Report that provides background information on Turkey and discusses possible policy options for Members of Congress and the Obama Administration.

Report that discusses the federal minimum wage which is not indexed to the price level.

Report that examines Georgia's efforts to democratize and bolster its free market economy, U.S. policy and assistance, basic facts, and biographical information.

Report that describes the Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246, "2008 farm bill"), the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which was enacted into law on June 18, 2008. It discusses the most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) "baseline" budget (May 2013

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The anthrax attacks of 2001 and more recent national reports have raised concerns that the United States is vulnerable to attacks with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents. Because of the potential consequences of such attacks, members of Congress have expressed the need for the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to coordinate in assessing risks posed by CBRN agents. GAO was asked to examine how DHS and HHS coordinate on the development of CBRN risk assessments and the extent to which they have institutionalized such efforts. GAO examined relevant laws, presidential directives, collaboration best practices, and internal control standards; analyzed DHS and HHS CBRN risk assessments; and interviewed DHS and HHS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A growing number of older Americans are choosing continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) to help ensure that their finances in retirement will cover the cost of housing and care they may require. However, recent economic conditions have placed financial stress on some CCRCs. GAO was asked to (1) describe how CCRCs operate and the risks they face, (2) describe how state laws address these risks, (3) describe risks that CCRC residents face, and (4) describe how state laws address these risks. To review these areas, GAO analyzed state statutory provisions pertaining to CCRCs with respect to financial oversight and consumer protection, met with selected state regulators, and interviewed CCRC providers, resident's associations, and consumer groups. While GAO is not recommending specific action at this time, the potential risks to CCRC residents--as well as the potential for this industry to grow--highlight the importance of states being vigilant in their efforts to help ensure adequate consumer protections for residents. GAO provided a draft copy of this report to the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for review, but neither commented on …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal judiciary and the General Services Administration (GSA) are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction initiative, which has since faced rising construction costs. As requested, for 33 federal courthouses completed since 2000, GAO examined (1) whether they contain extra space and any costs related to it; (2) how their actual size compares with the congressionally authorized size; (3) how their space based on the judiciary's 10-year estimates of judges compares with the actual number of judges; and (4) whether the level of courtroom sharing supported by the judiciary's data could have changed the amount of space needed in these courthouses. GAO analyzed courthouse planning and use data, visited courthouses, modeled courtroom sharing scenarios, and interviewed judges, GSA officials, and other experts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO first identified the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Personnel Security Clearance Program as a high-risk area, DOD, in conjunction with Congress and executive agency leadership, took actions that resulted in significant progress toward improving the processing of security clearances. Congress held more than 14 oversight hearings to help oversee key legislation, such as the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which helped focus attention and sustain momentum of the governmentwide reform effort. In addition, the committed and collaborative efforts of DOD, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as leaders of the Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council (Performance Accountability Council) demonstrated commitment to and created a vision for the reform effort, which led to significant improvements in the timeliness of processing security clearances. As a result, in 2011, GAO removed DOD’s Personnel Security Clearance Program from its high-risk list because of the agency’s progress in improving timeliness, development of tools and metrics to assess quality, and commitment to sustaining progress. Specifically, GAO found that DOD met the 60-day statutory …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Senate report to accompany the 2011 Defense authorization bill directed GAO to assess the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of cash incentives to recruit and retain highly qualified individuals for service in the armed forces. This report (1) identifies recent trends in DOD's use of enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, (2) assesses the extent to which the services have processes to determine which occupational specialties require bonuses and whether bonus amounts are optimally set, and (3) determines how much flexibility DOD has in managing selected special and incentive pays for officer and enlisted personnel. GAO analyzed service data on bonuses and special and incentive pays, reviewed relevant guidance and other documentation from DOD and the services, interviewed DOD and service officials, and observed two working groups that were determining bonus amounts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) manages and secures the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, with annual appropriations of about $6.4 billion. NNSA oversees eight contractor-operated sites that execute its programs. Two programs make up almost one-third of this budget: Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (RTBF) Operations of Facilities, which operates and maintains weapons facilities and infrastructure, and Stockpile Services, which provides research and development (R&D) and production capabilities. Consistent with cost accounting standards, each site has established practices to account for these activities. The Administration has recently committed to stockpile reductions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which NNSA's budget justifications for (1) RTBF Operations of Facilities and (2) Stockpile Services are based on the total costs of providing these capabilities. GAO was also asked to discuss the implications, if any, of a smaller stockpile on these costs. To carry out its work, GAO analyzed NNSA's and its contractors' data using a data collection instrument; reviewed policies, plans, and budgets; and interviewed officials."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2010, we issued our report on the results of our audit of the financial statements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as of, and for the fiscal years ending, September 30, 2010, and 2009, and on the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2010. We also reported our conclusions on IRS's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations and on whether IRS's financial management systems substantially comply with the requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996. In March 2011, we issued a report on information security issues identified during our fiscal year 2010 audit, along with associated recommendations for corrective actions. The purpose of this report is to present internal control issues identified during our audit of IRS's fiscal year 2010 financial statements for which we do not already have any recommendations outstanding. While two of these issues contributed to a significant deficiency in internal control discussed in our report on the results of our fiscal year 2010 financial statement audit, they all warrant IRS management's attention. This report provides 29 recommendations to address the internal …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Missing children who are not found quickly are at an increased risk of victimization. The National Child Search Assistance Act, as amended, requires that within 2 hours of receiving a missing child report, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) enter the report into the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a clearinghouse of information instantly available to LEAs nationwide. DOJ's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), the CJIS Advisory Policy Board (the Board), and state criminal justice agencies share responsibility for overseeing this requirement. As requested, GAO examined (1) CJIS's and the Board's efforts to implement and monitor compliance with the requirement; and (2) selected LEA-reported challenges with timely entry and DOJ's actions to assist LEAs in addressing them. GAO reviewed documents, such as agency guidelines, and interviewed officials from DOJ, six state criminal justice agencies, and nine LEAs selected in part based on missing children rates. The results are not generalizable to all states and LEAs, but provided insights on this issue."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Projects that received credit assistance through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT), tend to be large, high-cost highway projects. As of April 2012, DOT has executed 27 TIFIA credit agreements for 26 projects with project sponsors such as state DOTs and transit agencies. Overall, DOT has provided nearly $9.1 billion in credit assistance through 26 loans and one loan guarantee. By mode, there are 17 highway, 5 transit, and 4 intermodal projects. Most projects have a total cost of over $1 billion. DOT monitors individual credit agreements but does not systematically assess whether its TIFIA portfolio as a whole is achieving the program’s goals of leveraging federal funds and encouraging private co-investment. DOT has identified goals and objectives for the TIFIA program, but its limited use of performance measures makes it difficult to determine the degree to which the program is meeting these goals and objectives. Given that DOT already collects project data, it could use these data to better evaluate the program’s overall progress toward meeting its goals."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's campus recruitment program. As an organization committed to having a high-performing, diverse workforce, GAO places great importance on attracting, hiring, training, and retaining employees with the skills needed to support GAO's mission to serve Congress and the American public. GAO has a multi-disciplinary workforce, with most staff having backgrounds in public policy, public administration, law, business, computer science, accounting, social sciences, or economics. While our current and future hiring will be shaped by today's constrained budget environment, over the past 5 years, on average, GAO has hired about 300 employees each year. The majority of these hires were for analyst and analyst-related positions at the entry level. GAO also has a robust paid student intern program each year. Many of these interns return as entry-level analysts. Having a strong campus recruitment program has played a key role in attracting highly qualified candidates for our permanent and intern positions and building our workforce. In response to congressional request, the remarks will focus on (1) the strong partnerships developed through our campus recruitment program, (2) recent actions GAO has taken to enhance the program and the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our recent work on food insecurity among older adults and the nutrition assistance programs available to assist them, including nutrition assistance programs authorized under the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA). This work can help inform government policymakers as they address the needs of one of our nation's most vulnerable populations while ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs given rapidly building fiscal pressures facing our national government. While the economy is still recovering and in need of careful attention, widespread agreement exists on the need to look not only at the near term but also at steps that begin to change the long-term fiscal path as soon as possible without slowing the recovery. Our recent work can help with this by identifying potential inefficiency and overlap among programs. At the same time, there is recognition that the services provided by the OAA can play an important role in helping older adults remain in their homes and communities. As the Congress takes steps to address the fiscal challenge, it will be important that these steps are balanced with efforts to ensure the health and …

