View source for Congressional Budget Office

{{short description|U.S. Government agency}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox government agency
|logo            = Logo of the United States Congressional Budget Office.svg
|logo_width      = 180px
|logo_caption    = Logo of the CBO
|seal            =
|seal_width      =
|seal_caption    =
|formed          = July 12, 1974
|date1           =
|date1_name      =
|date2           =
|date2_name      =
|preceding1      =
|preceding2      =
|dissolved       =
|superseding     =
|jurisdiction    =
|headquarters    = [[Ford House Office Building]], 4th Floor<br>Second and D Streets, [[Southwest (Washington, D.C.)|SW]]<br>[[Washington, D.C.]] 20515
|employees       = 250
|budget          = $55.0 million<br><small>(FY 2020)</small>
|chief1_name     = [[Phillip Swagel]]
|chief1_position = Director
|chief2_name     = Mark Hadley 
|chief2_position = Deputy Director
|parent_agency   =
|child1_agency   =
|child2_agency   =
|website         = {{official URL|http://www.cbo.gov/}}
|footnotes       =
}}

The '''Congressional Budget Office''' ('''CBO''') is a [[List of United States federal agencies|federal agency]] within the [[United States Congress|legislative branch]] of the [[United States government]] that provides budget and economic information to Congress.<ref>{{cite book
  | last1 = O'Sullivan
  | first1 = Arthur
  | author-link = Arthur O'Sullivan (economist)
  | first2 = Steven M. |last2 = Sheffrin
  | title = Economics: Principles in Action
  | publisher = Pearson Prentice Hall
  | year = 2003
  | location = Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
  | page = 388
  | isbn = 0-13-063085-3}}</ref>
Inspired by California's [[California Legislative Analyst's Office|Legislative Analyst's Office]] that manages the state budget in a strictly nonpartisan fashion, the CBO was created as a nonpartisan agency by the [[Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rocco|first=Philip|date=2021|title=Keeping Score: The Congressional Budget Office and the Politics of Institutional Durability|url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=polisci_fac|journal=Polity|volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=691–717 |doi=10.1086/715779|s2cid=237537709 |issn=0032-3497}}</ref>

Whereas politicians on both sides of the aisle have criticized the CBO when its estimates have been politically inconvenient,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> economists and other academics overwhelmingly reject that the CBO is partisan or that it fails to produce credible forecasts.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> There is a consensus among economists that "adjusting for legal restrictions on what the CBO can assume about future legislation and events, the CBO has historically issued credible forecasts of the effects of both Democratic and Republican legislative proposals."<ref name=":1" />

==History==
The Congressional Budget Office was created by Title II of the [[Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974]] (Pub. L. 93-344), which was signed into law by President [[Richard Nixon]] on July 12, 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Adam Kelsey|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/spicers-rebuke-puts-spotlight-congressional-budget-office-amid/story?id=46017070|title=What the CBO does and how it gets its numbers|date=March 13, 2017|work=ABC News}}</ref> Official operations began on February 24, 1975, with [[Alice Rivlin]] as director.<ref name="Joyce">Philip Joyce, [https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/PJ_WorkingPaper9_Feb11_Final.pdf The Congressional Budget Office at Middle Age], Working Paper #9, Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, [[Brookings Institution]] (February 17, 2015).</ref>

The CBO's creation stems from a fight between President [[Richard Nixon]] and a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]-controlled [[United States Congress|Congress]]. Congress wanted to protect its [[power of the purse]] from the executive.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|author=Sarah Binder|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/15/this-is-why-the-congressional-budget-office-will-likely-survive-republican-attacks/|title=This is why the Congressional Budget Office will likely survive Republican attacks|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/13/14860856/congressional-budget-office-cbo-explained|title=The Congressional Budget Office, explained|work=Vox|access-date=2017-03-23}}</ref> The CBO was created "within the legislative branch to bolster Congress's budgetary understanding and ability to act. Lawmakers' aim was both technical and political: Generate a source of budgetary expertise to aid in writing annual budgets and lessen the legislature's reliance on the president's [[Office of Management and Budget]]."<ref name=":0" /> In 2015, the Brookings Institution reported that since its creation, the CBO has since supplanted the OMB "as the authoritative source of information on the economy and the budget in the eyes of Congress, the press, and the public."<ref name="Joyce"/>

==Mission==
[[File:Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office.webm|200px|thumb|''Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office'']]
The Congressional Budget Office is [[Nonpartisanism|nonpartisan]], and produces "independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/2016-IntroToCBO.pdf|title=Introduction to CBO|publisher=Congressional Budget Office|access-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> Each year, the agency releases reports and cost estimates for proposed legislation, without issuing any policy recommendations.

