CBO Blog


Estimates of ARRA’s Impact in the Third Quarter of 2011 November 22, 2011 As required by law, CBO prepares regular reports on its estimate of the number of jobs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which was enacted in response to significant weakness in the economy at that time. In its latest report, issued this afternoon, CBO provides estimates of ARRA’s overall impact on employment and economic output in the third quarter of calendar year 2011, as well as over the entire period since February 2009.
An Analysis of the Navy's Amphibious Warfare Ships November 18, 2011 The U.S. Navy’s fleet numbers 284 ships, including 29 amphibious warfare ships that are designed primarily to carry marines and their equipment into combat but also to perform peacetime missions. Today CBO released a report—requested in the report of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011—reviewing the size, missions, and use of the Navy’s amphibious warfare ships and related expeditionary forces under the Navy’s 2012 shipbuilding plan.
CBO Testified on Policies to Promote Economic Growth and Employment in 2012 and 2013 November 15, 2011 This morning I testified before the Senate Budget Committee on policies to promote economic growth and employment in 2012 and 2013. During the past two years, CBO has produced several publications focused on options that are available to lawmakers for spurring the economy through changes in taxation and government spending. Today’s testimony updates that discussion but also considers the effects of other legislative policy options—those that do not involve, or whose scope extends well beyond, fiscal policy.
Federal Budget Deficit for Fiscal Year 2011: $1.3 Trillion November 8, 2011 Last month, the Treasury Department reported that the federal government incurred a budget deficit of $1.3 trillion for fiscal year 2011, almost identical to the deficit it incurred in 2010. As a share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit declined slightly—from 9.0 percent in 2010 to 8.7 percent in 2011—but nonetheless it was the third-highest deficit as a share of GDP since 1945.
CBO's Panel of Economic Advisers November 4, 2011 CBO has a panel of economic advisers consisting of widely recognized experts on a range of issues. Members of the panel have a variety of backgrounds, areas of knowledge, and experience. We host periodic meetings of the advisers at our office and solicit their views between meetings via e-mail exchanges and telephone calls. Through these interactions, we benefit from the advisers’ understanding of cutting-edge research, macroeconomic developments, and economic policy.
Presentation at APPAM's Annual Fall Research Conference November 3, 2011 This morning Jeffrey Kling, CBO’s Associate Director for Economic Analysis, spoke at the Annual Fall Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management. His presentation—which can be viewed below—focused on CBO’s use of evidence in the analysis of budget and economic policies. The presentation addressed numerous questions, including:
Recent Development Efforts for Military Airships November 3, 2011 During the past decade’s operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military has come to rely heavily on the continuous presence overhead of both manned and unmanned aircraft. Unmanned aircraft are particularly attractive for such missions because they can be designed to remain in the air beyond the physical endurance of human air crews and because they do not put people at risk during operations in potentially hostile airspace.