PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Director must let the public copy the information, data, estimates, and statistics the office gets under sections 601(d) and 601(e) during normal business hours, following reasonable rules. People can ask for copies and must pay the cost. The Director must also make and keep filing, coding, and index systems so the material can be found and let the public use those systems. Information does not have to be released if a law already exempts it, or if releasing it would reveal national defense or foreign relations secrets, confidential trade or financial business details given on a confidential basis, or personnel/medical/personal privacy data — unless the sensitive parts are removed. Material obtained for 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 confidentiality as the agency that provided the material. Congressional Budget Office officers and employees face the same legal penalties for improper disclosure as the staff of that agency.

Title 2, §603

The Congress, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Right to copy

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)Index

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)Exceptions

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;

unless the portions containing such matters, information, or data have been excised.

(d)Information obtained for committees and Members

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)Level of confidentiality

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