With respect to estimating spending for Congress, the Congressional Budget Office serves a purpose parallel to that of the [[U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation|Joint Committee on Taxation]] for estimating revenue for Congress, the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] for estimating revenues for the [[Executive (government)|Executive branch]]. This includes projections on the effect on [[national debt]] and cost estimates for legislation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbo.gov/about/overview|title=Introduction to CBO|date=21 February 2011}}</ref>

==Operations==
Section 202(e) of the Budget Act requires the CBO to submit periodic reports about fiscal policy to the [[United States House Committee on the Budget|House]] and [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate]] budget committees 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 library|Federal Depository Libraries]] and are available for purchase from the [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Publishing Office]]. The CBO often provides testimony in response to requests from various Congressional committees and issues letters responding to queries made by members of Congress.

==Divisions==
The Congressional Budget Office is divided into nine divisions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Staffing and Organization|url=http://www.cbo.gov/about/our-organization-and-people/|publisher=Congressional Budget Office|access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref>
* Budget Analysis
* Financial Analysis
* Health Analysis 
* Labor, Income Security, and Long-Term Analysis
* Macroeconomic Analysis
* Management, Business, and Information Services
* Microeconomic Studies
* National Security
* Tax Analysis

==Director==
[[File:Ford House Office Building, Washington, DC (2006).jpg|thumb|[[Ford House Office Building]], headquarters for the CBO]]

The [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]] and the [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|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. The list of directors of the CBO are:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8028/|title=Congressional Budget Office: Appointment and Tenure of the Director and Deputy Director|first1=Mary Frances|last1=Bley|first2=Robert|last2=Keith|date=October 18, 2005|website=Digital Library}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Director
! Term
|-
| {{sortname|Alice|Rivlin}}
| {{dts|1975|2|24}} – August 31, 1983
|-
| {{sortname|Rudolph G.|Penner}}
| {{dts|1983|9|1}} – April 28, 1987
|-
| {{sortname|Edward|Gramlich}} {{small|(Acting)}}
| {{dts|1987|4|28}} – December 1987
|-
| {{sortname|James L.|Blum}} {{small|(Acting)}}
| {{dts|1987|12}} – March 6, 1989
|-
| {{sortname|Robert|Reischauer}}
| {{dts|1989|3|6}} – February 28, 1995
|-
| {{sortname|June E.|O'Neill}}
| {{dts|1995|3|1}} – January 29, 1999
|-
| {{sortname|James L.|Blum}} {{small|(Acting)}}
| {{dts|1999|1|29}} – February 3, 1999
|-
| {{sortname|Dan|Crippen}}
| {{dts|1999|2|3}} – January 3, 2003
|-
| {{sortname|Barry B.|Anderson}} {{small|(Acting)}}
| {{dts|2003|1|3}} – February 5, 2003
|-
| {{sortname|Douglas|Holtz-Eakin}}
| {{dts|2003|2|5}} – December 29, 2005
|-
| {{sortname|Donald B.|Marron Jr.}} {{small|(Acting)}}
| {{dts|2005|12|29}} – January 18, 2007
|-
| {{sortname|Peter R.|Orszag}}
| {{dts|2007|1|18}} – November 25, 2008
|-
| {{sortname|Robert A.|Sunshine}} {{small|(Acting)}}
| {{dts|2008|11|25}} – January 22, 2009
|-
| {{sortname|Douglas|Elmendorf}}
| {{dts|2009|1|22}} – March 31, 2015
|-
| {{sortname|Keith|Hall|Keith Hall (economist)}}
| {{dts|2015|4|1}} – May 31, 2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbo.gov/publication/55323|title=Goodbye From CBO's Director |website=Congressional Budget Office |author=Keith Hall |date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| data-sort-value="Swagel Phil" | [[Phillip Swagel]]
| {{dts|2019|6|3}} – present
|}

== Reception ==
Whereas politicians on both sides of the aisle have criticized the CBO when its estimates have been politically inconvenient,<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-pol-cbo-report-qa-20170314-story.html|title=What is the CBO, and can you trust its numbers on the Republican healthcare plan?|last=Lee|first=Don|date=2017-03-14|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-03-23|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> economists and other academics overwhelmingly reject that the CBO is partisan or that it fails to produce credible forecasts.

