[United States Government Manual]
[May 30, 1997]
[Pages 60-63]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

Second and D Streets SW., Washington, DC 20515
Phone, 202-226-2621

Director                                          June E. O'Neill
Deputy Director                                   James L. Blum
General Counsel                                   Gail Del Balzo
Director, Office of Intergovernmental Relations   Stanley L. Greigg
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis            Paul N. Van de Water
Assistant Director for Macroeconomic Analysis     Robert A. Dennis
Assistant Director for Tax Analysis               Rosemary Marcuss
Assistant Director for Natural Resources and      Jan Paul Acton
        Commerce
Assistant Director for Health and Human           Joseph R. Antos
        Resources
Assistant Director for National Security          Cindy Williams
Assistant Director for Special Studies            Arlene Holen

[[Page 61]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Congressional Budget Office provides the Congress with assessments 
of the economic impact of the Federal budget.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was established by the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601), which also created a 
procedure by which the United States Congress considers and acts upon 
the annual Federal budget. This process enables the Congress to have an 
overview of the Federal budget and to make overall decisions regarding 
spending and taxing levels and the deficit or surplus these levels 
incur.
    The Office provides Congress with basic budget data and with 
analyses of alternative fiscal, budgetary, and programmatic policy 
issues.

Activities

Economic Forecasting and Fiscal Policy Analysis  The Federal budget 
affects and is affected by the national economy. The Congressional 
Budget Office provides Congress with biannual forecasts of the economy 
and analyses of economic trends and alternative fiscal policies.

Scorekeeping  Under the budget process the Congress establishes, by 
concurrent resolution, targets (or ceilings) for overall expenditures, 
budget authority and budget outlays, and for broad functional 
categories. The Congress also establishes targets (or ceilings) for the 
levels of revenues, the deficit, and the public debt. The Office ``keeps 
score'' for the Congress by monitoring the results of congressional 
action on individual authorization, appropriation, and revenue bills 
against the targets (or ceilings) specified in the concurrent 
resolution.

Cost Projections  The Office prepares multiyear cost estimates for 
carrying out any public bill or resolution reported by congressional 
committees. As soon as practicable after the beginning of each fiscal 
year, CBO also provides multiyear projections on the costs of continuing 
current Federal spending and taxation policies.

Annual Report on the Budget  The Office is responsible for furnishing 
the House and Senate Budget Committees each year with a report that 
includes a discussion of alternative spending and revenue levels and 
alternative allocations among major programs and functional categories, 
all in the light of major national needs and the effect on the balanced 
growth and development of the United States.

Federal Mandates  The Office is required to provide a statement to 
authorizing committees as to whether reported bills contain Federal 
intragovernmental or private sector mandates. In legislation that 
contains identifiable Federal mandates, CBO is required to estimate 
their aggregate direct cost, in the fiscal year in which the mandate is 
first effective and in the 4 following years.

Budget-Related Studies  The Office undertakes studies requested by the 
Congress on budget-related areas. This service is provided in the 
following order of priority to: the House and Senate Budget Committees; 
the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the Senate Finance 
Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee; and all other 
congressional committees.

Sequestration Reports  The Office prepares advisory reports mandated by 
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as 
amended (2 U.S.C. 901), to estimate whether proposed spending levels 
breach categorical spending limits and, if so, to estimate the amount 
and percentage of budget resources that should be sequestered to 
eliminate any excesses.

Pay-As-You-Go  The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985, as amended (2 U.S.C. 901), requires CBO to provide the Office of 
Management and Budget with an estimate of the amount of change in 
outlays or receipts for each fiscal year for any direct spending or 
receipts legislation as soon as practicable after Congress completes 
action on that legislation.

[[Page 62]]



[[Page 63]]

For further information, contact the Office of Intergovernmental 
Relations, Congressional Budget Office, Second and D Streets SW., 
Washington, DC 20515. Phone, 202-226-2600.