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our objectivity and transparency
CBO is responsible for providing nonpartisan and thoughtful analysis to the Congress, and we are proud that our success in carrying out that mission, for more than 35 years, is widely acknowledged both on and off Capitol Hill. We have the utmost confidence in the objectivity of the work CBO produces, and we devote considerable time and energy to explaining the basis for our findings as clearly as possible.
In fulfilling its responsibility to the Congress, CBO works hard to ensure that its cost estimates and other analyses are impartial and well-researched. To that end, the agency:
- Draws on the knowledge and insights of the talented analysts on its staff as well as input from outside experts (including professors, analysts at think tanks, private-sector experts, and employees at other government agencies) representing a variety of perspectives;
- Applies a rigorous internal review process that involves multiple people at different levels in the organization;
- Enforces strict rules to prevent conflicts of interest; and
- Makes no policy recommendations.
In preparing its cost estimates and other analyses, CBO uses data and other information from a wide variety of sources, including federal agencies, state and local governments, and industry groups, among others. CBO closely follows professional developments in economics and related disciplines, encourages open discussion of analytic issues, and consults with outside experts in a broad range of relevant fields for guidance on ongoing work. It also holds regular meetings with its Panel of Economic Advisers and Panel of Health Advisers, which consist of experts with a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise; the advisers are listed on CBO’s Web site, and staff of relevant Congressional committees are invited to attend the meetings. Although CBO draws upon a diverse set of outside experts, the agency’s findings are based on its own judgments, and it is solely responsible for the substance and presentation of those findings.
cbo’s transparency
CBO considers the transparency of its analyses to be a basic value of the agency. Although much of the analysis that CBO undertakes is very technical in nature, the agency works hard to explain the basis for its findings so that Members of Congress, their staff, and outside analysts can understand the results and question the methodologies used.
To this end, CBO discloses its methodology and the reliability of its methodology in numerous ways:
- We make our cost estimates for public pieces of legislation and our reports presenting other analyses available immediately on our website to all Members of Congress, their staff, and the public.
- Our formal cost estimates include descriptions of the basis for the estimates.
- Many of our reports include substantial discussions of the relevant research literature and CBO’s modeling approaches—in the text, in special boxes, or in appendixes. Examples include:
- Our analysis of the economic impact of the President’s budget, released annually.
- Our projections of long-term growth in the costs of health care used for our long-term budget outlook, released annually.
- Our estimates of the effects on output and employment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, released quarterly in 2009 through 2011.
- Our reports on the distribution of household income and federal taxes, released periodically.
- Our reports on updated estimates for the insurance coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act, released periodically.
- Our estimates of the economic impact of alternative fiscal policies, including our 2011 testimony on policies for increasing economic growth and employment.
- Our report on the effects of raising the ages of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security.
- Our report on the budgetary effects of raising the cigarette tax.
- The regular updates to our baseline budget projections include an accounting and explanation of the sources of revisions to those projections.
- We release data and technical information with some of our key analyses. Examples include extensive spreadsheets released with our thrice-annual budget projections and with our annual long-term budget outlook, as well as with our report on the fair-value cost of federal credit programs.
- We release regular analyses of the accuracy of our economic forecasts.
- We release background reports to provide details about our analyses for non-experts, and working papers to provide technical descriptions of our analyses for experts. Some examples include:
- A background report describing the main features of the microsimulation model we use for long-term analysis of Social Security.
- A working paper on the tax elasticity of capital gains.
- A working paper on the short-term effects on output of changes in federal fiscal policies.
- Working papers on wages and on benefits and total compensation in the federal government and private sector.
- Working papers on Medicare's demonstration projects on disease management and on value-based payment.
- We undertake and publish analyses of the sensitivity of our estimates to key parameters. For example, our analyses of the economic effects of fiscal policies include alternative estimates based on ranges of assumptions about the short-term stimulus from lower taxes or higher government spending, the response of labor supply to changes in tax rates, and the effects of budget deficits on private saving and international capital flows. Our report on employment-based health insurance under the Affordable Care Act showed how alternative assumptions would alter our estimates.
- When we revise our view of key aspects of our analyses, we explain the rationale for those revisions. An example is our report explaining our revised view of the effectiveness of malpractice reform in reducing health care costs.
- We respond to letters from Members of Congress requesting additional information on our methodology. An example is a review of how CBO views the budgetary impact of long-term agreements by the federal government to purchase electric power and the budgetary impact of opening more federal lands to oil and gas leasing.
- Members of CBO’s staff present information about how we do our analyses and the results of those analyses at academic and professional conferences so as to encourage input from outside experts.
- We spend a great deal of time explaining details underlying our cost estimates and reports in phone calls and meetings with interested Members of Congress and their staffs.
cbo’s conflict of interest policies
A conflict of interest arises when an employee’s personal interests (financial or otherwise) conflict with the conduct of his or her official duties. Concerns arise primarily with personal interests that may impair independent and impartial judgment or that are otherwise inconsistent with the conscientious performance of the responsibilities of an employee’s job.
financial disclosure statements
The Ethics in Government Act requires CBO’s employees earning at least 120 percent of the GS-15 rate of basic pay ($119,553.60 in 2012) to submit financial disclosure statements to the Clerk of the House. Any inquiry concerning financial disclosure statements should be directed to the Office of the General Counsel, which reviews the financial disclosures for conflicts of interest and substantive compliance.
limits on financial and nonfinancial interests and activities
CBO’s employees face certain limits on their financial and nonfinancial interests and activities. To protect its reputation for impartiality, CBO requires all employees to disclose to their managers any financial or nonfinancial interests they or their family have in any organization that would have an interest in the conclusions of any analysis in which the employees are involved during the performance of their official duties. That disclosure is necessary regardless of the size or value of the interest, but it is not required for diversified mutual funds and unit investment trusts.
An employee’s manager, in consultation with the Office of the General Counsel, will determine whether the employee’s disclosed interest would interfere with, or might appear to interfere with, the employee’s work assignments at CBO. Depending on the situation, conflicts of interest may be mitigated through such actions as recusal, giving the employee other work assignments, independent review of the work product, or divestiture of specific financial interests.
An employee need not divest his or her holdings or recuse himself or herself from an assignment if the holdings involve securities issued by interested entities and owned by the employee, his or her spouse, or minor children when:
- The securities are publicly traded or are long-term federal government or municipal securities; and
- The aggregate market value of the holdings issued by all similar entities does not exceed $15,000.
outside employment
Because of the time involved and the potential for conflicts of interest, employees who wish to engage in outside employment—with or without compensation—must obtain approval from their manager.
A number of specific statutory prohibitions apply to CBO employees. No CBO employee may:
- Act as an agent for anyone, regardless of compensation, before any government entity in any matter or proceeding in which the United States government has an interest;
- Accept compensation of any kind from a foreign government; or
- Act as an agent for a foreign principal.
Under the rules of the House, employees earning at least 120 percent of the GS-15 rate of basic pay ($119,553.60 in 2012) are also subject to restrictions on total outside earned income, fiduciary relationships, and service as a board member or officer of an organization.
honoraria
Employees earning 120 percent or more of the GS-15 rate of basic pay may not accept an honorarium for a speech, article, or appearance. An employee earning less than the threshold amount may receive an honorarium for a speech, article, or appearance, except when:
- The subject matter directly relates to the employee’s official duties,
- The payment is made because of the status of the employee, or
- The person offering the honorarium has an interest that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties.