CBO's Director, Phillip Swagel, discusses his upcoming and recent speaking engagements about the agency’s projections for the federal budget and the U.S. economy and the overall fiscal outlook.
February 2025
Fifty years ago today, CBO began its service to the Congress and the country. Much has changed since then, but the agency’s mission—to provide objective, nonpartisan information to support the Congressional budget process—remains the same.
CBO’s cost estimates, which represent the agency’s best assessment of a bill’s budgetary effects, can be subject to uncertainty arising from various sources. CBO describes how it addresses six common sources of uncertainty.
The federal budget deficit totaled $838 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2025, CBO estimates. That amount is $306 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year.