The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is an armored amphibious vehicle program that originated two decades ago to replace the 1970s-era Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV). The EFV has experienced a variety of developmental difficulties, resulting in significant program delays and cost growth. While the Marine Corps and Department of Defense remain optimistic about the future of the EFC program, there continue to be major concerns about the EFV's reliability and escalating costs.

This report discusses the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173), which was implemented as part of financial regulatory reform initiatives undertaken by Congress in light of the recent global economic crisis. The legislation focuses on executive compensation.

The purpose of this report is to provide background and analysis for Congress on U.S. rule of law (ROL) and justice sector assistance programs to Afghanistan. The report also describes the scope of the ROL problem in Afghanistan, including the role of corruption, and surveys the range of Afghan justice sector institutions. In addition, the report describes U.S., Afghan, and multilateral policy approaches to the Afghan justice sector since the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; U.S. policy coordination and funding; and current U.S. justice sector assistance programs in Afghanistan.

The majority of the world's Muslim population follows the Sunni branch of Islam, and approximately 10%-15% of all Muslims follow the Shiite (Shi'ite, Shi'a, Shia) branch. Shiite populations constitute a majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan. Sunnis and Shiites share most basic religious tenets. However, their differences sometimes have been the basis for religious intolerance, political infighting, and sectarian violence. This report includes a historical background of the Sunni-Shiite split and discusses the differences in religious beliefs and practices between and within each Islamic sect as well as their similarities. The report also relates Sunni and Shiite religious beliefs to discussions of terrorism and sectarian violence that may be of interest to Congress.

This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue. That approach was not initially altered because of the Iranian dispute over its June 12, 2009, elections. However, with subsequent negotiations yielding no firm Iranian agreement to compromise, since early 2010 the Administration has focused on achieving the imposition of additional U.N., U.S., and allied country sanctions whose cumulative effect would be to compel it to accept a nuclear bargain.

This report provides an overview of U.S.-Mexico trade and economic trends, the Mexican economy, the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and major trade issues between the United States and Mexico.

The marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) environmental impacts knowledge management system (KMS), dubbed Tethys after the mythical Greek goddess of the seas, is being developed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program (WHTP) by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). This requirements specification establishes the essential capabilities required of Tethys and clarifies for WHTP and the Tethys development team the results that must be achieved by the system.

The National Wind Coordinating Collaborative (NWCC) is a consensus-based stakeholder group comprised of representatives from the utility, wind industry, environmental, consumer, regulatory, power marketer, agricultural, tribal, economic development, and state and federal government sectors. The purpose of the NWCC is to support the development of an environmentally, economically, and politically sustainable commercial market for wind power (NWCC 2010). The NWCC has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) since its inception in 1994. In order to evaluate the impact of the work of the NWCC and how this work aligns with DOE’s strategic priorities, DOE tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to conduct a series of informal interviews with a small sample of those involved with NWCC.

The purpose of this report is to provide background and analysis for Congress on U.S. rule of law (ROL) and justice sector assistance programs to Afghanistan. The report also describes the scope of the ROL problem in Afghanistan, including the role of corruption, and surveys the range of Afghan justice sector institutions. In addition, the report describes U.S., Afghan, and multilateral policy approaches to the Afghan justice sector since the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; U.S. policy coordination and funding; and current U.S. justice sector assistance programs in Afghanistan.