What’s the Difference?—Comparing U.S. and Chinese Trade Data

"The size of the U.S. bilateral trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China (China) has been and continues to be an important issue in bilateral trade relations. President Trump and some Members of Congress view the deficit as a sign of unfair economic policies in China. In the 116 th Congress, the Fair Trade with China Enforcement Act (H.R. 704 and S. 2) and the United States Reciprocal Trade Act (H.R. 764) mention U.S. trade deficits as a reason for the proposed legislation.

The escalation of the Sino-U.S. trade tensions and both sides’ imposition of tariffs on one anothers’ trade since spring 2018 contributed to a significant decline in bilateral merchandise trade in 2019, and the corresponding merchandise trade balance. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the 2019 bilateral merchandise trade deficit with China was $345.6 billion, down from $419.2 billion in 2018. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, China’s trade surplus with the United States in 2019 was $295.5 billion, a decline of $27.9 billion from 2018. The difference between the officially reported trade balances of the two nations was less than $55 billion for the first time in 20 years.

This report examines the differences in the trade data reported by the Chinese and U.S. governments in two ways. First, it compares the trade figures using the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) to discern any patterns in the discrepancies between the U.S. and Chinese data. This comparison reveals that 96% of the difference in the value of China’s exports to the United States in 2019 arises primarily from differences in the reported values for four types of goods. Those four types of goods, in order of the size of the discrepancy, were electrical machinery, toys and sporting goods, machinery, and footwear; all four have been major sources of the discrepancy for over a decade."
Trade data

Physical Activity for People with Disability

"Physical Activity for People with Disability

Everybody needs physical activity for good health. However, less than half of U.S adults with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs (mobility disability) report engaging in aerobic physical activity.¹ For those who are active, walking is the most common physical activity.¹ Yet, adults with disabilities report more environmental barriers for walking than those without disabilities.² Here are some ways that people with disabilities can stay active and healthy.

Physical activity plays an important role in maintaining health, well-being, and quality of life. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd editionpdf iconexternal icon, physical activity can help control weight, improve mental health, and lower the risk for early death, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Physical activity can also improve mental health by reducing depression and anxiety. For people with disabilities, physical activity can help support daily living activities and independence.

Any amount of physical activity that gets your heart beating faster can improve your health. Some activity is better than none. For even greater health benefits, the Guidelines recommend that all adults, with or without disabilities, get at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of aerobic physical activity per week. Activities can be broken down into smaller amounts, such as about 25 minutes a day every day. Muscle-strengthening activities, such as adapted yoga or working with resistance bands, provide additional health benefits..."
Exercise and disability

Fruit and Vegetable Safety

"Eating a diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables gives important health benefits. But it’s important to select and prepare them safely.

Fruits and vegetables add nutrients to your diet that help protect you from heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. In addition, choosing vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other produce over high-calorie foods can help you manage your weight.

But sometimes raw fruits and vegetables contain harmful germs that can make you and your family sick, such as Salmonella , E. coli, and Listeria, CDC estimates that germs on fresh produce cause a large percentage of U.S. foodborne illnesses.

The safest produce is cooked; the next safest is washed. Enjoy uncooked fruits and vegetables while taking steps to avoid foodborne illness, also known as food poisoning.

At the store or market:

• Choose produce that isn’t bruised or damaged.
• Keep pre-cut fruits and vegetables cold by choosing produce that is refrigerated or kept on ice.
• Separate fruits and vegetables from raw meat, poultry, and seafood in your shopping cart and in your grocery bags.

At home:

• Wash your hands, kitchen utensils, and food preparation surfaces, including chopping boards and countertops, before and after preparing fruits and vegetables.
• Clean fruits and vegetablesexternal icon before eating, cutting, or cooking, unless the package says the contents have been washed.
  • Wash or scrub fruits and vegetables under running water—even if you do not plan to eat the peel. Germs on the peeling or skin can get inside fruits and vegetables when you cut them.
  • Cut away any damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating.
  • Dry fruit or vegetables with a clean paper towel.
• Keep fruits and vegetables separate from raw foods that come from animals, such as meat, poultry, and seafood.
• Refrigerate fruits and vegetables within 2 hours after you cut, peel, or cook them (or 1 hour if the outside temperature is 90°or warmer). Chill them at 40°F or colder in a clean container..."
  Fruits and vegetables

Stay Safe and Healthy in Your Backyard Pool

"COVID-19 and pools

There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas. Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine and bromine) of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water. Limit close contact with people who are not part of your household both in and out of the water. Get more information about COVID-19 and water.

