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The Congressional Budget Office is a nonpartisan federal agency established in 1974 to provide economic data to the legislative branch. It reports to the Joint Committee on Taxation and produces three reports on the federal budget. Its main job is to detail factors affecting the federal budget, including the national debt and deficit. It also prepares reports based on specific inquiries by congressional committees and provides accurate, nonpartisan information on the numbers.
Created in 1974, the Congressional Budget Office is a United States federal agency mandated by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. It was established as a nonpartisan group of federal officials charged with providing economic data to the legislative branch. The information collected and used by the Congressional Budget Office is considered accurate by both parties, helping the House of Representatives and Senate make sound choices when setting the federal budget. Both houses of Congress are responsible for appointing the agency’s director, who in turn hires the 235 employees who work for the organization.
The Congressional Budget Office reports directly to the Joint Committee on Taxation, a group of members of both houses of the United States Congress, as well as the Treasury Department, the main economic body operating within the executive branch. Specifically, the Congressional Budget Office produces three reports on the federal budget: the annual Economic and Budget Outlook, a midyear update of the same report, and an analysis of the president’s budget proposal. Each of these reports is made available through the Government Printing Office to the Federal Depository Libraries, the agencies that print and publish all federal records for different branches of government and the public.
The main job of the Congressional Budget Office is to detail the factors affecting the federal budget. Aspects of ongoing concern include the estimated revenues and expenditures of the legislative and executive branches of the US government. The national debt and the deficit both play a major role in nearly every action the government takes, affecting both where the money is used and how taxes are collected. These have become a major focus of the agency, requiring constant monitoring of changes to projections.
Other duties of the Congressional Budget Office include the preparation of reports based on specific inquiries by the various congressional committees. When legislation is put into bill form, there are often questions about the total cost of proposed programs over an extended period of time. The different political parties use financial analysis organizations that support their side of the argument and belittle the opposition. While Republicans and Democrats cite sources who support their sides, the Congressional Budget Office can be relied upon to provide accurate, nonpartisan information on the numbers. To provide this data, agency members are often called upon to testify before agency commissions.
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