A March 2017 survey of leading economists shows a consensus behind the notion that "adjusting for legal restrictions on what the CBO can assume about future legislation and events, the CBO has historically issued credible forecasts of the effects of both Democratic and Republican legislative proposals."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/the-cbo|title=The CBO|publisher=[[Initiative on Global Markets]] (IGM), [[University of Chicago]] [[Booth School of Business]]|language=en-US|date=March 21, 2017}}</ref> According to MIT economist [[David Autor]], the "CBO has a good track record with a very difficult assignment. It errs, but not systematically or with partisan intent."<ref name=":1" /> According to Yale economist [[Christopher Udry]], "There is no credible evidence of partisan bias."<ref name=":1" /> Economist [[Walter E. Williams]], a [[classical liberal]], wrote in 1998 that the CBO was well-regarded for its "honest numbers" on fiscal and economic matters.<ref name="Joyce" /> According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', "the CBO's analyses and forecasting are regarded as good or better than others doing similar work... economists say that the CBO's economic projections generally compare favorably against other outfits, and its long-term budget estimates have been fairly accurate."<ref name=":2" />

According to George Washington University political scientist Sarah Binder, the CBO "has emerged over its history as a neutral analyst of congressional budgets and cost estimates for proposed legislation."<ref name=":0" /> The agency has "a nonpartisan staff culture".<ref name=":0" />

Historically, the [[House Budget Committee]] and [[Senate Budget Committee]] have insulated the CBO from external pressures and attempts to politicize or weaken the office.<ref name="Joyce"/> Professor Philip Joyce of the [[University of Maryland School of Public Policy]] writes:

{{quote|This is quite surprising, in a sense, given the partisan nature of the Congress. It is not necessarily that these partisans have embraced nonpartisanship as a positive end in itself, however. Rather, the Budget Committees (and especially their leadership and staff) have recognized that a weak CBO (one that does not have a reputation for objective analysis, and whose conclusions are viewed as partisan) is not in their interest. A weak CBO weakens the Budget Committees, and indeed weakens Congress as a whole in its inevitable battles with the executive over budget and economic policy.<ref name="Joyce"/>}}

== See also ==
* [[Minimum wage in the United States]]
* [[United States Congress]]
* [[United States federal budget]]
* [[Office of Management and Budget]]
* Compare:
**[[California Legislative Analyst's Office|Legislative Analyst's Office]] (California)
**[[Parliamentary Budget Office]] (Australia)
**[[Parliamentary Budget Officer]] (Canada)
**[[National Assembly Budget Office]] (The Republic of Korea)
**[[Office for Budget Responsibility]] (United Kingdom)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== 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.
*[https://global.oup.com/academic/product/when-bad-policy-makes-good-politics-9780190255442?prevSortField=1&sortField=8&start=0&resultsPerPage=20&prevNumResPerPage=20&lang=en&cc=us# Robert P. Saldin. 2017. When Bad Policy Makes Good Politics: Running the Numbers on Health Reform. Oxford University Press.]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}

* {{official}}
* [http://www.cbo.gov/blog CBO Blog]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601184500/http://www.cbo.gov/publications/CBOPubs1975-1999.pdf |date=June 1, 2011 |title=CBO publications 1975-1999 }} and [https://web.archive.org/web/20090527232915/http://www.cbo.gov/publications/CBOPubs2000-present.pdf 2000-]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091005020426/http://www.congress.org/news/2009/09/29/meet_the_scorekeepers_of_spending Congress.org: Meet the scorekeepers of spending]

{{USCongress}}

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[[Category:1974 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Agencies of the United States Congress|Budget Office]]
[[Category:United States federal budgets]]
[[Category:Economic research institutes]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1974]]