Having a backyard pool can be a fun way for you and your family to be active at home or just relax. However, it is important to know what to do to reduce the risk of injury and illness. Keep your backyard pool safe and healthy to maximize all the health benefits that swimming can bring.

Take Steps to Prevent Drowning

Drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death in young children 1–4 years old, but there are things you can do to prevent drowning from happening in your pool:

• Make sure everyone has basic swim skills and water safety awareness.
• Use U.S. Coast Guard–approved life jackets as directed.
• Provide continuous and close supervision to swimmers.
• Know how to recognize and respond to a swimmer in distress and how to perform CPR.
• Prevent access to the water when the pool is not in use.
  • Install and maintain barriers such as four-sided fencing.
  • Use locks/alarms for windows and doors..."
    Backyard pool

What Employers Should Know About New Paid Leave Requirements

"The new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ensures that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the coronavirus, while at the same time helping small- and medium-sized businesses provide paid leave during the coronavirus pandemic that’s reimbursed dollar for dollar.

The law requires most private employers (including nonprofits) that have fewer than 500 employees to provide paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specific reasons related to COVID-19. These employers will be reimbursed for the cost of providing paid leave through tax credits.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. Here’s what employers should know about the law, and resources to help them comply.

Requirements

Covered employers must provide to all employees:**

Paid sick leave up to two weeks or 80 hours at the employees’ regular rate of pay or the minimum wage (whichever is higher),* if one of these scenarios applies:**

• They are under a government quarantine or stay-at-home order.
• They have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine.
• They are seeking a diagnosis for COVID-19 symptoms.

Paid sick leave up to two weeks or 80 hours at 2/3 of the employees’ regular rate of pay or the minimum wage (whichever is higher),* if either scenario applies:**

• They are caring for somebody under a government quarantine or stay-at-home order, or who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine.
• They are caring for their child whose school, child care provider, or place of care is unavailable due to COVID-19..."
  Paid leave

How COVID-19 Spreads

"COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person. Some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus. We are still learning about how the virus spreads and the severity of illness it causes.

Person-to-person spread

The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.
• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
• COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.

The virus spreads easily between people

How easily a virus spreads from person-to-person can vary. Some viruses are highly contagious, like measles, while other viruses do not spread as easily. Another factor is whether the spread is sustained, which means it goes from person-to-person without stopping.

The virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading very easily and sustainably between people. Information from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic suggest that this virus is spreading more efficiently than influenza, but not as efficiently as measles, which is highly contagious.

The virus may be spread in other ways

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about how this virus spreads..."
COVID-19 Spread

COVID-19 & Libraries: Your Questions Answered

[Demco Ideas & Inspiration]
"With all the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder you have questions about how to reopen your library and expand your services safely.

To help you plan, we asked pediatrician and librarian Dr. Dipesh Navsaria to address your biggest concerns, including how to quarantine books, what protective measures are effective, how to serve vulnerable populations, and more.

Read his responses to your questions below to learn what you need to think about to keep staff, students, and patrons safe, and watch his full presentation on-demand at “COVID-19: Safety Tips for Reopening Your Library.”

Schools and Libraries

Q: How long does the virus live on materials (paperbacks, books with Mylar covers, DVD cases, etc.)? There are conflicting sources on the matter.

A: We don’t know for sure since there is really a very limited number of studies on this. However, we have more information about respiratory viruses in general. Here’s a really good discussion (that also links to the one key study on this particular virus) on the subject that I think will provide important context. I talk about this in the webinar at 29:29.

Q: Should books be quarantined when they come back from homes? If so, what is the best way to quarantine books that come back from patrons’ or students’ homes? 

