This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. It focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and with the United States.

This report focuses on two main National Security Agency (NSA) collection activities approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. The first is the bulk collection of telephony metadata for domestic and international telephone calls. The second involves the interception of Internet-based communications and is targeted at foreigners who are not within the United States, but may also inadvertently acquire the communications of U.S. persons.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the October 2012 and the August 2013 versions of the U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework for Afghanistan have similarities, the two versions differ in several aspects. These differences reflect, among other things, the U.S. government's heightened emphasis on the transition, through the end of 2014, of security responsibility for Afghanistan to Afghan security institutions and the Afghan National Security Forces as well as the transition in U.S. policy toward a more traditional diplomatic and development model. Both versions of the framework address four categories of U.S. efforts in support of U.S. national goals in Afghanistan, with security, the first category, as the foundation for the other three categories, or "pillars"--governance, rule of law, and socioeconomic development. Both versions also address the same crosscutting issues. Differences between the two versions include the following:"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) military compensation package, which is a myriad of pays and benefits, is an important tool to attract and retain the number and quality of active duty servicemembers it needs to fulfill its mission. Compensation can be appropriate and adequate to attract and retain servicemembers when it is competitive with civilian compensation. However, comparisons between military and civilian compensation present both limitations and challenges. As we noted in 1986, exact compensation comparisons are not possible because no data exist which would allow an exact comparison of military and civilian personnel with the same levels of work experience. Also, nonmonetary considerations complicate military and civilian pay comparisons because their value cannot be quantified. Specifically, military service is unique in that the working conditions for active duty service carry the risk of death and injury during wartime and the potential for frequent, long deployments unlike most civilian jobs. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 required that we conduct a study comparing pay and benefits provided by law to members of the Armed Forces with that of comparably situated private-sector employees to assess how …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires that GAO annually (1) determine the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with disclosure requirements, (2) identify any challenges that lobbyists report to compliance, and (3) describe the resources and authorities available to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (the Office), and the efforts the Office has made to improve its enforcement of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 as amended (LDA). This is GAO's fourth report under the mandate. GAO reviewed a stratified random sample of 100 lobbying disclosure reports filed from the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009 through the third quarter of calendar year 2010. GAO also selected two random samples totaling 160 reports of federal political campaign contributions from year-end 2009 and midyear 2010. This methodology allowed GAO to generalize to the population of 55,282 disclosure reports with $5,000 or more in lobbying activity. GAO also met with officials from the Office regarding efforts to focus resources on lobbyists who fail to comply. GAO provided a draft of this report to the Attorney General for review and comment. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA). This is GAO's third report in response to the LDA's requirement for GAO to annually (1) determine the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with the LDA by providing support for information on their registrations and reports, (2) identify challenges and potential improvements to compliance for registered lobbyists, and (3) describe the efforts the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (the Office) has made to improve its enforcement of the LDA. GAO reviewed a random sample of 134 lobbying disclosure reports filed from the fourth quarter of calendar year 2008 through the third quarter of calendar year 2009. GAO also selected two random samples of federal political campaign contributions reports from year-end 2008 through midyear 2009. GAO sampled 100 reports listing contributions and 100 reports listing no contributions. This methodology allowed GAO to generalize to the population of 53,756 disclosure reports, 10,928 contributions reports, and 22,572 reports with no contributions. GAO also met with officials from the Office regarding efforts to focus resources on lobbyists who …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In summary, DOD's Office of the Secretary of Defense directed the Navy to cancel its competitive solicitation for 21 civilian Mi-17s because Russian authorities told DOD in late 2010 that, in accordance with Russian law, they would sell the helicopters only through Rosoboronexport since they were intended for military end use. Specifically, in response to letters written by the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to DOD that it considered the Mi-17s to be military because they were for use by the Afghan Air Force, and therefore could be sold only through Rosoboronexport, the sole entity responsible for Russian military exports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2013, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) made mixed progress in achieving its acquisition goals to develop, test, and produce elements of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). For the first time, MDA conducted an operational flight test that involved warfighters from several combatant commands using multiple BMDS elements simultaneously. The agency also successfully conducted several developmental flight tests that demonstrated key capabilities and modifications made to resolve prior production issues. However, the Aegis BMD and Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) continued to experience testing and development challenges."

