This report looks at Kuwait's relationships with its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and its own political system which has been in turmoil since 2006.

Report that summarizes major immigration reform provisions of S. 744, as passed by the Senate.

Much of the debate over U.S. policy toward Iran has centered on the nature of the current regime; some believe that Iran, a country of about 70 million people, is a threat to U.S. interests because hardliners in Iran's regime dominate and set a policy direction intended to challenge U.S. influence and allies in the region. President George W. Bush, in his January 29, 2002, State of the Union message, labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea. This report discusses how the Obama Administration differs from the Bush Administration regarding strategy in Iran relations. This report also discusses the current political state of Iran, including incidents of violence and unrest.

This report discusses the qualifications required to hold the office of U.S. Senator or Representative to Congress that are established and set out within the U.S. Constitution.

This report provides both an in-depth description of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, an analysis of its economic impact, and an overview of various policy options.

This report will outline the Department of Defense's (DOD) defense acquisition structure, discuss recent major reports addressing defense acquisition, and consider recent DOD efforts to improve how the department acquires weapon systems. This report also includes a description of recent congressional efforts to reform DOD's acquisition process.

Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), as federal law and a program activity, began in 1997. Congress established a pilot program, which FEMA named "Project Impact," to test the concept of investing prior to disasters to reduce the vulnerability of communities to future disasters. From its beginnings as "Project Impact" to its current state, the PDM program has grown in its level of appropriated resources and the scope of participation nationwide. Along with that growth have come issues for Congressional consideration, including the approach for awarding grant funds, the eligibility of certain applicants, the eligibility of certain projects, the degree of commitment by state and local governments, and related questions. This report discusses PDM, "Project Impact," and related legislative issues that Congress currently faces.

The world has entered a global recession that is causing widespread business contraction, increases in unemployment, and shrinking government revenues. The crisis has exposed fundamental weaknesses in financial systems worldwide, demonstrated how interconnected and interdependent economies are today, and has posed vexing policy dilemmas. This report describes the financial crisis in detail, including various countries' methods of coping with and adapting to the situation; the role of Congress in the solution and recovery process; and the Obama Administration proposal for financial regulatory reform.

In 1993, President Clinton modified the military policy on providing abortions at military medical facilities. Under the change directed by the President, military medical facilities were allowed to perform abortions if paid for entirely with non-Department of Defense (DOD) funds (i.e., privately funded). Over the last three decades, the availability of abortion services at military medical facilities has been subjected to numerous changes and interpretations.

The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents, and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the law, as well as other related legislative and administrative actions.

Stop Loss is a frequently misunderstood DOD force management program that retains servicemembers beyond their contractually agreed-to separation date. Because of the involuntary nature of this extension, some critics have referred to the program as a "backdoor draft" or "involuntary servitude". This report outlines the history of Stop Loss, current issues relating to Stop Loss, and the possible future directions of the program.

The bilateral relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is vitally important, touching on a wide range of areas including, among others, economic policy, security, foreign relations, and human rights. This report addresses relevant policy questions in current U.S.-China relations, discusses trends and key legislation in the current Congress, and provides a chronology of developments and high-level exchanges.

This fact sheet tracks the current heads of government in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It provides the dates of the last and next elections for the head of government and the national independence date for each country.

This report provides an overview of U.S.-Mongolia relations and the politics and economy of Mongolia.

This report addresses a nationwide water pollution problem caused by leaking underground storage tanks (USTs). The report discusses key issue that state resources have not met the demands of administering the underground storage tanks (UST) leak prevention program.

This report identifies and examines historical issues related to the Article V Convention, which allows amendments to be added to the Constitution via Congressional vote or votes by the people.

This report looks at ways that prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), which maintain statewide electronic databases of prescriptions dispensed for controlled substances, can help to deter prescription drug misuse.

The report discusses the international food aid provision (2008 Farm Bill) of U.S. agricultural commodities for emergency relief and economic development. This provision addresses the United States' major response to food security problems in developing countries.

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This report provides an overview on Federal Financial Services Regulatory Consolidation.This provides an overview of the U.S federal financial services regulatory structure.

The Federal False Claims Act provides for the judicial imposition of civil monetary penalties and treble damages for the knowing submission of false claims to the United States Government. This report contains information on the background of the Federal False Claims Act, current False Claims Act provisions, and health care fraud and the False Claims Act.

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This report provides background information on the forces that most likely determine the path of the dollar exchange rate. The report also considers recent events in international markets for goods and assets as well as suggest what implications these forces carry for the state of the U.S. economy and for economic policy.