A: See above. You could quarantine for a long period of time (“long” meaning 7–14 days) if that’s feasible, but a better idea might be to do a combination of brief quarantine (72 hours, perhaps?) with a wipe-down of the covers. Until we have better data on longevity of the virus, the quarantine will reduce the risk that a contaminated book will pose a threat to staff or other patrons..."
COVID-19 and libraries

Considering the Source: Varieties of COVID-19 Information

"Introduction In common parlance, the terms propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation are often used interchangeably, often with connotations of deliberate untruths of nefarious origin. In a national security context, however, these terms refer to categories of information that are created and disseminated with different intent and serve different strategic purposes. This primer examines these categories to create a framework for understanding the national security implications of information related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Categories of Information

Propaganda Definition
There is no commonly accepted definition for what constitutes propaganda. To some, it connotes the spread of false information from a governmental source, intended to have persuasive effects. For others, propaganda is merely any promotional material related to organizations both public and commercial. For purposes of this discussion, propaganda is defined as the intentional propagation of an idea or narrative in order to influence and persuade a target audience. Although it may contain factual information, propaganda is intended to persuade rather than merely to inform. By this definition, an organization or government communicating its intent, policies, and values through speeches, press releases, and other public affairs can be considered propaganda. Some forms of propaganda present selective information that is intended to manage perceptions of the truth. Other forms may be unverifiable rhetorical devices, such as slogans, illustrations, editorials, and opinion pieces that lack factual content. These communications can create perceptions that affect behavior and steer decisionmakers toward a certain course of action..."
COVID-19 information source

CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again

"This document briefly summarizes CDC’s initiatives, activities, and tools in support of the Whole-of Government response to COVID-19.

Overview of CDC’s Surveillance and Control Goals and Activities

The principal objectives of COVID-19 surveillance are to monitor the spread and intensity of the pandemic, to enable contact tracing to slow transmission, and to identify disease clusters requiring special intervention. Secondary objectives include understanding the severity and spectrum of disease, identifying risk factors for and methods of preventing infection, and producing data essential for forecasting. In addition to tracking the disease itself, monitoring of healthcare capacity and essential supplies through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is critical to ensure adequacy of care.

Because no single system can capture all parameters of the pandemic, CDC has implemented multiple, complementary surveillance systems (Appendix A). Key systems are case-based reporting through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS), laboratory-based surveillance, syndromic-surveillance data reported through the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP), and data on healthcare system capacity reported through the NHSN (Appendix B). Additional systems, such as COVID-Net, provide rich, publicly available information for meeting secondary objectives. CDC continues to explore emerging and experimental surveillance platforms with a critical eye toward proven utility..."
CDC plan to reopen America

Legal Issues Related to the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Overview

"The COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly shifted the congressional agenda in recent weeks, while altering the daily lives of millions of American residents. Alongside the many medical, economic, social, and public policy questions raised by the pandemic are a range of legal issues. These include both short-term legal questions related to the unfolding outbreak as well as longer-term legal issues that are anticipated to persist in the wake of the crisis. Among the most immediate questions are those related to the scope of state and federal authorities concerning quarantine measures, travel and entry restrictions, the movement of medical goods, health care coverage, and the like. Of more ongoing concern may be legal issues ranging from those related to the development of vaccines, testing, treatments, and other medicalcountermeasures, to postponing national elections, to civil liability for COVID-19 exposure, to criminalactions related to hoarding and price gouging, to providing economic assistance to individuals and businesses, to foreclosure, eviction, and debt collection moratoria.

This Legal Sidebar provides a list of legal resources discussing these and other legal topic.."
COVID-19 and legal issues

Let’s Prevent Traumatic Brain Injury

"About 150 Americans die from TBI-related injuries each day.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by

• A bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or
• A penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain.

TBI is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to about 30% of all injury deaths. Those who survive TBI can face effects lasting a few days to disabilities that last the rest of their lives.

Effects of TBI can include:

• Impaired thinking or memory,
• Impaired movement,
• Impaired sensations, for example vision or hearing, or
• Emotional changes, for example personality changes or depression.

