§601 — Title 2 The Congress | U.S. Code

Summary

Creates the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and says how it will be run. The CBO will be led by a Director and a Deputy Director. The Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate pick the Director after hearing recommendations from the House and Senate Budget Committees. The choice must be based on ability, not party. The Director names the Deputy. The Director serves for 4 years, ending on January 3 of the year before each Presidential election. Someone chosen to fill a vacancy serves only the rest of that term. A Director can stay on until a successor is chosen. A Deputy serves until the end of the Director’s term unless removed sooner by the Director. Either House can remove the Director by a resolution. The Director’s pay equals the maximum rate in section 4575(f) of this title; the Deputy is paid $1,000 less. The Director hires the staff needed and sets their pay. Staff must be picked for skill, not politics, and get pay and benefits like House employees. The Director can hire temporary or part‑time experts for up to one year, paid no more than the top daily General Schedule rate in section 5332 of title 5. The Director can get information, data, and estimates directly from executive agencies, and those agencies must provide available material the Director needs while keeping required confidentiality under section 603(e). With agreement, the Director can use services, facilities, and personnel of executive agencies, the Government Accountability Office, and the Library of Congress. No law passed after September 30, 2024, can limit the Director’s power to get this material unless it specifically says so. For revenue estimates tied to income, estate and gift, excise, and payroll taxes, the CBO must use numbers from the Joint Committee on Taxation during that Congress and share them when asked; the Budget Committees handle scoring. Money for the CBO will be appropriated each year as needed; until the first appropriation, up to 12 months of expenses may come from the Senate’s contingent fund with vouchers approved by the Director.

Title 2, §601

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(a)(1)There is established an office of the Congress to be known as the Congressional Budget Office (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the “Office”). The Office shall be headed by a Director; and there shall be a Deputy Director who shall perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Director and, during the absence or incapacity of the Director or during a vacancy in that office, shall act as Director.

(2)The Director shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate after considering recommendations received from the Committees on the Budget of the House and the Senate, without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of his fitness to perform his duties. The Deputy Director shall be appointed by the Director.

(3)The term of office of the Director shall be 4 years and shall expire on January 3 of the year preceding each Presidential election. Any individual appointed as Director to fill a vacancy prior to the expiration of a term shall serve only for the unexpired portion of that term. An individual serving as Director at the expiration of a term may continue to serve until his successor is appointed. Any Deputy Director shall serve until the expiration of the term of office of the Director who appointed him (and until his successor is appointed), unless sooner removed by the Director.

(4)The Director may be removed by either House by resolution.

(5)(A)The Director shall receive compensation at an annual rate of pay that is equal to the maximum rate of pay in effect under section 4575(f) of this title.

(B)The Deputy Director shall receive compensation at an annual rate of pay that is $1,000 less than the annual rate of pay received by the Director, as determined under subparagraph (A).

(b)The Director shall appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the duties and functions of the Office. All personnel of the Office shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of their fitness to perform their duties. The Director may prescribe the duties and responsibilities of the personnel of the Office, and delegate to them authority to perform any of the duties, powers, and functions imposed on the Office or on the Director. For purposes of pay (other than pay of the Director and Deputy Director) and employment benefits, rights, and privileges, all personnel of the Office shall be treated as if they were employees of the House of Representatives.

(c)In carrying out the duties and functions of the Office, the Director may procure the temporary (not to exceed one year) or intermittent services of experts or consultants or organizations thereof by contract as independent contractors, or, in the case of individual experts or consultants, by employment at rates of pay not in excess of the daily equivalent of the highest rate of basic pay payable under the General Schedule of section 5332 of title 5.

(d)(1)The Director is authorized to secure information, data, estimates, and statistics directly from the various departments, agencies, and establishments of the executive branch of Government and the regulatory agencies and commissions of the Government. All such departments, agencies, establishments, and regulatory agencies and commissions shall furnish the Director any available material which he determines to be necessary in the performance of his duties and functions (with or without written agreement) provided that the Director maintains the level of confidentiality required by law of the department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission from which it is obtained in accordance with section 603(e) of this title. The Director is also authorized, upon agreement with the head of any such department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission, to utilize its services, facilities, and personnel with or without reimbursement; and the head of each such department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission is authorized to provide the Office such services, facilities, and personnel.

(2)No provision of law enacted after September 30, 2024, shall be construed to supersede, limit, or otherwise modify the authority of the Director to obtain any material under this subsection unless such provision specifically provides, by specific reference to this paragraph, that such authority is to be superseded, limited, or otherwise modified.

(e)In carrying out the duties and functions of the Office, and for the purpose of coordinating the operations of the Office with those of other congressional agencies with a view to utilizing most effectively the information, services, and capabilities of all such agencies in carrying out the various responsibilities assigned to each, the Director is authorized to obtain information, data, estimates, and statistics developed by the Government Accountability Office,11 So in original. Comma probably should not appear. and the Library of Congress, and (upon agreement with them) to utilize their services, facilities, and personnel with or without reimbursement. The Comptroller General,1 and the Librarian of Congress are authorized to provide the Office with the information, data, estimates, and statistics, and the services, facilities, and personnel, referred to in the preceding sentence.

