January 2021

CBO will release An Overview of the Economic Outlook: 2021 to 2031 at 11 a.m. on Monday, February 1. The report will include a brief description of CBO’s latest 10-year economic projections.

CBO explains some of the guidelines it follows when providing information to the Congress about the budgetary effects of proposed legislation.

CBO reports annually on programs whose authorizations of appropriations have already expired or will expire. CBO released information about legislation enacted through December 23, 2020. The full report will be issued in coming months.

As required by law, CBO reports on whether appropriations enacted for the current fiscal year have exceeded the statutory caps on discretionary funding. In CBO’s estimation, they have not, and a sequestration will not be required for 2021.

CBO estimated the costs of the recommendations of the 2019 Missile Defense Review, including early initiatives implemented before the report was released and expansions of missile defenses that could result from report’s directives.

The federal budget deficit was $572 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the CBO estimates—$215 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year.

In this report, the latest in a quarterly series, CBO highlights its recent work and summarizes its work in progress.