These issues can affect individuals and have lasting effects on families and communities..."
Traumatic brain injury

How Social Security Benefits Are Computed: In Brief

"Social Security, the largest program in the federal budget (in terms of outlays), provides monthly cash benefits to retired or disabled workers and their family members as well as to the family members of deceased workers. In 2019, benefit outlays were approximately $1,048 billion, with roughly 64 million beneficiaries and 178 million workers in Social Security-covered employment. Under current law, Social Security’s revenues are projected to be insufficient to pay full scheduled benefits after 2035.

Monthly benefit amounts are determined by federal law. Social Security is of ongoing interest both because of its role in supporting a large portion of the population and because of its longterm financial imbalance, and policymakers have considered numerous proposals to change its benefit computation rules.

The Social Security benefits that are paid to worker beneficiaries and to workers’ dependents and survivors are based on workers’ past earnings. The computation process involves three main steps

 First, a summarized measure of lifetime earnings is computed. That measure is called the average indexed monthly earnings (AIME).

 Second, a benefit formula is applied to the AIME to compute the primary insurance amount (PIA). The benefit formula is progressive. As a result, workers with higher AIMEs receive higher Social Security benefits, but the benefits received by people with lower earnings replace a larger share of past earnings.

 Third, an adjustment may be made based on the age at which a beneficiary chooses to begin receiving payments. For retired workers who claim benefits at the full retirement age (FRA) and for disabled workers, the monthly benefit equals the PIA. Retired workers who claim earlier receive lower monthly benefits, and those who claim later receive higher benefits..."
Social Security Benefits

Congressionally Mandated Reports: Overview and Considerations for Congress

"Congress frequently requires the President, departments, agencies, and other entities of the federal government to transmit reports, notifications, studies, and other information on a specified timeline. Reporting requirements may direct agency officials to notify Congress or its committees of forthcoming actions or decisions, describe actions taken on a particular matter, establish a plan to accomplish a specified goal, or study a certain problem or concern.

Reporting requirements may be designed to serve a range of purposes that facilitate congressional oversight of the executive branch and inform congressional decisionmaking. Required reports may help legislators monitor executive activity, ensure compliance with legislative intent, focus agency attention on matters of importance to Congress, and assess the effectiveness of existing programs and policies. Certain reports on complex or emerging issues may also help originate or inform legislative proposals.

This report discusses the potential benefits and challenges of reporting requirements, and analyzes a number of statutory reporting requirements enacted during the 115th Congress. (Patterns gleaned from these data may not be generalizable to requirements enacted in other years.) This report analyzes features common to legislative language establishing reporting requirements.."
Congressionally Mandated Reports

Dramatic increase in Hepatitis C

"Overview

Hepatitis C is increasing dramatically in the United States, particularly among younger adults, and 4 in 10 people don’t even know they have it. Hepatitis C is usually spread through blood, often from injection drug use. Less commonly, hepatitis C is spread through sex or from an infected mother to her infant during pregnancy or childbirth. An acute infection develops when someone is first infected. Some people clear the virus, but most people with acute hepatitis C will develop a long-term (chronic) infection. Left untreated, chronic hepatitis C can cause severe liver damage, liver cancer, and even death. But hepatitis C is curable. The first step to being cured is getting a hepatitis C blood test. CDC now recommends testing:

• Every adult at least once
• Pregnant women during every pregnancy
• Everyone with ongoing risk factors regularly.."
  Hepatitis C

COVID-19 and China: A Chronology of Events (December 2019-January 2020)

"In Congress, multiple bills and resolutions have been introduced related to China’s handling of a novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, that expanded to become the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. This report provides a timeline of key developments in the early weeks of the pandemic, based on available public reporting. It also considers issues raised by the timeline, including the timeliness of China’s information sharing with the World Health Organization (WHO), gaps in early information China shared with the world, and episodes in which Chinese authorities sought to discipline those who publicly shared information about aspects of the epidemic. Prior to January 20, 2020—the day Chinese authorities acknowledged person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus—the public record provides little indication that China’s top leaders saw containment of the epidemic as a high priority. Thereafter, however, Chinese authorities appear to have taken aggressive measures to contain the virus.

The Appendix includes a concise version of the timeline. A condensed version is below:

Late December: Hospitals in Wuhan, China, identify cases of pneumonia of unknown origin..."
COVID-19 and China