United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2006-09-15 monographic deposited born digital 6 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-1077R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R P0b002ee18037a4ea f:d061077r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R GAO-06-1077R Balanced budgets Budget deficit Deficit reduction Econometric modeling Economic analysis Economic growth Federal social security programs Fiscal policies Future budget projections Gross national product Medicaid Medicare Budget cuts Fiscal imbalance Social Security Program Correspondence A60964 Since 1992, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations of what might happen to federal deficits and debt levels under varying policy assumptions. GAO developed its long-term model in response to a bipartisan request from Members of Congress who were concerned about the long-term effects of fiscal policy. In 1992 GAO said: "The federal budget is structurally unbalanced. This will do increasing damage to the economy and is unsustainable in the long term. Regardless of the approach chosen, prompt and meaningful action is essential. The longer it is delayed, the more painful it will be." These words are as relevant today as when GAO first published them. GAO updates its simulations three times a year as new estimates become available from the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook (January), Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports (early spring), and CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update (late summer). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R.pdf GAO-06-1077R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-1077R Correspondence GAO-06-1077R; The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: September 2006 Update; Balanced budgets Budget deficit Deficit reduction Econometric modeling Economic analysis Economic growth Federal social security programs Fiscal policies Future budget projections Gross national product Medicaid Medicare Budget cuts Fiscal imbalance Social Security Program