According to foreign media reports, the U.S. Treasury Department said it will expand the use of special accounting measures to avoid exceeding the federal debt ceiling that was re-entered earlier this month. Acting Treasury Secretary David Lebryk notified congressional leaders of the move in a Jan. 23 letter. The new move is in addition to measures recommended by former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week. Lebryk said that as of Thursday, the Treasury Department was no longer able to fully invest in the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees Retirement System's Thrift Savings Plan, a defined-contribution retirement fund for federal employees. "Once the debt limit is increased or suspended, the fund will be compensated," he said. (Golden Ten)