Energy and Water Development: Fiscal Year 2013 Appropriations (open access)

Energy and Water Development: Fiscal Year 2013 Appropriations

Report that discusses the FY2012 budget for energy and water development as approved by Congress, including how the funding will be used.
Date: October 23, 2012
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Reform: An Overview of Proposals in the 112th Congress (open access)

Tax Reform: An Overview of Proposals in the 112th Congress

This report gives an overview of tax reform issues. The President and leading members of Congress have stated that fundamental tax reform is a major policy objective for the 112th Congress. Some Members have said that fundamental tax reform is needed in order to raise a large amount of additional revenue, which is necessary to reduce high forecast budget deficits and the sharply rising national debt. Congressional interest has been expressed in both a major overhaul of the U.S. tax system and the feasibility of levying a consumption tax.
Date: October 26, 2012
Creator: Bickley, James M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Welfare-to-Work Revisited (open access)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Welfare-to-Work Revisited

None
Date: October 2, 2012
Creator: Bopp, Shannon & Falk, Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Reallocation of Water Storage at Federal Water Projects for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply (open access)

Reallocation of Water Storage at Federal Water Projects for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply

Report that analyzes the legal and policy issues associated with reallocation of water under the Water Supply Act of 1958 (WSA) and industrial (M&I) water supply use at Lake Lanier as an example.
Date: October 31, 2012
Creator: Brougher, Cynthia & Carter, Nicole T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Presidential Appointments, the Senate's Confirmation Process, and Changes Made in the 112th Congress (open access)

Presidential Appointments, the Senate's Confirmation Process, and Changes Made in the 112th Congress

This report provides information on presidential appointments in the executive and judicial branch including a brief background on advice and consent issues, an overview of the appointment process in both the executive and legislative branches, and a brief discussion of recent concerns about the system. Also, the report explores the events in the 112th Congress leading up to the introduction and passage of two measures purported to make the appointment process easier and quicker, and it concludes with an analysis of the two measures.
Date: October 9, 2012
Creator: Carey, Maeve P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Involvement in Flood Response and Flood Infrastructure Repair: Storm Sandy Recovery (open access)

Federal Involvement in Flood Response and Flood Infrastructure Repair: Storm Sandy Recovery

Report regarding congressional efforts to structure federal actions and programs so they provide incentives to reduce flood risk without unduly infringing on private property rights or usurping local decision making.
Date: October 31, 2012
Creator: Carter, Nicole T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections (open access)

Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections

This report considers contemporary developments in presidential elections. It emphasizes three topics chosen for their recurring importance and notable recent developments.
Date: October 18, 2012
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J.; Garrett, R. Sam & Neale, Thomas H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Employment for Veterans: Trends and Programs (open access)

Employment for Veterans: Trends and Programs

This report discusses veterans' employment trends and programs. The first section presents data on veterans' employment outcomes, identifying recent trends, and discussing issues to consider when interpreting veterans' employment data. The following sections present brief discussions of existing programs that provide employment-related services to veterans. These services are divided into (1) general programs that are broadly available to veterans, (2) programs that target veterans with service-connected disabilities, and (3) competitive grant programs that provide additional employment-related services to veterans but may be limited in scope or availability.
Date: October 23, 2012
Creator: Collins, Benjamin; Bradley, David H.; Dortch, Cassandria; Kapp, Lawrence & Scott, Christine
System: The UNT Digital Library
Water Quality Issues in the 112th Congress: Oversight and Implementation (open access)

Water Quality Issues in the 112th Congress: Oversight and Implementation

None
Date: October 5, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Endangered Species Act: A Primer (open access)

The Endangered Species Act: A Primer

None
Date: October 9, 2012
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne; Alexander, Kristina & Buck, Eugene H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues (open access)

Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues

This report provides a historical examination of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) size standards, assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business, and discusses how various proposals to change the SBA's size standards -- including those adopted under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 -- might affect program eligibility. It also discusses H.R. 585, the Small Business Size Standard Flexibility Act of 2011, which would authorize the SBA's Office of Chief Counsel for Advocacy to approve or disapprove a size standard proposed by a federal agency if it deviates from the SBA's size standards.
Date: October 4, 2012
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues (open access)