Report that addresses the issue of jobs outsourcing by analyzing the extent of direct investment into and out of the economy, the role such investment plays in U.S. trade, jobs, and production, and the relationship between direct investment and the broader economic changes that are occurring in the U.S. economy.

Report that 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.

Agency strategic plan for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards describing the organization's planned services, activities, and other goals during fiscal years 2013 through 2017.

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of four LCSs. Current issues for Congress concerning the LCS program include changes or potential changes to the composition of LCS mission modules announced by the Navy in January 2011, the combat survivability of the LCS, and hull cracking on LCS-1. Congress's decisions on the LCS program could affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the shipbuilding industrial base.

This report examines the history of the Purple Heart award for military service members and changes in eligibility over time. It also discusses current issues facing Congress -- such as whether traumatic brain injuries or PTSD diagnoses should be grounds for receiving the award, and whether those injured or killed assisting others during terror attacks outside their military duties should be eligible.

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. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with the United States and with regional issues.

This report discusses key spectrum policy provisions in the bills, as well as other spectrum policy issues that are being considered in the 112th Congress, such as the role of wholesale networks like that being deployed by LightSquared.

This report looks at why prompt global strike (PGS) missiles are beneficial to the U.S., and how they can help contribute to a conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) mission.

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. CSBG was last reauthorized in 1998, although and related programs have been funded by Congressional approval since then.