Their database is composed of Treasury issues, federal agency issues, mortgages, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, money market funds and asset-backed securities.

FORBES: Total Bond Index Funds are Not the Total Bond Market

Members of Congress don't directly have a say in the review of a proposed merger, but they can sway the debate by exposing issues for a federal agency to examine.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The Federal Reserve also continues to reinvest the principal amounts of maturing issues of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities into new agency mortgage-backed securities.

FORBES: Big Bernanke Rally Puts Stocks Into Danger Mode