A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1992, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations showing federal deficits and debt under different sets of assumptions. GAO developed its long-term model in response to a bipartisan request from members of Congress concerned about the long-term effects of fiscal policy. GAO's simulations provide context for consideration of policy options. They are not intended to suggest particular policy choices but rather to help facilitate a dialogue on this important issue. GAO regularly updates its simulations as new data become available from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Social Security and Medicare Trustees (Trustees). This update incorporates provisions of the Budget Control Act. As in the past, GAO shows two simulations: The Baseline Extended simulation follows CBO's August 2011 baseline for the first 10 years and then holds revenue and spending other than interest on the debt and large entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) constant as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). Revenue as a share of GDP over the entire period is higher than the historical averages; discretionary spending is below average. In the Alternative simulation, expiring tax provisions other than the temporary …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has emerged as a serious concern among U.S. forces serving in military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The widespread use of improvised explosive devices in these conflicts increases the likelihood that servicemembers will sustain a TBI, which the Department of Defense (DOD) defines as a traumatically induced structural injury and/or physiological disruption of brain function as a result of an external force. TBI cases within DOD are generally classified as mild, moderate, severe, or penetrating. From 2000 to March 2011 there were a total of 212,742 TBI cases reported by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center within DOD. A majority of these cases, 163,181, were classified as mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI)--commonly referred to as concussions. Early detection of injury is critical in TBI patient management. Diagnosis of moderate and severe TBI usually occurs in a timely manner due to the obvious and visible nature of the head injury. Identification of mTBI presents a challenge due to its less obvious nature. With mTBI, there may be no observable head injury. In addition, in the combat theater, an mTBI may not be identified …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a public housing authority is required to reimburse a political subdivision that furnishes improvements, services, or facilities for a housing project (RQ-0966-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a prosecutor must obtain the approval of the presiding judge before advancing funds for travel expenses to a nonresident witness (RQ-0969-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the Medicaid and Public Assistance Fraud Oversight Task Force is an “advisory committee” within the meaning of chapter 2110 of the Government Code (RQ-0971-GA)