    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2005]
    [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, 202-226-2600. Internet, www.cbo.gov.
    Director                                          Douglas J. Holtz-Eakin
    Deputy Director                                   Elizabeth M. Robinson
    Special Assistant to the Director                 Edward Davis
    General Counsel                                   Robert P. Murphy
    Assistant Director for Business, Management, and  Stephen A. Weigler
            Information Services
    Associate Director for Communications             Melissa Merson
    Associate Director for Research and Reports       Arlene Holen
    Assistant Director for Budget Analysis            Robert A. Sunshine
    Assistant Director for Health and Human           Bruce Vavrichek
            Resources
    Assistant Director for Macroeconomic Analysis     Robert A. Dennis
    Assistant Director for Microeconomic and          Roger E. Hitchner
            Financial Studies
    Assistant Director for National Security          J. Michael Gilmore
    Assistant Director for Tax Analysis               G. Thomas Woodward

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    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 the 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 the 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 for overall expenditures, budget
    authority and budget outlays, and broad functional categories. The
    Congress also establishes targets for the levels of revenues, the
    deficit or surplus, 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 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 submitting to
    the House and Senate Budget Committees each year a report on fiscal
    policy that includes alternative spending and revenue levels and
    baseline projections of the Federal budget.
    Federal Mandates  To better assess the impact of laws on State, local,
    and tribal governments and the private sector, the Congress passed the
    Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. The act amends the Congressional
    Budget Act to require CBO to give authorizing committees a statement
    about whether reported bills contain Federal mandates. If the 5-year
    direct costs of an intergovernmental or private-sector mandate exceed
    specified thresholds, CBO must provide an estimate of those costs (if
    feasible) and the basis of the estimate.
    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.

    For further information, contact the Management, Business, and
    Information Services Division, Congressional Budget Office, Second and D
    Streets SW., Washington, DC 20515. Phone, 202-226-2600. Fax, 202-226-
    2714. Internet, www.cbo.gov.

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