Agency strategic plan for the Texas Board of Nursing describing the organization's planned services, activities, and other goals during fiscal years 2013 through 2017.

Strategic plan for the Texas Engineering Extension Service outlining goals, objectives, measures, and other information about working with Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) during fiscal year 2013.

The global and annual mean aerosol direct and indirect effects estimated from Community Earth System Model (CESM) simulations are -0.06 W m-2 and -1.39 W m-2, respectively.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help defray out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for limited or low-income Medicare beneficiaries, the Medicare Part D outpatient prescription drug program offers a low-income subsidy (LIS) for eligible beneficiaries. In 2010, about 9.4 million beneficiaries received the LIS--about 40 percent of the approximately 23 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries in that year. Most of the LIS beneficiaries received the full LIS, thus paying no premiums or deductibles as long as they enrolled in so-called "benchmark" stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDP). Benchmark PDPs are those plans with premiums at or below a specified benchmark for a given geographic region, calculated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program. Full LIS beneficiaries may also enroll in other Part D plans--either nonbenchmark PDPs or Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MAPD)-- but must pay any difference between the premium of the plan in which they choose to enroll and the benchmark for their region. Because plan premiums can change from year to year and because CMS recalculates the premium benchmarks annually, some PDPs may be …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for protecting the Medicare program's fiscal integrity and ensuring that it pays only for those services that are its responsibility. Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) provisions make Medicare a secondary payer to certain group health plans (GHP) and non-group health plans (NGHP), which include auto or other liability insurance, no-fault insurance, and workers' compensation plans. CMS has the right to recover Medicare payments made that should have been the responsibility of another payer, but CMS has not always been aware of these MSP situations. In 2007, Congress added mandatory reporting requirements for GHPs and NGHPs that should enable CMS to be aware of MSP situations. CMS reports that mandatory reporting was pushed back from 2009 to 2011 for some NGHPs and from 2009 to 2012 for others, in part due to concerns raised by the industry. GAO was asked to present background information about the MSP process as it pertains to NGHPs. To do this work, GAO reviewed relevant CMS documentation, including MSP regulations, manuals, and user guides, and conducted an interview with CMS related to mandatory reporting and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony summarizes the findings of our report on funding issues related to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program. To protect human health and the environment from the effects of hazardous substances, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980, which established the Superfund program. Since 1980, EPA has identified more than 47,000 hazardous waste sites potentially requiring cleanup. As of the end of fiscal year 2009, 1,269 of the most seriously contaminated sites were included on EPA's National Priorities List (NPL): 1,111 nonfederal sites and 158 federal facilities. At the time of listing, EPA had determined that these sites posed relatively high risks to human health or the environment from releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, such as lead and polychlorinated biphenyl. These substances can cause a variety of health effects--such as birth defects, cancer, and developmental disorders--in people exposed to them. Of the nonfederal sites listed on the NPL at the end of fiscal year 2009, EPA identified 75 that have "unacceptable human exposure"--actual or reasonably expected exposure of an individual to hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants at levels …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Affordable housing organizations and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) members have raised concerns that a Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) rule limiting excess stock could adversely impact FHLBank earnings. In particular, concerns have been raised regarding the FHLBanks' Affordable Housing Program (AHP), which subsidizes the cost of affordable housing with funds from the 12 FHLBanks, all of whom are required to contribute a minimum of 10 percent of their prior year's net earnings to the program, subject to a minimum annual combined contribution of $100 million. Congress asked us to examine the impact of FHFB's rule making on AHP. Specifically, this report describes (1) the results of FHFB's rule making and the provisions of the final rule on excess stock, and (2) the potential impact of the final rule on AHP."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) differs from other key mortgage industry participants in that it allows borrowers to obtain down-payment assistance from nonprofit organizations (nonprofits) that operate programs supported partly by property sellers. Research has raised concerns about how this type of assistance affects home purchase transactions. To assist Congress in considering issues related to down-payment assistance, this testimony provides information from GAO's November 2005 report, Mortgage Financing: Additional Action Needed to Manage Risks of FHA-Insured Loans with Down Payment Assistance (GAO-06-24). Specifically, this testimony discusses (1) trends in the use of down-payment assistance with FHA-insured loans, (2) the impact that the presence of such assistance has on purchase transactions and house prices, and (3) the influence of such assistance on loan performance."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The judiciary pays over $900 million in rent annually to GSA for court-related space, representing a growing proportion of the judiciary's budget. The judiciary's rent payments are deposited into GSA's Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), a revolving fund used to finance GSA's real property services, including the construction and repair of federal facilities under GSA control. In December 2004, the judiciary requested a $483 million dollar permanent, annual rent exemption which GSA denied, saying that it undermined the intent of FBF and that GSA was unlikely to obtain appropriations to replace lost FBF income. GAO reviewed (1) recent trends in the judiciary's rent and space occupied and (2) challenges that the judiciary faces in managing its rent costs."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The H-1B visa program assists U.S. employers in temporarily filling certain occupations with highly-skilled foreign workers. There is considerable interest regarding how Labor, along with Homeland Security and Justice, is enforcing the requirements of the program. This testimony summarizes our report, GAO-06-720, that describes how Labor carries out its H-1B program responsibilities and how Labor works with other agencies involved in the H-1B program."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is engaged in an ongoing effort to share electronic medical information with the Department of Defense (DOD), which is important in helping to ensure high-quality health care for active duty military personnel and veterans. Also important, in the face of current military responses to national and foreign crises, is ensuring effective and efficient delivery of veterans' benefits, which is the focus of VA's development of the Veterans Service Network (VETSNET), a modernized system to support benefits payment processes. GAO is testifying on (1) VA's efforts to exchange medical information with DOD, including both near-term initiatives involving existing systems and the longer term program to exchange data between the departments' new health information systems, and (2) VA's ongoing project to develop VETSNET. To develop this testimony, GAO relied on its previous work and followed up on agency actions to respond to GAO recommendations."

