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Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: Much of the debate over U.S. policy toward Iran has centered on the nature of the current regime; some believe that Iran, a country of about 70 million people, is a threat to U.S. interests because hardliners in Iran's regime dominate and set a policy direction intended to challenge U.S. influence and allies in the region. President George W. Bush, in his January 29, 2002, State of the Union message, labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea. This report discusses t… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: This report discusses the current political state of Iran and its relationship with the United States. This report emphasizes in particular the Iranian presidential elections that took place on June 12, 2009; current U.S. efforts under President Obama to forge diplomatic talks with Iran while at the same time urging aggressive action in the way of certain economic and trade sanctions; and how current U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration differ and/or are similar to efforts under the Bush… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea: Living Resources Provisions

Description: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) was agreed to in 1982, but the United States never became a signatory nation. In the 111th Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on January 13, 2009, acknowledged that U.S. accession to the LOS Convention would be an Obama Administration priority. This report describes provisions of the LOS Convention relating to living marine resources and disc… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Issues Regarding a National Land Parcel Database

Description: This report provides a summary of some of the issues regarding the creation of a national land parcel database, or cadastre. The report identifies some of the perceived needs for a national cadastre, legislative and administrative options that could lead to a national land parcel database, and some of the challenges and concerns. The report also summarizes and briefly discusses recommendations in a 2007 National Research Council (NRC) report that concluded "...a national approach is necessary t… more
Date: July 22, 2009
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Markets Regulation: Financial Crisis Highlights Need to Improve Oversight of Leverage at Financial Institutions and across System

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act directed GAO to study the role of leverage in the current financial crisis and federal oversight of leverage. GAO's objectives were to review (1) how leveraging and deleveraging by financial institutions may have contributed to the crisis, (2) regulations adopted by federal financial regulators to limit leverage and how regulators oversee compliance with the regu… more
Date: July 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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High-Risk Series: An Update

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is the world's largest and most complex entity, with about $3 trillion in outlays in fiscal year 2008 funding a broad array of programs and operations. GAO's biennial reports on high-risk areas, done since 1990, are meant to bring focus to specific areas needing added attention. Areas are identified, in some cases, as high risk due to their greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste,… more
Date: January 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Financial Management: Improvements Needed in National Flood Insurance Program's Financial Controls and Oversight

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Due to the federal government's role as guarantor, floods impose an enormous potential financial burden on the federal government. Consequently, decision makers at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Congress need accurate and timely financial information to assess the effectiveness of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This report… more
Date: December 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Broadcasting to Cuba: Actions Are Needed to Improve Strategy and Operations

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than two decades, the U.S. government has been broadcasting to Cuba to break the Cuban government's information blockade and promote democracy in Cuba. Over this period, questions have been raised regarding the quality and effectiveness of these broadcasts. GAO was asked to examine (1) the Office of Cuba Broadcasting's (OCB) broadcasting approach and what is known about its audience; (2) how th… more
Date: January 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Bottled Water: FDA Safety and Consumer Protections Are Often Less Stringent Than Comparable EPA Protections for Tap Water

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past decade, per capita consumption of bottled water in the United States has more than doubled. With this increase have come several concerns in recent years about the safety, quality, and environmental impacts of bottled water. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as a food and is responsible for ensuring that domestic a… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicaid: Source of Screening Affects Women's Eligibility for Coverage of Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment in Some States

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Tens of thousands of women die each year from breast or cervical cancer. While screening and early detection through mammograms and Pap tests--followed by treatment--can improve survival, low-income, uninsured women are often not screened. In 1990, Congress authorized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund screening and diagnostic services for such women, which led CDC to establish… more
Date: May 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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End-Stage Renal Disease: CMS Should Monitor Effect of Bundled Payment on Home Dialysis Utilization Rates

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare covers dialysis--a process that removes excess fluids and toxins from the bloodstream--for most individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a condition of permanent kidney failure. Most patients with ESRD receive dialysis in a facility, while some patients with ESRD are trained to self-perform dialysis in their homes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--the agency that admi… more
Date: May 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Contracting Integrity: Opportunities Exist to Improve DOD's Oversight of Contractor Ethics Programs

