- Congressional Budget Office
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Congressional Budget Office 
Agency overview Formed July 12, 1974 Headquarters Ford House Office Building, 4th Floor
Second and D Streets, SW
Washington, D.C. 20548Employees 235 Annual budget $46.8 million
(FY 2011)Agency executive Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director Website www.cbo.gov/ The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress.[1] The CBO was created as a nonpartisan agency by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
Contents
History
The Congressional Budget Office was created by Title II of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (P.L. 93-344), which was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on July 12, 1974. Official operations began on February 24, 1975, with Alice Rivlin as director.
Mission
The CBO's mandate is to provide Congress with:
- Objective, nonpartisan, and timely analysis to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on a wide array of programs covered by the federal budget;
- And the information and estimates required by the Congressional budget process.[2]
With respect to estimating spending for Congress, the Congressional Budget Office serves a purpose parallel to that of the Joint Committee on Taxation for estimating revenue for Congress, the Department of the Treasury for estimating revenues for the Executive and estimates required for the Congressional budget process. This includes projections on the effect on national debt[3] and cost estimates for legislation.
Operations
Section 202(e) of the Budget Act requires submission by CBO to the House and Senate Committees on the Budget periodic reports about fiscal policy and to provide baseline projections of the federal budget. This is currently done by preparation of an annual Economic and Budget Outlook plus a mid-year update. The agency also each year issues An Analysis of the President's Budgetary Proposals for the upcoming fiscal year per a standing request of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. These three series are designated essential titles distributed to Federal Depository Libraries and are available for purchase from the Government Printing Office. CBO also prepares reports and issues briefs and provides testimony often in response to requests of the various Congressional Committees. It also issues letters responding to queries made to it by members of Congress.
Leadership
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate jointly appoint the CBO Director, after considering recommendations from the two budget committees. The term of office is four years, with no limit on the number of terms a Director may serve. Either House of Congress, however, may remove the Director by resolution. At the expiration of a term of office, the person serving as Director may continue in the position until his or her successor is appointed.
Divisions
The Congressional Budget Office is divided into eight divisions.[4]
- Budget Analysis
- Financial Analysis
- Health and Human Services
- Macroeconomic Analysis
- Management, Business, and Information Services
- Microeconomic Studies
- National Security
- Tax Analysis
Directors of the Congressional Budget Office
Ford House Office Building
Name[5] Begin Date End Date Douglas W. Elmendorf January 22, 2009 Present Robert A. Sunshine (Acting) November 25, 2008 January 22, 2009 Peter R. Orszag January 18, 2007 November 25, 2008 Donald B. Marron Jr. (Acting) December 29, 2005 January 2007 Douglas Holtz-Eakin February 5, 2003 December 29, 2005 Barry B. Anderson (Acting) January 3, 2003 February 5, 2003 Dan L. Crippen February 3, 1999 January 3, 2003 James Blum (Acting) January 29, 1999 February 3, 1999 June E. O'Neill[6] March 1, 1995 January 29, 1999 Robert D. Reischauer March 6, 1989 February 28, 1995 James L. Blum (Acting) —March 6, 1989 Edward M. Gramlich (Acting) April 28, 1987 —Rudolph G. Penner September 1, 1983 April 28, 1987 Alice M. Rivlin February 24, 1975 August 31, 1983 See also
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- Office for Budget Responsibility (United Kingdom, created 2010)
- Parliamentary Budget Officer (Canada, created 2008)
References
- ^ Sullivan, Arthur; Steven M. Sheffrin (2003). Economics: Principles in action. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458: Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 388. ISBN 0-13-063085-3. http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZ3R9&PMDbSiteId=2781&PMDbSolutionId=6724&PMDbCategoryId=&PMDbProgramId=12881&level=4.
- ^ "CBO Fact Sheet". Congressional Budget Office. http://www.cbo.gov/aboutcbo/factsheet.cfm. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ http://www.cbo.gov/aboutcbo/
- ^ "Staffing and Organization". Congressional Budget Office. http://www.cbo.gov/aboutcbo/organization/. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ "Congressional Budget Office: Appointment and Tenure of the Director and Deputy Director". http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs//data/2005/upl-meta-crs-8028/RL31880_2005Oct18.pdf.
- ^ Garrett, Major (February 8, 1995). "Professor chosen as CBO director; O'Neill worked for Nixon, Ford". The Washington Times: p. A11.
"Leader chosen for Congress Budget Office". The New York Times. Associated Press: p. 9. February 11, 1995. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/11/us/leader-chosen-for-congress-budget-office.html.
Piain, Eric (February 11, 1995). "Professor named new CBO head; June O'Neill favors price index change". The Washington Post: p. A4. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WP&p_theme=wpost&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(Professor%20named%20new%20CBO%20head)%20AND%20date(02/11/1995%20to%2002/11/1995)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=02/11/1995%20to%2002/11/1995)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Professor%20named%20new%20CBO%20head)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no.
Hill, Patrice (February 11, 1995). "Chambers compromise on pick; Conventional economist O'Neill gets nod to head CBO". The Washington Times: p. A4.
Wines, Michael (April 23, 1995). "From the Bronx to the Budget Office; A free-market theorist is Congress's new top number cruncher". The New York Times: p. 20. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/23/us/from-the-bronx-to-the-budget-office.html?pagewanted=all.
Piain, Eric (September 4, 1995). "Honeymoon over for Kasich and handpicked budget maven". The Washington Post: p. A23. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WP&p_theme=wpost&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(Honeymoon%20over%20for%20Kasich%20and%20handpicked%20budget%20maven)%20AND%20date(09/04/1995%20to%2009/04/1995)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=09/04/1995%20to%2009/04/1995)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Honeymoon%20over%20for%20Kasich%20and%20handpicked%20budget%20maven)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no.
Stevenson, Richard W. (October 29, 1998). "$70 billion surplus as U.S. closes books on 1998 fiscal year". The New York Times: p. A20. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/29/us/70-billion-surplus-as-us-closes-books-on-1998-fiscal-year.html.
Piain, Eric (October 29, 1998). "June O'Neill to depart CBO early; Embattled director to return to academia". The Washington Post: p. A25. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WP&p_theme=wpost&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(June%20O'Neill%20to%20depart%20CBO%20early)%20AND%20date(10/29/1998%20to%2010/29/1998)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=10/29/1998%20to%2010/29/1998)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(June%20O'Neill%20to%20depart%20CBO%20early)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no.
Further reading
- Allen Schick, Felix LoStracco The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2000.
- Phillip Joyce, "The Congressional Budget Office: Honest Numbers, Power, and Policymaking". Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2011.
External links
- CBO Website
- CBO Director's Blog
- CBO publications 1975-1999 and 2000-
- Congress.org: Meet the scorekeepers of spending
Categories:- Agencies of the United States Congress
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