Congressional Budget Office

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox government agency

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Inspired by California's 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>Template:Cite journal</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" />

HistoryEdit

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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Official operations began on February 24, 1975, with Alice Rivlin as director.<ref name="Joyce">Philip Joyce, 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-controlled Congress. Congress wanted to protect its power of the purse from the executive.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</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"/>

MissionEdit

File:Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office.webm

Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office

The Congressional Budget Office is nonpartisan, and produces "independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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 Joint Committee on Taxation for estimating revenue for Congress, the Department of the Treasury for estimating revenues for the Executive branch. This includes projections on the effect on national debt and cost estimates for legislation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

OperationsEdit

Section 202(e) of the Budget Act requires the CBO to submit periodic reports about fiscal policy to the House and 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 Libraries and are available for purchase from the 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.

DivisionsEdit

The Congressional Budget Office is divided into nine divisions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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

DirectorEdit

File:Ford House Office Building, Washington, DC (2006).jpg

Ford House Office Building, headquarters for the CBO

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. The list of directors of the CBO are:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Director	Term
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – August 31, 1983
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – April 28, 1987
Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts – December 1987
Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts – March 6, 1989
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – February 28, 1995
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – January 29, 1999
Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts – February 3, 1999
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – January 3, 2003
Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts – February 5, 2003
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – December 29, 2005
Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts – January 18, 2007
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – November 25, 2008
Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:Dts – January 22, 2009
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – March 31, 2015
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts – May 31, 2019<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Phillip Swagel	Template:Dts – present

ReceptionEdit

Whereas politicians on both sides of the aisle have criticized the CBO when its estimates have been politically inconvenient,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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:

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