This report provides an overview of federal statutes that provide civil remedies for contractor fraud, as well as issues stemming from judicial interpretation of these statutes.

This report looks at the purpose and background of Community Services Block Grants (CSBG), which provide federal funds to states, territories, and tribes for distribution to local agencies to support a wide range of community-based activities to reduce poverty. It includes program data, funding activity for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, and proposals for FY2015.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission report recommended that the Army close Kansas and Lone Star Army Ammunition Plants and relocate certain munitions production-related functions from the Kansas and Lone Star Plants to Iowa and Milan (Tennessee) Army Ammunition Plants. As a result of the recommendations, the Army closed the Kansas and Lone Star Plants in 2009 and is in the process of relocating munitions production functions to the Iowa and Milan Plants. The 2005 BRAC recommendations must be completed by September 15, 2011. In addition, in February 2008, the U.S. Army Sustainment Command issued a request for proposals for operating and maintaining both the Iowa and Milan Plants. As part of the proposals, all offerors were to submit optimization plans for the optimum operation, maintenance, and utilization of the plants. In October 2008 the Army awarded a contract to American Ordnance for the operation and maintenance of the Iowa and Milan Plants at no direct cost to the government. Under the contract, American Ordnance will perform (among other things) security and maintenance for the facilities and will perform the actions identified in its Baseline Optimization …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "CSP's activities, staff, and funding support strategic planning by individual CMS offices and centers as well as the agency itself. CMS officials told us that CSP assists individual offices and centers in developing strategic plans for their units, leads the agency's senior-level strategic planning meetings, and is helping to develop a centralized approach to monitor the implementation of CMS's agency-wide strategic plan. As of January 2013, CSP had 11 staff and it had $1.9 million in funds obligated for fiscal year 2012. Staff size and funding for CSP's most recent fiscal year represent a decrease compared to prior years, in part because CSP's activities have been narrowed in scope since the office was established in 2010, according to CMS officials. GAO provided a draft of this report to HHS for comment. After its review, HHS indicated that it did not have any comments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Most lobbyists were able to provide documentation to demonstrate compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), as amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA). For lobbying disclosure reports (LD-2), GAO estimates that"

This report provides an overview of the federal health center program including its statutory authority, program requirements, and appropriation levels. The report then describes health centers in general, where they are located, their patient population, and some outcomes associated with health center use. It also describes some federal programs available to assist health center operations as well as issues for Congress.

This report discusses the political climate, development challenges and reform in Nigeria. The report also considers the social issues and security concerns of Nigeria. In addition, other issues are mentioned, as Congress provides oversight for over $600 million in U.S. foreign assistance programs to Nigeria.

This report discusses several issues relating to homelessness among veterans, which has become more prominent since the beginning of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This report discusses Iraq's political system, which is increasingly characterized by peaceful competition and formation of cross-sectarian alliances. However, ethnic and sectarian political and sometimes violent infighting continues, often involving the questionable use of key levers of power and legal institutions.

This report discusses the process of naming Navy ships, which have traditionally been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy. Congress in recent years has proposed, and sometimes passed, legislation regarding the naming of specific ships.

This report details the National Directory of New Hires - including its background, how data is managed in the directory, and concerns regarding the directory.

This report discusses the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2011 appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 26 independent agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the United States Postal Service.

This report provides an overview of guidelines that have governed planning for Department of Defense (DOD) operations over the last 30 years in the event of a funding lapse. It also discusses the implications of the guidelines for a possible impending shutdown and briefly reviews what is known about current DOD planning for a shutdown.

This report looks at controversies surrounding the diversity immigrant visa lottery, which encourages legal immigration from countries other than the major sending countries of current immigrants to the U.S.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether volunteer assistant fire marshals may be designated as “reserve deputies” (RQ-0927-GA)