THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2001 Request for Appropriations (841) Table of Contents Agency-Wide Data Overview of CBO's Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2001 Accomplishments in Fiscal Year 1999 Changes in the Spending Plan for Fiscal Years 1999 and 2000 Summary Schedules A, B, and C ..... Explanation of Changes Shown on Schedule C CBO's Products CBO's Workload CBO's Direct and Indirect Employees Staffing and Organizational Changes CBO Organization Chart Data for Each Organizational Unit Office of the Director Page 1 3 .3 6 11 14 16 17 18 19 21 Budget Analysis Division Macroeconomic Analysis Division Tax Analysis Division Program Divisions Management, Business, and Information Services Division Additional Agency-Wide Data Ten-Year Quantitative Data on CBO .. Object Class Summary and Explanation Fiscal Year 2001 74 75 77 OVERVIEW OF CBO'S BUDGET REQUEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001 The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is requesting $28,493,000 for its operations in fiscal year 2001, a 9.1 percent increase over the agency's fiscal year 2000 appropriation. This request would allow us to staff up to 228 full-time-equivalent positions (FTEs) from the 225 positions targeted for fiscal year 2000. The funding increase is largely necessitated by our need to compensate for a significant funding shortfall in 2000. The funding increase we received between fiscal year 1999 and fiscal year 2000 was only 1.8 percent-$700,000 less than originally requested. That increase fell far short of the 8 percent ($2.1 million) needed to cover what we must spend on pay and benefit costs alone in fiscal year 2000. Because 94 percent of our funding goes to salaries, benefits, and computer technology, a shortfall of that magnitude is impossible to absorb without negatively affecting our staffing. To cope with this situation in the short run, our fiscal year 2000 spending plan (1) holds actual staffing in fiscal year 2000 to 225 positions, well below the 232 authorized, even though there are a number of areas where additional staff are needed; (2) greatly reduces our discretionary spending on computer technology and information resources; (3) assumes an increase in printing and postage resulting from the expected publication of a larger number of major studies; and (4) controls most other spending with offsetting savings or reductions. Constrained hiring will mean that to support major new investments in our long-term modeling and analysis of the Social Security program and to maintain essential functions such as scorekeeping, budget analysis, and economic and revenue forecasting, our staff resources will be stretched in both fiscal years. The fiscal year 2001 request would allow us to fully fund the 228 FTEs we plan to fill by the end of fiscal year 2000. By carefully managing our new hiring and salaries and developing additional operating savings, we hope to be able to reach our authorized staff ceiling of 232 in fiscal year 2002. Our request reflects a $1.8 million, or 8 percent, increase in personnel spending to fund 228 FTEs (see the table on page 2). Spending for technology will increase by $588,000, or 38 percent, above fiscal year 2000, bringing this broad category back to its historical path after a major cutback in the current year. The remaining spending is roughly flat from year to year. Specifically, this budget request: Funds 228 FTEs, although we wish to maintain our authorized staffing of 232 FTEs and work toward achieving that level in 2002. Provides a pay adjustment of 3.7 percent and merit increases costing 2.7 percent of our pay base-reductions from fiscal year 2000 to reflect the cumulative cost-of-living increases of January 2000 and January 2001 that will help mitigate somewhat the pay gap we suffer relative to the private sector. Contains a $588,000 increase in spending for computer technology and system, data, and model development, which includes $150,000 to begin the transfer of costly mainframe applications to a more economical platform and $100,000 to purchase new software for Supports a stable or increasing workload of 11 studies and mandated reports, 25 papers and memorandums, 2,000 legislative cost estimates and mandate cost statements, and a growing number of testimonies before Congressional committees (estimated at 30 to 35 appearances for both 2000 and 2001). This request is designed to allow CBO to satisfy a somewhat increased workload and to meet the mandates and requests of the Congress. Nonetheless, we continue to be concerned about our ability to offer the salaries and benefits needed to attract and retain employees in today's tight labor market. Consequently, within the requested amount, we will do everything we can to strengthen our recruitment and retention efforts. CBO'S ROLE IN SUPPORT OF THE CONGRESS The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 established CBO as a nonpartisan Congressional support agency. Its mandate is to be analytically precise, professional, and nonpartisan in providing the Congress with information on matters of budgetary and fiscal policy. In addition to the work products specified in the act (including scorekeeping, five-year cost estimates of reported bills, and five-year projections of new budget authority, outlays, and revenues), the Congressional Budget Office has three principal statutory tasks: to provide information to the two budget committees on all matters within their jurisdiction and such further reports "as may be necessary and appropriate"; to provide information to the appropriations and tax committees upon request; and, upon request of any other committees, to provide information compiled for the budget, tax, and appropriations committees plus, "to the extent practicable," additional requested information. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act assigned CBO additional statutory tasks, which the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 extended through 2002. Three times a year, CBO must report whether a sequestration of budgetary resources will be necessary to adhere to the caps on discretionary appropriations or to the pay-as-you-go requirement for legislation that deals with direct spending or receipts. Also, as soon as practicable after the Congress completes action on an appropriation bill or on any legislation affecting direct spending or receipts, CBO must provide the Office of Management and Budget with a cost estimate. The Director of CBO is also responsible for alerting the Congress to a recession or downturn in the economy that might warrant a suspension of the current budget procedures. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 imposed three additional duties on the Congressional Budget Office. First, CBO is required to analyze all new, reported legislation and prepare expanded cost estimates (called mandate cost statements) for bills imposing mandates on state and local governments that would entail direct compliance costs of more than $50 million in any year. The agency must do the same for bills imposing mandates on the private sector that would require more than $100 million a year in direct costs to implement (with exceptions for certain types of mandates, such as legislation enforcing constitutional rights or prohibitions against discrimination). Second, upon request, CBO must help committees analyze the budgetary or financial impact of legislation affecting state and local governments or the private sector, including benefits and macroeconomic effects. Third, also upon request, CBO must undertake studies of legislative proposals containing federal mandates on either the public or private sector. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 1999 Fiscal year 1999 brought major changes to the Congressional Budget Office—a new Director and Deputy Director and several other senior managers were appointed. In addition, the nature of the work shifted somewhat, as the agency responded formally to a large number of quick-turnaround requests from the Congressional leadership and the budget committees at the end of the budget cycle |