trade, the case of China, and prospective WTO accessions.
Date: July 26, 2012
Creator: Cooper, William H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: A Primer (open access)

Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: A Primer

This report reviews the types of air emissions from livestock and poultry operations and their human health and environmental impacts. It then discusses provisions of several federal laws concerned with environmental impacts, beginning with the Clean Water Act, because protecting water resources has been the primary regulatory focus regarding livestock and animal operations.
Date: July 20, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement (open access)

Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

From an environmental quality standpoint, much of the interest in animal agriculture has focused on impacts on water resources, because animal waste, if not properly managed, can harm water quality through surface runoff, direct discharges, spills, and leaching into soil and groundwater. A more recent issue is the contribution of emissions from animal feeding operations (AFO), enterprises where animals are raised in confinement, to air pollution. AFOs can affect air quality through emissions of gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants, and odor. These pollutants and compounds have a number of environmental and human health effects. This report reviews key issues associated with the Air Compliance Agreement.
Date: July 20, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animal Waste and Hazardous Substances: Current Laws and Legislative Issues (open access)

Animal Waste and Hazardous Substances: Current Laws and Legislative Issues

The report is categorized into four categories: (I) CERLA and EPCRA, (II) Enforcement Against AFO's, (III) Congressional Interest and (IV) Policy Issue.
Date: July 20, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animal Waste and Water Quality: EPA’s Response to the Waterkeeper Alliance Court Decision on Regulation of CAFOs (open access)

Animal Waste and Water Quality: EPA’s Response to the Waterkeeper Alliance Court Decision on Regulation of CAFOs

In October 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a regulation to revise a 2003 Clean Water Act rule governing waste discharges from large confined animal feeding operations. This report details the original 2003 rule, the Waterkeeper Alliance Decision and the EPA's 2008 revised rule.
Date: July 30, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library