This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also include American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.

Sovereign debt, also called public debt or government debt, refers to debt incurred by governments. Since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, public debt in advanced economies has increased substantially. A number of factors related to the financial crisis have fueled the increase, including fiscal stimulus packages, the nationalization of private-sector debt, and lower tax revenue. Even if economic growth reverses some of these trends, such as by boosting tax receipts and reducing spending on government programs, aging populations in advanced economies are expected to strain government debt levels in coming years.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to senior State officials, the overarching U.S. policy goal in Yemen is to create a stable and secure state. To achieve that goal, the U.S. assistance strategy has for years included both a security element focused on counterterrorism activities and a civilian element focused on development activities. In 2009, in response to the increasing economic, social, and political challenges facing Yemen, the U.S. government undertook a comprehensive review of its policy toward Yemen. This review led to a whole-of-government strategy that still includes both security and civilian assistance, but that, according to U.S. officials, is more integrated than in prior years. The strategy seeks to simultaneously address security needs as well as the underlying economic, social, and political grievances that can lead to violent extremism. U.S. officials told us that assistance activities under this strategy have had to adjust to the changing security situation on the ground. Further, officials told us they have recently begun reviewing the strategy itself in light of the political changes under way in Yemen."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Deepwater Horizon incident, the oil and gas industry has improved its capabilities to respond to a subsea well blowout—the uncontrolled release of oil or gas from a well on the ocean floor—in the Gulf of Mexico. In particular, operators have formed two new not-for-profit organizations that can quickly make available well containment equipment, services, and expertise. Among the equipment that these organizations can provide are capping stacks—devices used to stop the flow of oil or gas from a well. This improved well containment response equipment consists primarily of existing technologies that have been modified to support well containment, according to industry representatives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Even though FDA met all medical device performance goals for 510(k)s, the elapsed time from submission to final decision has increased substantially in recent years. This time to final decision includes the days FDA spends reviewing a submission as well as the days FDA spends waiting for a device sponsor to submit additional information in response to a request by the agency. FDA review time excludes this waiting time, and FDA review time alone is used to determine whether the agency met its performance goals. Each fiscal year since FY 2005 (the first year that 510(k) performance goals were in place), FDA has reviewed over 90 percent of 510(k) submissions within 90 days, thus meeting the first of two 510(k) performance goals. FDA also met the second goal for all 3 fiscal years it was in place by reviewing at least 98 percent of 510(k) submissions within 150 days. Although FDA has not yet completed reviewing all of the FY 2011 submissions, the agency was exceeding both of these performance goals for those submissions on which it had taken action. Although FDA review time decreased slightly …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While the most recent national data show instruction time for PE decreased from 2000 to 2006, officials GAO interviewed stated that school sports opportunities have generally increased in recent years. Specifically, the percentage of schools that offered PE at least 3 days a week decreased from 2000 to 2006, but the percentage of schools that required students in each grade to take some PE increased during the same period. For example, the estimated percentage of schools that required PE in ninth grade increased from 13 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2006. Moreover, states, districts, and schools appear to have increased emphasis on the quality of PE programs, such as helping students develop lifelong fitness skills, according to national data and GAO interviews. Data on high school students show that participation in PE varies by grade level but not by gender or across racial groups. In addition, most state, district, and school officials GAO interviewed said opportunities to participate in interscholastic sports have increased, particularly for girls, and that many schools have responded to increased demand by adding new sports teams over the last few …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "AHRQ used its standard, competitive review processes and criteria to select the recipients of CER grants and contracts using Recovery Act funds. Specifically, to select the recipients of Recovery Act CER grants, AHRQ used its standard review process that includes peer review of grant applications, the development of funding recommendations by a team of senior officials within AHRQ, and final funding determination by the agency’s director. As part of this process, AHRQ used its standard criteria to evaluate grant applications, as well as additional requirements that were specific to each funding opportunity. To select contractors who would receive Recovery Act funds, AHRQ used its standard contracting processes and criteria that are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which establishes uniform policies for acquisition of supplies and services by executive agencies, and the Public Health Service Act. These processes included an evaluation of all contract proposals using standard criteria adapted to the specific needs of each project. Between February 2009 and September 2010, AHRQ awarded $311 million of its $474 million in Recovery Act CER funds through 110 grants. AHRQ also awarded $161 million of its Recovery …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO identified 23 community development tax expenditures available in fiscal year 2010. For example, five ($1.5 billion) targeted economically distressed areas, and nine ($8.7 billion) supported specific activities such as rehabilitating structures for business use. The design of each community development tax expenditure appears to overlap with that of at least one other tax expenditure in terms of the areas or activities funded. Federal tax laws and regulations permit use of multiple tax expenditures or tax expenditures with other federal spending programs, but often with limits. For instance, employers cannot claim more than one employment tax credit for the same wages paid to an individual. Besides IRS, administering many community development tax expenditures involves other federal agencies as well as state and local governments. For example, the National Park Service oversees preservation standards for the 20 percent historic rehabilitation tax credit. Fragmented administration and program overlap can result in administrative burden, such as applications to multiple federal agencies to fund the needs of a distressed area or finance a specific."

Memorandum containing replacement pages for the 2011 fiscal year combined financial report for the University of North Texas System, with a summary of the changes at the start.

This report serves as a primer on the EU and provides a brief description of U.S.-EU relations. It also discusses about how EU works, how EU is governed and Eurozone crisis.

This report is categorized into four categories: (I) Background: Congress and Performance, (II) GPRAMA's Products and Processes, (III) Viewing the Products and Processes Together and (IV) Potential Implications and Issues for Congress.

This report provides a brief overview of some of the trade and finance issues that may come before the second session of the 114th Congress.