Budget Concepts and Process
- Report
Common Budgetary Terms Explained
This guide briefly explains—in plain language—the differences between some common budgetary terms.
- Report
Estimates of the Cost of Federal Credit Programs in 2022
CBO estimates the costs of federal credit programs in two ways—following procedures prescribed by the Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) and using a fair-value approach, which measures the market value of the government’s obligations.
- Report
Information About CBO’s Cost Estimates for Reconciliation Legislation in the House of Representatives
This letter responds to a request for information about CBO's cost estimates for the reconciliation legislation now being considered by the House of Representatives.
- Report
Providing Formal Cost Estimates Before Full Committee Markup
CBO assesses the potential costs of providing cost estimates for bills before markup by Congressional committees. Under any of the scenarios that CBO examined, the agency would require a substantial increase in resources and staffing.
- Interactive
Workbook for How Changes in Economic Conditions Might Affect the Federal Budget, June 2021
This workbook allows users to define and analyze alternative economic scenarios by specifying differences in the values of four economic variables relative to the values for those variables underlying CBO's February 2021 projections.
- Report
Expired and Expiring Authorizations of Appropriations: Fiscal Year 2021
CBO reports annually on programs whose authorizations of appropriations have already expired or will expire.
- Report
Budgeting for Federal Investment
This report examines approaches to budgeting that would distinguish expenditures for investment in physical capital, education, and research and development from other expenditures.
- Interactive
CBO's Waterfall Model For Projecting Discretionary Spending, March 2021
CBO’s interactive tool allows users to simulate the agency’s process for projecting discretionary budget authority and outlays for different types of spending over the course of 10 years.
- Report
CBO Explains Budgetary Scorekeeping Guidelines
CBO explains some of the guidelines it follows when providing information to the Congress about the budgetary effects of proposed legislation.
- Presentation
Baseline Budget Projections
Presentation by Theresa Gullo, Director of Budget Analysis, and John McClelland, Director of Tax Analysis, at a joint seminar by the Congressional Budget Office and the Congressional Research Service.