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

Summary

The Director must let the public copy information, data, estimates, and statistics received under section 601(d) and (e) during normal business hours, following reasonable rules. If someone asks, the Director should, when possible, give a copy if the person pays the cost. The Director must also keep filing, coding, and indexing systems that show what records exist and make those systems available to the public during normal business hours. Some records are not public. That includes things already exempt by law and three kinds of sensitive material: national defense or foreign-relations secrets; confidential trade or business information obtained on a confidential basis (not from a benefits application); and personnel, medical, or similar personal data whose release would be a clear invasion of privacy. Information requested by a committee or Member is public unless that committee or Member tells the Director not to release it. The Director must keep the same level of secrecy that the agency providing the information requires, and CBO staff face the same legal penalties for unauthorized disclosure as the staff of that agency.

Title 2, §603

The Congress — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsections (c), (d), and (e), the Director shall make all information, data, estimates, and statistics obtained under section 601(d) and (e) of this title available for public copying during normal business hours, subject to reasonable rules and regulations, and shall to the extent practicable, at the request of any person, furnish a copy of any such information, data, estimates, or statistics upon payment by such person of the cost of making and furnishing such copy.

(b)The Director shall develop and maintain filing, coding, and indexing systems that identify the information, data, estimates, and statistics to which subsection (a) applies and shall make such systems available for public use during normal business hours.

(c)Subsection (a) shall not apply to information, data, estimates, and statistics—

(1)which are specifically exempted from disclosure by law; or

(2)which the Director determines will disclose—

(A)matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or the confidential conduct of the foreign relations of the United States;

(B)information relating to trade secrets or financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a given person if the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, other than through an application by such person for a specific financial or other benefit, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person; or

(C)personnel or medical data or similar data the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(d)Subsection (a) shall apply to any information, data, estimates, and statistics obtained at the request of any committee, joint committee, or Member unless such committee, joint committee, or Member has instructed the Director not to make such information, data, estimates, or statistics available for public copying.

(e)With respect to information, data, estimates, and statistics obtained under section 601(d) and 601(e) of this title, the Director shall maintain the same level of confidentiality as is required by law of the department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission from which it is obtained. Officers and employees of the Congressional Budget Office shall be subject to the same statutory penalties for unauthorized disclosure or use as officers or employees of the department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission from which it is obtained.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2000—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(7) [title III, § 310(b)(2)], substituted “subsections (c), (d), and (e)” for “subsections (c) and (d)”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(7) [title III, § 310(b)(1)], added subsec. (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on day on which first Director of Congressional Budget Office is appointed under section 601(a) of this title, see section 905(b) of Pub. L. 93–344, formerly set out as a note under section 621 of this title.

§603 Public access to budget data