Base Input from BRAC Commission Visit to Elmendorf Air Force Base, AK dtd 14JUN05. Input includes military in Alaska information, base information, maps of installations, and BRAC impact information.

Base Input from BRAC Commission Visit (Mr. Cirillo) to Kulis Air National Guard Base, AK dtd 14JUN05. Input includes history of the ANG 176th Wing and individual inputs from the Wing's Operations Group, Maintenance Group, Mission Support Group, and Medical Group.

Base Input from BRAC Commission Visit to Naval Station Norfolk, VA on 24 May 05. Presentation includes mission statement, mission support chart, maps of installation, and summary of BRAC recommended actions.

Base Input from BRAC Commission Visit to Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pittsburgh, PA. Includes Pittsburgh Airport Information booklet and installation maps.

Base Input from BRAC Commission Visit to Red River Army Depot, TX. Input includes; deviation from criteria and policy, flawed instructions and guidance, military value, and extensive supporting documentation.

Base Input from BRAC Commission Visit to Redstone Arsenal, AL dtd June 2005. Input includes demographics, budgets, and facts and statistics of effected commands.

Base Visit Input: Bolling AFB, DC; Bolling Field History booklet from Chairman Principi's visit 22 June 05. Booklet provides a short history of Bolling AFB.

Base Visit Input: Bolling AFB, DC; Facility Overview dtd 22 June 2005. This overview was presented to Chairman Principi by Col. Duane A. Jones, Commander Air Force, DC during the Chairman's visit to Bolling AFB.

Collection of BRAC related news articles and clippings. Produced for the Commission staff.

The JPAT agreed that COBRA will reduce sustainment based on a reduction in building square feet. In Screen Five - Base Information (Dynamic), the user will enter the total facilities shut down in units of thousands of square feet. The algorithm will then reduce sustainment based on either a shut down schedule or time phasing based on population reduction. If the installation closes, the COBRA will continue total sustainment at 15% until the end of the 2011. This will simulate the care taking costs associated with a closed installation. This will allow us to remove the Caretaker Staff Changes lines in Screen Six - Base Information (Personnel).

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the U.S. airline industry has confronted unprecedented financial losses. Two of the nation's largest airlines--United Airlines and US Airways--went into bankruptcy, terminating their pension plans and passing the unfunded liability to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). PBGC's unfunded liability was $9.6 billion; plan participants lost $5.2 billion in benefits. Considerable debate has ensued over airlines' use of bankruptcy protection as a means to continue operations, often for years. Many in the industry and elsewhere have maintained that airlines' use of this approach is harmful to the industry, in that it allows inefficient carriers to reduce ticket prices below those of their competitors. This debate has received even sharper focus with pension defaults. Critics argue that by not having to meet their pension obligations, airlines in bankruptcy have an advantage that may encourage other companies to take the same approach. GAO's testimony presents preliminary observations in three areas: (1) the continued financial difficulties faced by legacy airlines, (2) the effect of bankruptcy on the industry and competitors, and (3) the effect of airline pension underfunding on employees, retirees, airlines, and the PBGC."

Community Input on Naval Station Bremerton/Submarine Base, Bangor, WA titled: Kitsap County Military Support Resource Assessment. Report includes Kitsap County, WA demographics, and county agency and coalition reports. It also includes brochures and similar material for Kitsap County, WA.

Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers From Bureau of Labor Statistics