The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA or “the authority”) was established approximately one month after United States and coalition forces took control of Baghdad in Iraq on April 9, 2003.1 The authority’s mission was “to restore conditions of security and stability, to create conditions in which the Iraqi people can freely determine their own political future, (including by advancing efforts to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative governance) and facilitating economic recovery, sustainable reconstruction and development. This report discusses two views on how the authority was established, reviews selected characteristics of the authority, identifies statutory reporting requirements concerning the authority and the reconstruction of Iraq, and explores several policy issues.

This report discusses socioeconomic characteristics and trends of 242 remote rural counties in seven states of the Great Plains region stretching from Texas to the Dakotas. Appendices provide individual county level data on socioeconomic trends in population, education, employment, and income for the 242 remote counties.

This report discusses the elderly nutrition program of the Older Americans Act which provides grants to state agencies on aging to support congregate and home-delivered meals to persons 60 years and older. Funding and statistics of assistance are also addressed.