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

None
Date: October 22, 2012
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay & Beth, Richard S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
GI Bills Enacted Prior to 2008 and Related Veterans' Educational Assistance Programs: A Primer (open access)

GI Bills Enacted Prior to 2008 and Related Veterans' Educational Assistance Programs: A Primer

This report describes the GI Bills enacted prior to 2008. Although participation in the programs has ended or is declining, the programs' evolution and provisions inform current policy. Included is a description of the eligibility requirements, eligible programs of education, benefit availability, and benefits. The report also provides some summary statistics, comparisons between the programs, and brief discussions of related programs.
Date: October 22, 2012
Creator: Dortch, Cassandria
System: The UNT Digital Library
Privacy: An Abridged Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (open access)

Privacy: An Abridged Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Report that provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
Date: October 9, 2012
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Privacy: An Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (open access)

Privacy: An Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Report that provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). It also appends citations to state law in the area and the text of ECPA.
Date: October 9, 2012
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Statutes of Limitation in Federal Criminal Cases: An Overview (open access)

Statutes of Limitation in Federal Criminal Cases: An Overview

This report discusses federal statutes of limitations on crimes with a list of circumstances that can suspend those limits. A list of federal statutes of limitation in criminal cases and a rough chart of comparable state provisions are provided in this report.
Date: October 1, 2012
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Civil Aviation Programs: An Overview (open access)

Federal Civil Aviation Programs: An Overview

This report focuses on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) civil aviation programs addressed in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95), enacted on February 14, 2012, which authorizes AATF taxes and revenue collections and civil aviation program expenditures through FY2015. Programs for these agencies are funded primarily through a special trust fund, the airport and airways trust fund (AATF), and, in part, through general fund contributions.
Date: October 17, 2012
Creator: Elias, Bart
System: The UNT Digital Library
Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy (open access)

Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy

Report examining how Congress has been proactive in helping the economy recover after the 2008-2009 recession, as well as how it can help to keep recessions at bay in the future.
Date: October 12, 2012
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance (open access)

Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance

This report discusses the 112th Congress' measures to reduce the federal budget deficit and how this may influence congressional debate over the third-ranking U.S. aid recipient, Pakistan-a country vital to U.S. national security interests but that some say lacks accountability and even credibility.
Date: October 4, 2012
Creator: Epstein, Susan B. & Kronstadt, K. Alan
System: The UNT Digital Library
2006 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas (open access)

2006 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas

This report focuses primarily on the NAAQS implementation process for designating geographical nonattainment areas with respect to the tightening of the PM2.5 standards under the 2006 particulates NAAQS, including comparisons with the final designations under the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. Also included is a brief overview of states' subsequent obligations for developing and submitting implementation plans (SIPs) for attaining or maintaining compliance with the NAAQS.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on TANF Financing and Federal Requirements (open access)

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on TANF Financing and Federal Requirements

Report that provides an overview of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant financing and rules for state programs, describing federal TANF grants and state funds, how states may use federal TANF and state MOE funds to help achieve the purpose and goals of the TANF block grant.
Date: October 10, 2012
Creator: Falk, Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on TANF Financing and Federal Requirements (open access)

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on TANF Financing and Federal Requirements

This report discusses the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant that provides federal grants to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Indian tribes, and the territories for a wide range of benefits and activities. This report provides an overview of TANF financing and rules for state programs.
Date: October 10, 2012
Creator: Falk, Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Welfare-to-Work Revisited (open access)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Welfare-to-Work Revisited

None
Date: October 2, 2012
Creator: Falk, Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Affirmative Action and Diversity in Public Education: Legal Developments (open access)

Affirmative Action and Diversity in Public Education: Legal Developments

The first part of this report briefly reviews the judicial evolution of race-based affirmative action, particularly in relation to public education. The report then reviews major rulings involving challenges to the use of race-conscious admissions and hiring practices by public educational institutions, and concludes with a discussion of the implications for the future development of affirmative action law.
Date: October 18, 2012
Creator: Feder, Jody
System: The UNT Digital Library