This report provides background on the sexual assault kit (SAKs, also referred to as "rape kits") backlog and information on federal efforts to reduce it. The backlog of SAKs has raised concerns over justice for assault victims and that additional victimizations could have been prevented had the evidence from any given kit been tested and the perpetrator apprehended in a timely manner.

This report discusses the current state of reform and foreign policy in Bahrain. An uprising against Bahrain's Al Khalifa royal family that began on February 14, 2011, has not achieved the goals of Shiite oppositionists to establish a constitutional monarchy. Public unrest has diminished since 2012, but occasional large demonstrations, opposition boycotts of elections, and continued arrests of dissidents counter government assertions that Bahrain has "returned to normal."

This report briefly discusses the current campaign finance environment and the implications of changes to campaign finance policy over the past several decades.

This In Focus discusses the Obama Administration's proposed changes to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education efforts.

The report discusses the Commodity Futures Trading Commissions (CFTC) that regulates futures, most options, and swap markets. It also points out the CFTC Re authorization Process.

This report provides information on the congressional consideration of the FY2016 regular appropriations bills. It also discusses the statutory and procedural budget enforcement framework for FY2016 appropriations.

This report provides information about the Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies. This list of about 200 congressional Liaison is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies.

This report provides information that can aid policy makers as they navigate through the many levels of responsibility of dealing with emergencies, and numerous policy pressure points, by having an understanding of the laws and administrative policies governing the disaster response and recovery process. The report also reviews the legislative framework that exists for providing federal assistance.

This report provides a brief overview on how Congress can establish federal advisory committees, and provides some considerations as to why a federal advisory committee may or may not be an appropriate mechanism for a particular policy or funding question. It presents data on the number of active committees established by Congress with special emphasis on the committees established in FY2014. This report concludes by presenting a list of the federal advisory committees currently proposed for establishment in legislation in the 114th Congress.

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.

This report presents a comparison of the cost of tax incentives associated with fossil and renewable energy resources, relative to amount of energy produced using each type of resource. The report also reviews other analyses that compare the cost of energy tax incentives relative to production, across different types of energy technologies.

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This report provides a brief history of federal affirmative action law, including legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. It describes the origins, affirmative action in public education, minority contracting, and recent developments as of 2015.

This report examines the constitutional rules governing federal funding for religious buildings and analyzes the Court's previous decisions on this issue. It also analyzes more recent lower court and administrative opinions that have distinguished the Court's decisions and allowed public funds to be awarded to houses of worship.

This report provides information about The Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape on the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is an independent agency with its five members appointed by the president.

This report describes the primary authorities of the following agencies for acquiring and disposing of federal land. These four federal agencies--the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), all in the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture--administer about 95% of those lands.

This report discusses the legal background associated with the sunset of various provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and of subsequent related legislation.

This report discusses the legal background associated with the sunset of various provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and of subsequent related legislation.

This report provides a brief overview of the Greek dept crisis, including developments through July 2015 when questions about Greece's future in the Eurozone resurfaced and emergency negotiations resulted in a third financial assistance program for Greece. It also discusses potential implications of the crisis for the U.S. economy and U.S.-European cooperation on broader strategic and economic cooperation.

This report briefly summarizes the existing commitments and pledges of selected national and regional governments to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as contributions to the global effort. The negotiations cover additional topics, including adaptation to the impacts of climate change and financing to assist the efforts of low-income countries.

This report is categorized into six categories: (I) Overview, (II) Questions and Answers, (III) Eligibility, (IV) Benefits, (V) Payments and (VI) Other Payments.

This report focuses on suicide prevention activities of the Veterans Health Administration within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This report gives a brief overview of the pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which as of May 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported 168 cases.