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 Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents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.

For years, the British and Irish governments sought to facilitate a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Northern Ireland. This report provides a brief overview of the continuing peace talks and efforts in Northern Ireland, including the deal reached in February 2010 between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The report also discusses the United States' active support of the Northern Ireland peace process, including the future of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).

This paper examines the differences in trade data from the United States and China in two ways. First, it compares the trade figures at the two digit level using the Harmonized System to discern any patterns in the discrepancies between the U.S. and Chinese data. The second approach to examining the differing trade data involves a review of the existing literature on the technical and non-technical sources of the trade data discrepancies, including an October 2009 joint China-U.S. report on statistical discrepancies in merchandise trade data.

This report provides a basic overview of the island of Guam, including population and location, as well as the strategic significance of Guam for boosting U.S. deterrence and power projection in Asia.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

For years, the British and Irish governments sought to facilitate a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Northern Ireland. This report provides a brief overview of the continuing peace talks and efforts in Northern Ireland, including the deal reached in February 2010 between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The report also discusses the United States' active support of the Northern Ireland peace process, including the future of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).

This report analyzes various revenue options for deficit reduction and highlights proposals made by the President's Fiscal Commission and the Debt Reduction Task Force.

This report summarizes key issues in domestic public health and medical preparedness and response, and discusses selected federal programs by citing other CRS reports and sources of additional information.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

This report provides background information and presents potential issues (and costs) for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans.

This report discusses the causes of funding gaps and shutdowns of the federal government, processes that are associated with shutdowns, and how agency operations may be affected by shutdowns. The report concludes with a discussion of potential issues for Congress.

"This report reviews the rules and procedures used in the committees of the Texas House of Representatives."

This report discusses the impact of women in Congress and historical information, such as the number and percentage of women in Congress over time, means of entry to Congress, comparisons to international and state legislatures, records for tenure, firsts for women in Congress, women in leadership, and African-American and Asian-Pacific American women in Congress.

This report discusses issues regarding U.S.-Japan economic relations, since the economic condition of each nation can affect the world economy and a U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship could influence economic conditions in other countries. U.S. and Japanese leaders have several options on how to manage their relationship, including stronger reliance on the World Trade Organization; special bilateral negotiating frameworks and agreements; or a free trade agreement.

This report discusses the federal debt increase. The accumulation of federal debt accelerated in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. Rising debt levels, along with continued differences in views of fiscal policy, led to a series of contentious debt limit episodes in recent years.

This report summarizes the provisions of the final rule and describes how it affects current and retired Members and congressional staff. OPM has indicated that Members and congressional staff are still eligible for other health benefits related to federal employment, and these additional health benefits are outlined in this report. This report also discusses Members' and staff's eligibility for Medicare, which does not appear to be affected by the final rule.

This report provides historical and background information that helps explain how Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) has evolved. It focuses solely on changes made to FEHBP through legislative action.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than a decade, college prices have been rising consistently and have continued to rise at a gradual pace after the Stafford loan limit increases were enacted in 2008 and 2009. However, it is difficult to determine if a direct relationship exists between increases in college prices and the Stafford loan limit increases because of the confluence of many other factors that occurred around the time the loan limit increases took effect. Specifically, when the loan limit increases took effect, the nation was in a recession, which created one of the most tumultuous and complex economic environments in recent history. GAO's analysis found that the economic effects of the recession, which affected families' employment, income, and net worth make it difficult to isolate the impact the recession had on students' decisions to borrow money to finance college expenses versus the impact of the loan limit increases. Further, federal, state, and institutional aid available to students also increased significantly around the same time the loan limit increases went into effect. It is difficult to determine the extent to which the increased availability of this financial aid …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "States suspend driver's licenses for a variety of offenses that are not directly related to driving safety. For example, all states have procedures to suspend licenses for child support arrearages. In addition, a majority of states issue suspensions for such offenses as failure to pay court or motor vehicle fines or maintain proper insurance. While recognizing that license suspension can be an effective tool for encouraging compliance with various laws, some policymakers and advocacy groups have raised concerns that certain drivers may face suspension because of their limited ability to meet financial obligations. They have also raised concerns that suspensions make it difficult for some low-income individuals to maintain or find work, and may make it more challenging for them to pay fines or meet child support obligations. Additionally, they have raised concerns that suspensions for nondriving offenses may clog court systems and divert resources to activities that do not improve traffic safety. Although the federal government has a limited role with regard to driver's licenses, federal law promotes nondriving suspensions in two circumstances. First, as a condition of federal funding for their child support enforcement …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Medicare Part D program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), provides a voluntary, outpatient prescription drug benefit for eligible individuals 65 years and older and eligible individuals with disabilities. CMS contracts with private companies--such as health insurance companies and companies that manage pharmacy benefits--to provide Part D prescription drug plans for Medicare beneficiaries. These companies are referred to as Part D sponsors. About 27 million individuals were enrolled in Medicare Part D as of December 2009, and estimated Medicare Part D spending was $51 billion in fiscal year 2009. Because of Medicare's vulnerability to fraud, waste, and abuse, GAO has designated Medicare as a high-risk program. We and HHS's Inspector General have previously reported that the size, nature, and complexity of the Part D program make it a particular risk for fraud, waste, and abuse. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), which established the Part D program, requires all Part D sponsors to have programs to safeguard Part D from fraud, waste, and abuse. CMS is responsible for managing and overseeing …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress asked us to estimate the effect on Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act) funding to urban areas if the stop-loss provision applicable in fiscal year 2010 was applied to funding for 2011 under a continuing resolution. The CARE Act, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), was enacted to address the needs of jurisdictions, health care providers, and people with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). In October 2009, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (RWTEA) reauthorized CARE Act programs for fiscal years 2010 through 2013. Under the CARE Act, funding for urban areas--eligible metropolitan areas (EMA) and transitional grant areas (TGA)--is primarily provided through three categories of grants: (1) formula grants that are awarded based on the case counts of people with HIV/AIDS in an urban area; (2) supplemental grants that are awarded on a competitive basis based on an urban area's demonstration of need, including criteria such as HIV/AIDS prevalence; and (3) Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) grants, which are awarded for urban areas to address disparities in access, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in four Americans lives within 3 miles of a contaminated site, many of which pose serious risks to human health and the environment. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) provided the federal government with authority to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances and created a trust fund to provide for certain cleanup activities. Under CERCLA, EPA established the Superfund program to address the threats that contaminated sites pose. Although EPA has paid for the cleanup of many of these sites through the Superfund program, funding for these cleanups has diminished in recent years. In 2010, we reported that EPA's estimated costs to clean up existing contaminated sites exceed the Superfund program's current funding levels and that some sites have not received sufficient funding for cleanup to proceed in the most cost-efficient manner. Additionally, in July 2009, we reported that EPA does not collect sufficient information on the cost of cleanup activities at Superfund sites and recommended, among other things, that EPA assess and improve the data it collects on the status and …

This report provides background on the pre-Section 1206 status of security assistance authorities and the factors contributing to the enactment of Section 1206, which provides the Secretary of Defense with authority to train and equip foreign military forces and foreign maritime security forces. It then sets out the purposes of the legislation and scope of its activities, restrictions on its use, the DOD-State Department planning process, and funding. It concludes with a discussion of issues for Congress.