The federal budget deficit was $174 billion for the first four months of fiscal year 2018, CBO estimates, $16 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year.
CBO Blog
This report examines how various demographic factors relate to labor force participation, how economic conditions are likely to affect that rate over the next decade, and what keeps people from participating in the labor force.
Deputy Director Mark Hadley summarizes his remarks at yesterday’s House Budget Committee hearing.
On February 6, 2018, CBO staff testified before the House Budget Committee on the process and principles underlying the preparation of the agency’s baseline projections and cost estimates for legislation.
CBO is required to provide the Congress an annual report on spending, revenues, and deficits with subsequent revisions to that report. Here, CBO provides answers to questions about how it prepares its baseline projections for the budget.
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires CBO to prepare cost estimates for legislation at certain points in the legislative process. This report provides answers to frequently asked questions about how CBO prepares those estimates.
CBO projects that if the debt limit is not raised, the Treasury will not be able borrow additional funds using extraordinary measures, and could run out of cash, in the first half of March 2018.
Because people who do not work with CBO regularly are sometimes unfamiliar with its role and operations, Director Hall highlighted some key points about the agency during his testimony before the House Budget Committee.
On January 30, 2018, Director Keith Hall testified before the House Budget Committee on CBO’s work in 2017 and the agency’s plans for the future.
What roles do cash and accrual measures play in the federal budget process? This report discusses the relative merits of those measures and explores the implications of expanding the use of accrual measures for decisionmaking purposes.