The Debt Limit Since 2011 (open access)

The Debt Limit Since 2011

This report discusses the federal debt increase. The accumulation of federal debt accelerated in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession.
Date: March 9, 2015
Creator: Austin, D. A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Care for Veterans: Traumatic Brain Injury (open access)

Health Care for Veterans: Traumatic Brain Injury

This report focuses on current efforts of the VA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to understand, identify, and treat Traumatic brain injury (TBI) among veterans.
Date: March 9, 2015
Creator: Bagalman, Erin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Prevalence of Mental Illness in the United States: Data Sources and Estimates (open access)

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

This report briefly describes the methodology and selected findings of three large federally funded 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: March 9, 2015
Creator: Bagalman, Erin & Napili, Angela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Measles: Background and Federal Role in Vaccine Policy (open access)

The Measles: Background and Federal Role in Vaccine Policy

This report presents basic information about measles, its history in the United States, available treatments to prevent individuals from contracting measles, and the federal role in combating measles--from funding, to research, to the authority of the federal government in requiring mandatory childhood vaccinations.
Date: February 9, 2015
Creator: Barry, Matthew B. & Cole, Jared P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Train and Equip Program for Syria: Authorities, Funding, and Issues for Congress (open access)

Train and Equip Program for Syria: Authorities, Funding, and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the current debate over various aspect of the Syria Train and Equip program. These include U.S. efforts to combat the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria and setting the conditions for a negotiated settlement to Syria's civil war.
Date: June 9, 2015
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M. & Belasco, Amy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response (open access)

Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response

This report discusses the ongoing conflict in Syria and provides an overview of U.S. Policy responses. The rise of the insurgent terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL/ISIS) and Russia's military intervention on behalf of the Syrian government have reshaped debates over U.S. policy toward the ongoing civil conflict in Syria, now in its fifth year.
Date: October 9, 2015
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.; Humud, Carla E. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Commercial Outlook for a New Industry (open access)

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Commercial Outlook for a New Industry

This report discusses unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)--commonly referred to as drones-- which have become a staple of U.S. military reconnaissance and weapons delivery in overseas war zones such as Afghanistan. Now some new technologies and pending federal regulations are enabling the manufacture and use of UAS in domestic commerce, giving rise to a growing commercial UAS industry.
Date: September 9, 2015
Creator: Canis, Bill
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Help America Vote Act and Election Administration: Overview and Issues (open access)

The Help America Vote Act and Election Administration: Overview and Issues

This report discusses the Help America Vote Act (HAVA; P.L. 107-252) enacted in 2002. It provides background information about HAVA and its provisions, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), funding for the agency and for state programs to improve elections, and a number of enduring election administration issues.
Date: March 9, 2015
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J. & Fischer, Eric A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Help America Vote Act and Election Administration: Overview and Issues (open access)

The Help America Vote Act and Election Administration: Overview and Issues

This report discusses the Help America Vote Act (HAVA; P.L. 107-252) enacted in 2002. It provides background information about HAVA and its provisions, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), funding for the agency and for state programs to improve elections, and a number of enduring election administration issues.
Date: June 9, 2015
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J. & Fischer, Eric A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (open access)

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit

This report provides an overview of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that allows employers that hire individuals with certain personal characteristics to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.
Date: January 9, 2015
Creator: Collins, Benjamin & Donovan, Sarah A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA and the Army Corps’ Proposed Rule to Define “Waters of the United States” (open access)

EPA and the Army Corps’ Proposed Rule to Define “Waters of the United States”

This report describes the proposed rule and includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the proposed revisions.
Date: February 9, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
EPA and the Army Corps' "Waters of the United States" Rule: Congressional Response and Options (open access)

EPA and the Army Corps' "Waters of the United States" Rule: Congressional Response and Options

This report discusses four legislative options that Congress could consider to halt or redirect the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineer's proposed "waters of the United States" rule.
Date: July 9, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Water Infrastructure Financing: The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program (open access)

Water Infrastructure Financing: The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program

None
Date: April 9, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hunting and Fishing: Analysis of S. 556 and S. 659 (open access)

Hunting and Fishing: Analysis of S. 556 and S. 659

This report focuses on two bills that have received considerable attention in the 114th Congress.
Date: July 9, 2015
Creator: Corn, Lynne M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Administrative and Compliance Challenges (open access)

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Administrative and Compliance Challenges

This report Summarizes Findings from the 2014 IRS study detailing the factors that can lead to eraneous claims of the credit, and describes the challenges the IRS may face in their efforts to reduce each type of error.
Date: April 9, 2015
Creator: Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Perspectives on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (open access)

Perspectives on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

This report briefly summarizes what constituted Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), provides background on their adoption and use, and discusses differing views on three questions that underpin discussion and debate of this topic.
Date: July 9, 2015
Creator: Daugherty Miles, Anne
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues (open access)

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995's (UMRA) implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules.
Date: July 9, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Beth, Richard S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
SBA Office of Advocacy: Overview, History, and Current Issues (open access)

SBA Office of Advocacy: Overview, History, and Current Issues

None
Date: February 9, 2015
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Crime Victims’ Rights Act: A Sketch of 18 U.S.C. §3771 (open access)

Crime Victims’ Rights Act: A Sketch of 18 U.S.C. §3771

This report is an abridged form of a longer report, without quotation marks, footnotes, appendixes, and most of the citations to authority found in the longer version, which is available as CRS Report RL33679, Crime Victim's Rights Act: A summary and Legal Analysis of 18 U.S.C. 3771, by Charles Doyle.
Date: December 9, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2016 Budget and Appropriations (open access)

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2016 Budget and Appropriations

This report provides an overview of the FY2016 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) request, a discussion of key issues and historic context, and account-by-account funding comparisons with FY2014 actuals and FY2015 estimates.
Date: April 9, 2015
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Lawson, Marian L. & Tiersky, Alex
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2016 Budget Overview (open access)

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2016 Budget Overview

This report provides an overview of the FY2016 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) request and account-by-account funding comparisons with FY2014 actuals and FY2015 estimates.
Date: February 9, 2015
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Lawson, Marian L. & Tiersky, Alex
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

This report provides responses to frequently asked questions about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. It is intended to serve as a quick reference to provide easy access to information and data. This report does not provide information on TANF program rules.
Date: July 9, 2015
Creator: Falk, Gene
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV): Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV): Background and Issues for Congress

This report examines why there is no longer any foreign interest in the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program and how the Army's study to revise overall tactical wheeled vehicle requirements might affect the JLTV program.
Date: March 9, 2015
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress

This report covers Special Operations Forces (SOF) budgets for FY2014 and expected uses of the budgeted money. SOF actions play a significant role in U.S. military operations, and the Administration has given U.S. SOF greater responsibility for planning and conducting worldwide counterterrorism operations.
Date: April 9, 2015
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library