BPLA (Contents)

Budget Process Law Annotated (1993)

 [pages 29-34]

TITLE II—CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

establishment of office

Sec 201.⁷⁰ (a) In General.—

(1) There is established an office of the Congress to [p. 30] be known as the Congressional Budget office (hereinafter in this title 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 or his fitness to perform his duties. The Deputy Director shall be appointed by the Director.

(3) 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.⁷¹ 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.^[1]

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

(5) 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, United States Code. The Deputy Director shall receive compensation at a per [p. 31] 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.

---

70. Section 201 is codified al 2 U.S.C. §601 (1988 & Supp. IV 1992).

71. Terms of Directors of the Congressional Budget Office thus expired on January 3, 1983 (for Alice M. Rivlin), on January 3, 1987 (for Rudolph G. Penner), and on January 3, 1991 (for Robert D. Reischauer), and will expire on January 3, 1995 (for Robert D. Reischauer [2]), on January 3, 1999, and so on.

(b) Personnel.—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.

---

[The BPLA did not include notes for subsection (b).]

(c) Experts and Consultants.—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, United States Code.

---

[The BPLA did not include notes for subsection (c).]

(d) Relationship To Executive Branch.—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 [p. 32] 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 (other than material the disclosure of which would be a violation of law). 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.

---

[The BPLA did not include notes for subsection (d).]

(e) Relationship to Other Agencies of Congress.—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, service, 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 General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and the Office of Technology Assessment,^[3] and (upon agreement with them) to utilize their services, facilities, and personnel with or without reimbursement. The Comptroller General, the Librarian of Congress, and the Technology Assessment Board 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.

---

[The BPLA did not include notes for  subsection (e).]

(g)⁷² [(f)] Revenue Estimates.—⁷³For the purposes of [p. 33] 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 Committees⁷⁴ 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.⁷⁵

---

72. This is so in the original, but should read “(f)”. Section 13202(b) or the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (see infra p. 716) transferred to this second subsection (g) the text of what used to be section 273 of Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The statement of managers accompanying the conference report on the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 explains the change briefly: “The conference agreement codifies section 273 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 as part of the Congressional Budget Act without change.” H.R. Conf. Rep. 101-964, 101^st Cong., 2d Sess. 1170 (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2374, 2875.[4]

73. Section 13202(c)(2) of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 added the heading “Revenue Estimates.—”. See infra p. 716.

74. This subsection reflects the normal scorekeeping convention that Congress turns to its Budget Committees to assess the costs of legislation. See also section 302(g), infra p. 105; section 310(d)(4), infra p. 172; section 311(c), infra p. 194; section 313(e), infra p. 228; and section 258B(h)(4) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 infra p. 650.

75. Section 13202(c)(1) of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 struck the words this title and the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 that used to be here and inserted “this Act.” See infra p. 716.

(g)⁷⁶ Appropriations.—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 the paragraph relating to the contingent [p. 34] fund of the Senate under the heading UNDER LEGISLATIVE” in the Act of October 1, 1888 (28 Stat. 546; 2 U.S.C. 68), and upon vouchers approved by the Director.

---

76. Section 13202(a) of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 redesignated this subsection – which used to be subsection (f) – as subsection (g) (See infra p. 716), so as to create room for the transfer to this section of what used to be section 273 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Counsel Notes

SECTION 102 (CBA), AS CURRENTLY SET FORTH IN LAW

Section 201 (CBA) as currently set forth in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-344).

SECTION 102 (CBA, As Enacted)

Section 201 (CBA, as Enacted), as originally enacted by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-344).

Directors of the Congressional Budget Office

Name	Begin Date	End Date
Keith Hall	April 1, 2015	Present
Douglas W. Elmendorf	January 22, 2009	March 31, 2015
Robert A. Sunshine (Acting)	November 25, 2008	January 22, 2009
Peter R. Orszag	January 18, 2007	November 25, 2008
Donald B. Marron Jr. (Acting)	December 29, 2005	January 2007
Douglas Holtz-Eakin	February 5, 2003	December 29, 2005
Barry B. Anderson (Acting)	January 3, 2003	February 5, 2003
Dan L. Crippen	February 3, 1999	January 3, 2003
James Blum (Acting)	January 29, 1999	February 3, 1999
June E. O’Neill	March 1, 1995	January 29, 1999
Robert D. Reischauer	March 6, 1989	February 28, 1995
James L. Blum (Acting)	—	March 6, 1989
Edward Gramlich (Acting)	April 28, 1987	—
Rudolph G. Penner	September 1, 1983	April 28, 1987
Alice M. Rivlin	February 24, 1975	August 31, 1983

 [1] The first sentence of paragraph (3) currently reads as follows: “The term of office of the Director shall be 4 years and shall expire on January 3 of the year preceding each Presidential election.”

[2] Robert Reischauer resigned on February 24, 1995. He was replaced as CBO director by June O’Neill who served in that position until January 29, 1999.

[3] The “Office of Technology Assessment” was a Congressional support agency that was abolished at the beginning of the 104^th Congress.

[4] U.S.C.CA.N. is the United States Code Congressional and Administrative News. This publication includes Congressional and administrative materials.

Previous: Sec. 102 (BPLA)	Next: Sec. 202 (BPLA)