CBO Blog

  • CBO to Release Budget and Economic Outlook on January 28

    CBO will release its annual Budget and Economic Outlook at 10:00 a.m. ET on January 28. The report will include updated economic and budget projections spanning the period from 2019 to 2029.

  • CBO to Delay Release of Sequestration Report

    For this report to be complete and as useful to the Congress as possible, the House and Senate Budget Committees have asked CBO to delay publishing it until it can fully reflect the funding provided in all 12 annual appropriation bills.

  • Monthly Budget Review for December 2018

    The federal budget deficit was $317 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, CBO estimates, $92 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year.

  • Possible Higher Spending Paths for Veterans' Benefits

    To help assess budgetary risks, CBO has projected spending by the Department of Veterans Affairs through 2028 under three scenarios, a modified version of CBO’s baseline and two other scenarios involving more rapid spending growth.

  • Transparency at CBO: Future Plans and a Review of 2018

    In 2018, CBO continued to bolster its efforts to be transparent. This report fulfills CBO’s requirement to provide plans for future transparency efforts within 90 days of the enactment of its appropriation for 2019.

  • A Review of CBO’s Estimate of the Effects of the Recovery Act on SNAP

    In 2009, the Recovery Act boosted monthly benefits for SNAP. The resulting increase in spending on SNAP benefits from 2009 to 2013 was greater than CBO had estimated. This report discusses that underestimate and the reasons for it.

  • Measuring the Costs of Federal Insurance Programs: Cash or Accrual?

    In this report, CBO assesses the usefulness of cash and accrual accounting for several federal insurance programs—including deposit, flood, and pension insurance—and considers ways to increase use of accrual measures in the budget process.

  • The Accuracy of CBO's Baseline Estimates for Fiscal Year 2018

    In its June 2017 projections, CBO overestimated federal outlays and revenues for fiscal year 2018 by 1.7 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. The projected federal budget deficit for 2018 was 3.7 percent more than the actual amount.

  • CBO ranked as one of the best places to work in the federal government

    CBO Is One of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government

    This week, CBO was recognized by the Partnership for Public Service as one of the best places to work in the federal government. CBO ranked third among 29 agencies in the small-agency category.

  • Director's Statement on CBO's Latest Volume of Budget Options

    Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2019 to 2028 is the latest edition of a report that CBO publishes periodically and describes 121 policy options that would decrease federal spending or increase federal revenues over the next decade.