(f)For the purposes of revenue legislation which is income, estate and gift, excise, and payroll taxes (i.e., Social Security), considered or enacted in any session of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office shall use exclusively during that session of Congress revenue estimates provided to it by the Joint Committee on Taxation. During that session of Congress such revenue estimates shall be transmitted by the Congressional Budget Office to any committee of the House of Representatives or the Senate requesting such estimates, and shall be used by such Committees in determining such estimates. The Budget Committees of the Senate and House shall determine all estimates with respect to scoring points of order and with respect to the execution of the purposes of this Act.

(g)There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office for each fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to enable it to carry out its duties and functions. Until sums are first appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence, but for a period not exceeding 12 months following the effective date of this subsection, the expenses of the Office shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate, in accordance with section 6503 of this title, and upon vouchers approved by the Director.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in subsec. (f), means Pub. L. 93–344, July 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 297, known as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which enacted chapters 17, 17A and 17B, and section 190a–3 of this title and section 11a, 11c, 11d, 1020a of former Title 31, Money and Finance, amended section 11, 665, 701, 1020, 1151, 1152, 1153, and 1154 of former Title 31, section 105 of Title 1, General Provisions, section 190b and 190d of this title, repealed section 571 and 581c–1 of former Title 31, and section 66 and 81 of this title, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 190a–1, 621, 632, and 682 of this title, section 105 of Title 1, and section 1020 of former Title 31. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 621 of this title and Tables. Codification Pub. L. 101–508, § 12302(b), transferred section 273 of Pub. L. 99–177, which was classified to section 921 of this title, to subsec. (g) (now (f)) of this section, relating to revenue estimates.

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–89 designated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted “(with or without written agreement) provided that the Director maintains the level of confidentiality required by law of the department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission from which it is obtained in accordance with section 603(e) of this title” for “(other than material the disclosure of which would be a violation of law)”, and added par. (2). 2019—Subsec. (a)(5)(A). Pub. L. 116–94 substituted “the maximum rate of pay in effect under section 4575(f) of this title.” for “the lower of— “(i) the highest annual rate of compensation of any officer of the Senate; or “(ii) the highest annual rate of compensation of any officer of the House of Representatives.” 2004—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office”. 1999—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 106–113 amended par. (5) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (5) read as follows: “The Director shall receive compensation at a per annum gross rate equal to the rate of basic pay, as in effect from time to time, for level III of the Executive Schedule in section 5314 of title 5. The Deputy Director shall receive compensation at a per annum gross rate equal to the rate of basic pay, as so in effect, for level IV of the Executive Schedule in section 5315 of such title.” 1997—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 105–33, § 10102(a), substituted “The term of office of the Director shall be 4 years and shall expire on January 3 of the year preceding each Presidential election.” for “The term of office of the Director first appointed shall expire at noon on January 3, 1979, and the terms of office of Directors subsequently appointed shall expire at noon on January 3 of each fourth year thereafter.” Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–33, § 10102(b), inserted “and” before “the Library”, struck out “and the Office of Technology Assessment,” after “Library of Congress,”, inserted “and” before “the Librarian”, and struck out “, and the Technology Assessment Board” after “Librarian of Congress”. Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 105–33, § 10102(c), redesignated subsec. (g), relating to revenue estimates, as (f). 1990—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 101–508, § 13202(a), redesignated subsec. (f), relating to authorization of appropriations, as (g). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 101–508, § 13202(a), redesignated subsec. (f), relating to authorization of appropriations, as (g). Pub. L. 101–508, § 12302(b), (c), redesignated section 921 of this title as subsec. (g) of this section, inserted heading “Revenue estimates” and substituted “this Act” for “this title and the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2019 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 116–94 effective on the later of the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2020, or the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after Dec. 20, 2019, see section 212(c) of Pub. L. 116–94, set out as a note under section 282b of this title.

Effective Date

Subsec. (a) effective July 12, 1974, see section 905(a) of Pub. L. 93–344, and subsecs. (b) to (f) effective on day on which first Director of Congressional Budget Office is appointed under subsec. (a), see section 905(a), (b) of Pub. L. 93–344, formerly set out as a note under section 621 of this title.

Short Title

of 2024 Amendment Pub. L. 118–89, § 1, Sept. 30, 2024, 138 Stat. 1557, provided that: “This Act [amending this section] may be cited as the ‘Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 93–344, which enacted this chapter, to be cited in its entirety as the “Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974”, with titles I through IX thereof to be cited as the “Congressional Budget Act of 1974”, see section 1(a) of Pub. L. 93–344, set out as a note under section 621 of this title. References in Other Laws to GS–16, 17, or 18 Pay RatesReferences in laws to the rates of pay for GS–16, 17, or 18, or to maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I, § 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note under section 5376 of Title 5.

§601 Establishment

Summary

Title 2, §601

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

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Amendments

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Effective Date

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