The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) works with Congress to provide information, estimates and analysis that support the federal budget process. Established by the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act, the CBO has operated since 1975 in Washington, D.C., and is headed by a Director appointed to a four-year term by the Speaker of the House and the President pro-tempore of the Senate. CBO Record Types
CBO staff testifies before Congress as necessary and, even though the office does not provide policy analysis, its work informs Congress regarding budgetary decisions. Records produced by the CBO include:
- Cost estimates that analyze the spending and revenue effects of proposed legislation
- Budget-related analytic studies of programs or issues as requested by Congressional committees and members
- Budget and economic outlooks and reviews
- Independent re-estimates of the President's budgets
Read more about the CBO's products here, and click here to see a timeline of the analyses it typically publishes each year. Information related to the current budget is also available on the CBO's website.
Online Records Databases
The CBO makes publications dating back to January 1975 available online in PDF format. There are several options for searching publications:
- Browse recent publications from the past 90 days
- Browse all publications by subject area, special collection or document type
- Advanced search to search by keyword, subject category, document type, and/or date range
Cost estimates are available dating back to the 105th Congress (1997-1998). The advanced search function enables users to refine searches by keyword, Congress, bill number, budget function/revenue effects and/or Congressional committee.
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