This report provides background information and analysis on Lebanon. It discusses the political situation and its relation with U.S.

Peru held the first round of national presidential and parliamentary elections on April 9, 2006. No presidential candidate won over 50%, so a run-off election is necessary. The results among the top three candidates were so close, however, that election officials may not know until the end of April which two candidates will be in the run-off in late May or early June. It appears that populist Ollanta Humala will be one of the two candidates. The other will be either Lourdes Flores Nano, a conservative, or left-of-center former president Alan Garcia. Congressional concern regarding the elections will likely focus on the impact the winning candidate would have on the U.S. relations with Peru

The report discusses the progress and issues regarding the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

The report discusses the progress and issues regarding the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

This article deals with the various ways that the Dallas city council is seeking to inform Hispanics about laws in the municipal code. Both the original Spanish article and the English translation are included.

This article describes how Hispanic youth have use their voting power to enact legislative change. Both the original Spanish article and the English translation are included.

This article deals with Jose Vazquez and the struggle that he and his family face because of leukemia. Both the original Spanish article and the English translation are included.

Daily student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States, along with coalition partners and various international organizations, has undertaken a challenging and costly effort to stabilize and rebuild Iraq following multiple wars and decades of neglect by the former regime. This enormous effort is taking place in an unstable security environment, concurrent with Iraqi efforts to transition to its first permanent government. In November 2005, the President issued the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq. According to the strategy, victory will be achieved when Iraq is peaceful, united, stable, secure, well integrated into the international community, and a full partner in the global war on terror. In this testimony, GAO discusses the key challenges that the United States, international community, and Iraq face in rebuilding and stabilizing Iraq. This statement is based on four reports GAO has issued to the Congress since July 2005 and recent trips to Iraq. Since July 2005, GAO issued reports on (1) the status of funding and reconstruction efforts in Iraq, the progress achieved, and challenges faced in rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure; (2) U.S. efforts in the water and sanitation sector; and (3) U.S. assistance for the January 2005 Iraqi …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In 2004, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problems could further delay the project. Then, in 2005, DOE announced discovery of employee e-mails suggesting quality assurance problems. Quality assurance, which establishes requirements for work to be performed under controlled conditions that ensure quality, is critical to making sure the project meets standards for protecting public health and the environment. This testimony, which summarizes GAO's March 2006 report (GAO-06-313), provides information on (1) the history of the project's quality assurance problems, (2) DOE's tracking of these problems and efforts to address them since GAO's 2004 report, and (3) challenges facing DOE as it continues to address quality assurance issues within the project."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1996, the United Nations (UN) Security Council and Iraq began the Oil for Food program to address Iraq's humanitarian situation after sanctions were imposed in 1990. More than $67 billion in oil revenue was obtained through the program, with $31 billion in humanitarian assistance delivered to Iraq. The 2005 Defense Authorization Act mandated that GAO review the Oil for Food program. GAO reviewed how the UN adhered to five key internal control standards in its stewardship of the program. GAO assessed (1) the program's control environment and (2) key elements of the other internal control standards. GAO also reported on the UN Compensation Commission's progress in paying reparations from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than a decade, experts have called on the United Nations (UN) Secretariat to correct serious deficiencies in its procurement process. Recent evidence of corruption and mismanagement in procurement suggests that millions of dollars contributed to the UN by the United States and other member states are at risk of fraud, waste and abuse. During the last decade, UN procurement has more than tripled to more than $1.6 billion in 2005, largely due to expanding UN peacekeeping operations. More than a third of that amount is procured by UN peacekeeping field missions. To review the UN's internal controls over procurement, GAO assessed key control elements, including (1) the overall control environment and (2) specific control activities aimed at providing reasonable assurance that staff are complying with directives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With contributions to United Nations (UN) organizations totaling more than $1.6 billion in 2006-2007, the United States has advocated strong UN oversight. In 1994, the United States provided support to establish the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The findings of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the Oil for Food Program have renewed concerns about UN oversight, and the 2005 World Summit proposed actions to improve OIOS. We were asked to examine (1) the extent to which UN funding arrangements for OIOS ensure independent oversight, and (2) the consistency of OIOS practices with key international auditing standards."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, two voluntary programs encourage participants to set emissions reduction goals. The Climate Leaders Program, managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), focuses on firms. The Climate VISION (Voluntary Innovative Sector Initiatives: Opportunities Now) Program, managed by the Department of Energy (DOE) along with other agencies, focuses on trade groups. GAO examined (1) participants' progress in completing program steps, the agencies' procedures for tracking progress, and their policies for dealing with participants that are not progressing as expected; (2) the types of emissions reduction goals established by participants; and (3) the agencies' estimates of the share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that their programs account for and their estimates of the programs' impacts on U.S. emissions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the current tight budgetary environment, program performance is likely to be an increasingly significant factor used to help policymakers assess programs and determine funding levels. Given concerns over the quality of performance data for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program and the importance of having meaningful information to assess program performance, we examined (1) whether the TAA performance data provide a credible picture of the program's performance, (2) what TAA performance data the Department of Labor (Labor) makes available to the public and states and the usefulness of the data for managing the program, and (3) what Labor is doing to address issues with the quality of TAA data submitted by states."

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Monthly student newspaper from St. Philip's College in San Antonio, Texas that includes campus news along with advertising.

This report explains the provisions of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA), examine the implementation of credit reform including credit reform provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA97), and discusses proposed modifications of credit reform. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to initially discuss justifications for credit programs, federal credit concepts, and the budgetary treatment of federal credit before the FCRA.

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This report provides an overview of the use of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in disaster relief.

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This report discuses the 109th Congress's considering legislation and conducting oversight on issues involving recreation on federal lands, including traditional recreational pursuits and newer forms of motorized recreation. The Administration is addressing these issues through budgetary, regulatory, and other actions.

Weekly newspaper from Emory, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.