CBO does not enforce such budgetary rules the Budget Committees do. They can-but need not-be used to enforce budgetary rules or targets. The agency's cost estimates for committee-approved bills include analyses of any mandates and associated costs that those bills would impose on state, local, and tribal governments or on the private sector.ĬBO's cost estimates are only advisory. For bills considered under suspension of the rules in the House, CBO estimates the bill's effects on mandatory spending and revenues.
In addition, CBO reviews bills scheduled to be considered on the House's suspension calendar (which is generally used to handle noncontroversial bills that are expected to pass quickly and with little debate).Ĭost estimates typically show how a bill would affect discretionary spending, mandatory spending, or revenues over the next 5 or 10 years, depending on the type of spending involved, and describe the basis for the estimate. The agency also publishes cost estimates at other stages of the legislative process if requested to do so by a relevant committee or by the Congressional leadership.
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If analysts cannot work on a request right away, the agency will provide a sense of whether and when they can.įrequency: CBO fulfills thousands of requests for technical assistance each year.ĬBO is required by law to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill that is approved by a full committee of either the House or the Senate. Individual Members seeking a review of their bill may submit a request, with any draft language attached or the bill number referenced, by email to If time allows, CBO provides preliminary feedback about a bill's possible effects on direct spending, usually by phone or email. The most common request is for a preliminary estimate of the effects on mandatory spending of a bill or a tentative proposal CBO's assistance may also involve answering general questions about the budget or responding to questions about previously published cost estimates. The agency's analysts often provide preliminary estimates to committee staff, helping them weigh different options for achieving legislative goals.īy law, CBO's primary responsibility is to Congressional committees, but to the extent practicable, the agency also provides information to Members' offices. The schedule for those reports sometimes varies, depending on the timing of major legislation.ĬBO fulfills numerous requests for technical assistance as committees are crafting legislation, as amendments to bills are being debated, and at other stages in the legislative process. For more information, see How CBO Prepares Baseline Budget Projections and How CBO Produces Its 10-Year Economic Forecast.įrequency: A recurring report, The Budget and Economic Outlook is generally issued each winter and updated in August the budget projections are also usually updated in March. The forecasts draw information from the agency's ongoing analysis of daily economic events and data, the major commercial forecasting services, consultation with economists both within and outside the federal government, and the advice of the experts on the agency's Panel of Economic Advisers. That approach allows the baseline to serve as a benchmark for measuring the effects of proposed legislation.ĬBO's economic forecasts cover the major economic variables-gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and interest rates-along with a broad array of other economic measures. Rather, they represent CBO's assessment of how the budget and the economy would evolve under existing laws. The baseline projections are not predictions of budgetary or economic outcomes. Specific rules for developing baseline projections are set in law (in particular, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985) or have been developed by CBO in consultation with the House and Senate Budget Committees. Reports on those projections usually describe differences between current and previous projections, compare CBO's economic forecast with other forecasts, and show the budgetary effects of some alternative policies. Those baseline projections cover the 10-year period used in the Congressional budget process.
Testimony, Statements, and Answers to Questions for the RecordĪs required by the Budget Act, CBO regularly publishes projections of budgetary and economic outcomes that are based on the assumption that current laws about federal spending and revenues will generally remain in place.
Baseline Budget and Economic Projections.
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