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our work
CBO provides budgetary and economic information in a variety of ways and at various points in the legislative process.
economic forecasts and baseline budget projections
CBO’s report on the economic and budget outlook cover the 10-year period used in the Congressional budget process. Those reports present and explain CBO’s baseline budget projections and economic forecast; describe the differences between the current projections and previous ones; compare the economic forecast with those of other forecasters; and show the budgetary impact of some alternative policy assumptions.
- Produced: Annually. Forecast and budget projections in January, and updated in August. Baseline projections updated in March
- Vist our budget and economic outlook page, or our page on budget projections and economic projections
long-term budget projections
CBO also provides the Congress with budget projections that focus on longer time spans. These are typically 25 years but can extend as far as 75 years into the future. The projections incorporate long-term demographic trends and the long-term impact of rising health care costs. CBO also projects the economic impact of alternative long-term budget policies.
- Produced: Annually, usually in June.
- Visit our long-term budget projections page
analysis of the president’s budget
CBO estimates the budgetary impact of the proposals in the President’s budget using the agency’s own economic assumptions and estimating techniques. CBO’s independent “reestimate” of the President’s budget allows the Congress to compare the Administration’s spending and revenue proposals to CBO’s baseline projections and to other proposals using a consistent set of economic and technical assumptions.
- Produced: Annually. Preliminary analysis in March. Full analysis (including indirect effects) in April.
- Visit our analysis of the president’s budget page
cost estimates
CBO provides formal written estimates of the cost of virtually every bill “reported” (approved) by Congressional committees to show how it would affect spending or revenues over the next five years or more. CBO’s cost estimates show how legislation would affect spending and revenues over the next 5 or 10 years, depending on the type of spending involved. CBO also provides preliminary informal estimates at earlier stages in the legislative process.
- Produced: Throughout the year, typically between 500 and 700 annually.
- View our most recent cost estimates
analysis of federal mandates
CBO analyzes the projected costs of proposed legislation for state and local governments or for the private sector. If the five-year cost of these mandates exceeds specified thresholds, the agency estimates those costs and provides the basis of the estimate. CBO produces mandate statements with its cost estimates for each committee-approved bill and produces a report each spring listing all of its work analyzing mandates in the previous year.
- Produced: Throughout the year, typically around 500 annually.
- Visit our state and local governments page, or our cost estimates page
scorekeeping for annual appropriations
CBO provides the budget and appropriations committees with frequent tabulations of Congressional action affecting spending and revenues. These scorekeeping reports help the Congress to know whether its legislative actions are consistent with the spending and revenue levels set by the budget resolution.
- Produced: Throughout the year.
- Visit our appropriations page
budget options
CBO periodically produces reference volumes discussing options for reducing budget deficits. The volume includes a wide range of options, derived from many sources. CBO presents a discussion of the pros and cons for the various options but makes no recommendations. In addition, CBO also produces reports focusing specifically on policy options for Social Security.
- Produced: February or March of odd-numbered years for the deficit reduction volume.
- Visit our budget options page
monthly budget review
CBO issues a monthly analysis of federal spending and revenue totals for the previous month, the current month, and the fiscal year to date. These Monthly Budget Reviews help to inform the Congress and the public on the monthly status of outlays, receipts, and the deficit or surplus throughout the fiscal year.
- Produced: The fifth working day of each month.
- Visit our monthly budget review page
unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations
CBO prepares a report listing all programs and activities funded for the current fiscal year for which authorizations of appropriations have expired or will expire during the current fiscal year. By law, the Congress must authorize an appropriation for every federal program before it can be funded.
- Produced: Annually, in January.
- Visit our unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations page
report on the troubled asset relief program
The Congress established the Troubled Asset Relief Program to stabilize financial markets. Twice each year, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports on the costs of TARP, and CBO then assesses each OMB report.
- Produced: Twice per year, within 45 days of the TARP report produced by the Office of Management and Budget.
- Visit our finance topic page
reports
CBO analyzes specific policy and program issues that affect the federal budget and the economy. CBO’s reports cover many areas of federal policy, including health care, income security, education, tax policy, energy, the environment, national security, financial issues, infrastructure, and more. Most CBO reports are written at the request of the Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of a committee or subcommittee or from the leadership of either party in the House or Senate.
CBO’s reports range from in-depth analyses to shorter overviews that address topics in a way that is readily accessible to a broad audience. The agency may also present its analyses as testimony before Congressional committees.
In addition, CBO is sometimes directed by law to prepare a study or report on a specific topic. For example, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requires CBO to provide a quarterly report assessing the program’s performance. One of CBO’s objectives is to provide the Congress and the public with as much information as possible about how it produces its estimates. The agency’s working papers provide technical descriptions of official CBO analyses or present original, independent work by CBO analysts.
- Produced: Throughout the year.
- View our most recent reports