Lebanon: Background and U.S. Relations (open access)

Lebanon: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides an overview of Lebanese politics, recent events in Lebanon, and current issues in U.S.-Lebanon relations.
Date: January 19, 2011
Creator: Addis, Casey L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
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
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Gray Wolf and the Endangered Species Act (ESA): A Brief Legal History (open access)

The Gray Wolf and the Endangered Species Act (ESA): A Brief Legal History

This report provides a brief history of the laws, regulations, and lawsuits related to the wolf's protected status. Fuller analyses of the concepts discussed in this report can be found in the companion report.
Date: January 19, 2012
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve and the National Oilheat Research Alliance (open access)

The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve and the National Oilheat Research Alliance

This report discusses the price of home heating oil in the Northeast. The Northeast demand for home heating oil has declined by 47% since 2000, from nearly 7 billion gallons to 3.6 billion gallons in 2011. The report provides detailed information regarding northeast home heating oil reserve and national Oilheat Research Alliance.
Date: September 19, 2013
Creator: Andrews, Anthony
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The European Union: Questions and Answers (open access)

The European Union: Questions and Answers

This report serves as a primer on the European Union and provides a brief description of U.S.-EU relations that may be of interest in the 114th Congress.
Date: January 19, 2016
Creator: Archick, Kristin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry (open access)

Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

This report reviews efforts to combat unauthorized migration across the Southwest border in the nearly three decades since the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) initiated the modern era in migration control. In reviewing such efforts, the report takes stock of the current state of border security and considers lessons that may be learned about enhanced enforcement at U.S. borders.
Date: April 19, 2016
Creator: Argueta, Carla N.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Is Impossibility Preemption Impossible? Federal Drug Law and Preemption of State Tort Claims (open access)

Is Impossibility Preemption Impossible? Federal Drug Law and Preemption of State Tort Claims

This report discusses the potential Supreme Court case of "Merck v. Albrecht". The report concludes with an overview of the "Merck" petition, analyzing the key issues of interest for Congress that the petition raises.
Date: January 19, 2018
Creator: Armstrong, Kathryn B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Debt Limit Since 2011 (open access)

The Debt Limit Since 2011

This report discusses the U.S. government's debt limit and the various extensions of it since 2011.
Date: January 19, 2018
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Care for Veterans: Suicide Prevention (open access)

Health Care for Veterans: Suicide Prevention

This report focuses on suicide prevention activities of the Veterans Health Administration within the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Date: March 19, 2015
Creator: Bagalman, Erin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Prevalence of Mental Illness in the United States: Data Sources and Information (open access)

Prevalence of Mental Illness in the United States: Data Sources and Information

This report briefly describes the methodology and results of three large surveys that provide national prevalence estimates of diagnosable mental illness: the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This report presents prevalence estimates of any mental illness and serious mental illness based on each survey and ends with a brief discussion of how these prevalence estimates might inform policy discussions.
Date: January 19, 2018
Creator: Bagalman, Erin & Cornell, Ada S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Davis v. United States: Retroactivity and the Good-Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule (open access)

Davis v. United States: Retroactivity and the Good-Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule

This report covers the legal causes and implications of Davis v. United States. The Supreme Court will consider whether evidence that was seized in violation of the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights is admissible at trial because the police seized the evidence in good-faith reliance on then-controlling case law.
Date: April 19, 2011
Creator: Barbour, Emily C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Spending and the Budget Control Act Limits (open access)

Defense Spending and the Budget Control Act Limits

This report discusses the Budget Control Act, which sets limits on defense spending between FY2012 and FY2021. The current debate in Congress has centered on whether to adjust the BCA defense caps upward; move base budget spending to accounts designated for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) that are not subject to spending limits; reduce the defense spending in the Administration's request to comply with BCA revised caps; or use some combination of these approaches, all in order to avoid a sequester.
Date: May 19, 2015
Creator: Belasco, Amy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Reducing Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Military Retirees and the Bipartisan Budget Act: In Brief (open access)

Reducing Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Military Retirees and the Bipartisan Budget Act: In Brief

This report discusses the reduction of cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for military retirees through the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA). It includes an overview of the changes, demographics of military retirees, and potential effects of the changes.
Date: February 19, 2014
Creator: Belasco, Amy & Kapp, Lawrence
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
France and U.S.-French Relations: In Brief (open access)

France and U.S.-French Relations: In Brief

This report discusses relations between the U.S. and France and collaboration between them in counter-terrorism efforts, military affairs, and economic matters as well as the current political situation in France and ongoing challenges with Muslims integration into French society.
Date: April 19, 2018
Creator: Belkin, Paul
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
NATO Funding and Burdensharing (open access)

NATO Funding and Burdensharing

This report discusses the the relative imbalance in defense spending and military capabilities within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which has long fueled concerns about burdensharing and European allies' reliance on U.S. defense guarantees.
Date: May 19, 2017
Creator: Belkin, Paul
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges (open access)

Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges

It is the purpose of this report to assess the effects of the absence of intelligence authorization legislation subsequent to FY2005 and indicate the substantial but limited effects of the FY2010 Intelligence Authorization Act (P.L. 111-259). It is recognized that the statutory requirements have been met by the catchall provisions in appropriations acts.
Date: December 19, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)—Responsibilities and Potential Congressional Concerns (open access)

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)—Responsibilities and Potential Congressional Concerns

This report looks at inadequacies present in the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) which prevent the Center from adequately performing its duty. These inadequacies include issues with agency organization, lack of resources, and a focus on threats from Yemen over domestic threats.
Date: December 19, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2012 (74th-112th Congresses) (open access)

Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2012 (74th-112th Congresses)

This report discusses how lame duck sessions occur, and the background of the lame duck sessions between 1940 and 2012. A "lame duck" session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the term of the current Congress ends.
Date: September 19, 2014
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Tollestrup, Jessica
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Reform: An Overview of Proposals in the 111th Congress (open access)

Tax Reform: An Overview of Proposals in the 111th Congress

This report primarily covers fundamental tax reform by discussing background and proposals for review during the 111th Congress. It includes sections about fundamental tax reform, the relationship between income and consumption, what should be taxed, types of broad-based consumption taxes, international comparisons, other types of fundamental tax reform, legislative proposals and other legislation, and sections looking at other specific kinds of taxation.
Date: March 19, 2010
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Background and Funding (open access)

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Background and Funding

This report begins by describing the population using emergency food assistance. It goes on to discuss the the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) program, including its administration at the federal, state, and local levels, eligibility rules, and funding structure. The report concludes by summarizing TEFAP's role in disaster response and recent reauthorization efforts.
Date: November 19, 2018
Creator: Billings, Kara Clifford
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
American Foreign Fighters and the Islamic State: Broad Challenges for Federal Law Enforcement (open access)

American Foreign Fighters and the Islamic State: Broad Challenges for Federal Law Enforcement

This report offers a framework for considering the challenges to domestic security posed by American fighters in the terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS, previously referred to as ISIS or ISIL) and outlines some of the ways that U.S. law enforcement responds to such challenges.
Date: September 19, 2014
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat (open access)

American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat

This report describes homegrown violent jihadists and the plots and attacks that have occurred since 9/11. It also outlines actions underway to build trust and partnership between community groups and government agencies and the tensions that may occur between law enforcement and engagement activities.
Date: February 19, 2014
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Countering Violent Extremism in the United States (open access)

Countering Violent Extremism in the United States

This report provides examples of Administration "combating violent extremism" (CVE) activity and examines some of the risks and challenges evident in the "Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States" (SIP's) three objectives. The report also diagrams and briefly discusses the "future activities and efforts" outlined in the SIP for each of these three objectives.
Date: February 19, 2014
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Domestic Terrorist Threat: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Domestic Terrorist Threat: Background and Issues for Congress

This report focuses on how domestic terrorism is conceptualized by the federal government and issues involved in assessing this threat's significance.
Date: February 19, 2014
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library