EXPLANATION OF CHANGES SHOWN ON SCHEDULE C A. MANDATORY CHANGES 1. Merit increases and related benefits Merit pay increases are budgeted at 3.2% of base salaries, up Staff | Amount ($000) 365 | 347 13. Annualization of FY 1994 pay increases and other actions. Annualization of the FY 1994 merit increases, turnover effects, and the FTE reductions required by P.L. 103-69). 187 | 12. Printing price increases of 3.1% Printing costs are expected to increase by 3.1% according to GPO which prints all CBO publications. 14. Administrative contracts increase of 5.0% The price increase for administrative services provided by the Library of Congress and the NFC is projected from recent increases in these contracts. 15. Misc. services price increase of 3.2% Price increases in this area are projected at 3.2%, slightly higher than the current CBO inflation forcast. 16. Subscriptions price increase of 11% | Staff | Amount ($000) 43 122 14 |2a. Administrative expense Reduction (P.L. 103-69) Reduction in administrative expenses required by the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 1994. |=================================== Although spending for these projects is maintained at the current | level, funds are being re-allocated to reflect changing needs. (86)| | Staff | Amount ($000) 61 ======== 14 | OVERVIEW OF CBO'S ROLE The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 established the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as a nonpartisan Congressional support agency. Its mandate is to be analytically precise, professional, and politically unbiased 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: (1) to provide information to the two Budget Committees on all matters within their jurisdiction and such further reports "as may be necessary and appropriate"; (2) to provide information to the appropriating and tax committees on request; and (3) on request of any other committees, to provide information compiled for the budget, taxing, and appropriating committees plus, "to the extent practicable," additional requested information. The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) (BEA) assigned CBO additional statutory tasks that were extended through 1998 by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Three times a year, CBO must report whether a sequestration of budgetary resources will be necessary to adhere to the discretionary appropriation caps, the pay-as-you-go requirement for direct spending and receipts legislation, or the maximum deficit amount for a fiscal year. Also, as soon as practicable after Congress completes action on an appropriation bill or on any direct spending or receipts legislation, 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 |