Office of Management and Budget

www.whitehouse.gov/omb

History and Overview

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) began life in 1921 as the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Budget (BOB). In 1939, the BOB was brought into the Executive Office of the President. It was eventually reorganized into the modern OMB during the first Nixon administration in 1970.

With the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which established the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the OMB became the president's counterpoint to the CBO and the senior management team responsible for developing spending estimates and coordinating the activities of federal agencies.

Over 500 people work at OMB today, serving as the senior management team that gathers, analyzes and filters budget requests. The OMB also reviews various federal agency regulations and issues presidential edicts dictating future management practices for federal agencies.

OMB is the president's representative when it comes to spending and tax revenue estimates. Reports issued by the OMB present the White House's own take on policy and spending, usually countering or complementing those of the Congressional Budget Office, the Treasury Department, and the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Location

Mission: What Does OMB Do?

The White House calls on OMB to provide concrete spending estimates for any policies or programs under consideration by the president. Additionally, OMB undertakes performance reviews of federal agencies and programs to evaluate their effectiveness and recommend reforms. You can find out how various government programs have been rated at http://www.expectmore.gov. All areas of executive branch activity -- including budgets, legislation, federal regulations, and procurement -- come under the domain of OMB.

The chief responsibilities and functions of OMB remain the development of the president's annual budget, assisting the president in managing the Executive Branch, and developing the administration's official position on legislation pending before Congress. The office's own website highlights its commitment to “providing the highest quality regulatory analysis.”

The Structure of OMB

The Director of OMB oversees three subdivisions of research and activity, each of which has its own deputy or associate director:

The Resource Management Offices: Natural Resource Programs (energy, science, water), Health programs, Education & Labor programs, General Government Programs (transportation, housing, commerce), and National Security Program.

The Statutory Offices: the Office of Federal Financial Management, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

The OMB-Wide Support Offices: General Counsel, Legislative Affairs, Communications, Economic Policy, Legislative Reference Division, Budget Review and Programs & Personnel.

The Resource Management Offices (RMOs) are chiefly responsible for the development of the president's Budget and Management Agenda. The RMOs coordinate with Congress over federal fiscal policies, and provide policy and management guidance to federal agencies. The staff in these offices are experts in their respective policy areas and are excellent resources for journalists, but they are rarely willing or able to go on the record.

The Statutory Offices are involved in the implementation of financial management policy, federal regulations and information requirements. These offices also study and propose improvements in federal procurement, government statistics and information management.

Six positions within OMB—the Director, the Deputy Director, the Deputy Director for Management, and the Administrators of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, and the Office of Federal Financial Management—are presidential appointments that require Senate confirmations.

Peter Orszag is director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was previously director of the Congressional Budget Office.

The Press Office

As with most federal agencies, the press office at OMB is the sole portal for information requests. Despite the reluctance of OMB personnel to speak on the record, the press office is very willing to provide official policy statements and the latest reports and materials to reporters.

You can reach communications director Kenneth Baer or his deputy director at 202-395-7254. The e-mail address for the press office is media@omb.eop.gov.

The press office is usually willing to put you in touch with one of OMB's policy specialists if you need a significant amount of background information.

Resources for Journalists

The OMB is one of the best resources for journalists who are covering the White House, legislation pending before Congress, or any large issue federal agency. Congressmen themselves turn to OMB when they want to know the president's stand on any given issue.

The letters or circulars issued by OMB are a great guide and overview to issues facing the federal government. They also provide clues to how the White House will act on a pending piece of legislation, and they can often be more substantive and informative than what the White House press office will state publicly.

Typically speaking, these letters come out right before a matter hits the floor in either chamber, although a number of versions can be sent on the same bill, especially if it undergoes a significant facelift in Congress. The letters are a great way to gauge how important the administration views a project or issue, either by its insistence on the inclusion or exclusion of it in the legislation or simply its lack of attention to it altogether. The letters will also include veto threats if the legislation does not hit the president's desk in a fashion he has deemed acceptable. Occasionally, the letters will be sent by a Cabinet secretary in consultation with the OMB and the White House. In these cases, reporters should contact the specific agency instead of the OMB for more information.

Be careful not to turn to the OMB on issues that are more specifically related to Cabinet-level agencies (e.g. the Commerce Department), which will have their own press statements or analyses of programs and legislation. That said, OMB studies may prove to be a great supplement for background information.

Website and Contact Information

OMB has a very helpful website (www.whitehouse.gov/omb). This includes past and current budgets, testimony on the Hill, and the circulars that outline presidential policy. Be forewarned: the website is a little abstruse and requires some exploration before it becomes a useful research tool. Again, the press office is very helpful in responding to requests for information.

Does this agency's information need updating? programs@nationalpress.org