The discovery of antibiotics in the early 20th century fundamentally transformed human and veterinary medicine. Antibiotics now save millions of lives each year in the United States and around the world. The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, however, represents a serious threat to public health and the economy. The CDC estimates that annually at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the United States alone. As more strains of bacteria become resistant to an ever-larger number of antibiotics, our drug choices will become...

Since the first censuses were taken and crop yields recorded in ancient times, data collection and analysis have been essential to improving the functioning of society. Foundational work in calculus, probability theory, and statistics in the 17th and 18th centuries provided an array of new tools used by scientists to more precisely predict the movements of the sun and stars and determine population-wide rates of crime, marriage, and suicide. These tools often led to stunning advances. In the 1800s, Dr. John Snow used early modern data science to map cholera "clusters" in London. By tracing to...

This book is the second biennial summary and progress report requested by the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 (FOARAM Act). The FOARAM Act specifies that the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) shall transmit a biennial report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives that includes: (A.) a summary of Federally funded ocean acidification research and monitoring activities, including the budget for each...

Since the signing of Executive Order 13515, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (Initiative) engaged 23 Federal departments and agencies to focus on the unmet needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Each of the Federal agencies began reviewing and assessing their programs and services in August 2010, compiling data relevant to AAPIs and soliciting input from the AAPI community and the President's Advisory Commission on AAPIs. The cross-departmental efforts were coordinated through an Interagency Working Group, co-chaired by Commerce Secretary...

Over the past eight years, President Bush has set clear guiding principles, and applied those principles to confront great challenges at home and abroad. These are the highlights of the accomplishments from the Administration of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney. "I've been witness to the character of the people of America, who have shown calm in times of danger, compassion for one another, and toughness for the long haul. All of us have been partners in a great enterprise." President George W. Bush

The President considers the government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes a lasting covenant to be nourished and strengthened. To this end, engagement, consultation, and interagency collaboration are critical to supporting tribes in building stronger tribal communities. In 2013, the White House Tribal Nations Conference focused on the newly established White House Council on Native American Affairs. The Council is responsible for coordinating the U.S. government's engagement and partnership with tribes in order to promote more prosperous and resilient Native American communities....

The goal of this National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security is as simple as it is profound: to empower half the world's population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence, and insecurity. Achieving this goal is critical to our national and global security. Deadly conflicts can be more effectively avoided, and peace can be best forged and sustained, when women become equal partners in all aspects of peace-building and conflict prevention, when their lives are protected, their experiences considered, and their...

The United States must renew its leadership in the world by building and cultivating the sources of our strength and influence. Our national security depends upon America's ability to leverage our unique national attributes, just as global security depends upon strong and responsible American leadership. That includes our military might, economic competitiveness, moral leadership, global engagement, and efforts to shape an international system that serves the mutual interests of nations and peoples. For the world has changed at an extraordinary pace, and the United States must adapt to...