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Until recently, ethics programs and practices of defense contractors were self-policed. Given the significant sums spent to acquire goods and services, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended twice starting in December 2007 to first mandate and later amplify contractor ethics program rules. Before FAR changes were finalized in December 2008, Congress required GAO to report in 2009 on the et… more
Date: September 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brand-Name Prescription Drug Pricing: Lack of Therapeutically Equivalent Drugs and Limited Competition May Contribute to Extraordinary Price Increases

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The growing cost of brand-name prescription drugs--FDA-approved drug products that typically have patent protection--is a concern for patients, payers, and providers of health care--particularly when price increases are large and occur suddenly. A 2008 congressional hearing by the Joint Economic Committee drew attention to some small market prescription drugs that had an extraordinary price increase--a … more
Date: December 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Corps of Engineers: Recent Changes Have Reduced the Use of Continuing Contracts, but Management Processes Need to Be Improved

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has had the authority to award multiyear contracts--continuing contracts--without having received appropriations to cover the full contract amount. In 2006, Congress limited the Corps' use of such contracts by prohibiting obligations made in advance of appropriations. In response, the Corps developed a new clause that stopped work once funding for a fiscal year w… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Flood Insurance Program: Background, Challenges, and Financial Status

Description: This report provides an analysis of the NFIP and its financial status, summarizes the major challenges facing the program, including issues affecting its long-term financial solvency, presents some alternative approaches for managing and financing the flood losses and describes pending legislation on this issue.
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: King, Rawle O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Long-Range Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe

Description: Successive U.S. governments have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against long-range ballistic missile threats from adversary states. The Bush Administration proposed deploying a ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) element of the larger Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) in Europe to defend against an Iranian missile threat. The proposed U.S. system has encountered resistance in some European countries and beyond. The GMD plan has also affected U.S.-Russia relation… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Hildreth, Steven A. & Ek, Carl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The DHS Directorate of Science and Technology: Key Issues for Congress

Description: The Directorate of Science and Technology is the primary organization for research and development (R&D) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The directorate is headed by the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. In the past, some Members of Congress and other observers have been highly critical of the directorate's performance. Although management changes have somewhat muted this criticism in recent years, fundamental issues remain, which this report discusses in detail. Congres… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Shea, Dana A. & Morgan, Daniel
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2009

Description: This report summarizes budgetary decisions relating to research and development funding for FY2009, as well as some projected information for FY2010.
Date: May 22, 2009
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress

Description: Special Operations Forces (SOF) 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. U.S. SOF's growing need for enabling forces that are largely drawn from conventional forces is a potential policy issue for congressional consideration.
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The European Parliament

Description: The European Parliament (EP) is one of the three key institutions of the European Union (EU), and the only EU institution whose members are directly elected. This report discusses the construction and history of the EP, its role in functions of the EU as well as internationally, various international supports and criticisms of the EP, and the EP's ties with the U.S. Congress.
Date: July 22, 2009
Creator: Archick, Kristin & Mix, Derek E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments

Description: The United States military has been building up forces on the U.S. territory of Guam to increase deterrence and power projection for possible responses to crises and disasters, counter-terrorism, and contingencies in support of South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, or elsewhere in Asia. But the defense buildup on Guam is moderate. China has concerns about the defense buildup. Guam's role has increased with plans to withdraw some U.S. forces from Japan and South Korea. This report describ… more
Date: May 22, 2009
Creator: Kan, Shirley A. & Niksch, Larry A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Impeachment: An Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice

Description: On June 19, 2009, the House voted to impeach U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The impeachment process provides a mechanism for removal of the President, Vice President, and other federal civil officers found to have engaged in "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." This report explains the impeachment process, including its history and the process itself.
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B. & Henning, Anna C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Atomic Emission, Absorption and Fluorescence in the Laser-induced Plasma

Description: The main result of our efforts is the development and successful application of the theoretical model of laser induced plasma (LIP) that allows a back-calculation of the composition of the plasma (and the condensed phase) based on the observable plasma spectrum. The model has an immediate experimental input in the form of LIP spectra and a few other experimentally determined parameters. The model is also sufficiently simple and, therefore, practical. It is conveniently interfaced in a graphical… more
Date: January 22, 2009
Creator: Winefordner, J. D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Coordination of Federal Water Research: Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses the National Water Research and Development initiative Act of 2009, that would formally establish a federal inter agency committee to coordinate federal water research. It also discusses water research coordination and strategy.
Date: April 22, 2009
Creator: Carter, Nicole T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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