Reference Links
Nonpartisan budgetary, economic, and “scorekeeping” analysis for Congress.
Primary access points
- Key Budget and Economic Data (time series + 10-year budget projections; downloadable files).
- Baseline Projections for Selected Programs (detailed underlying tables for selected baselines).
- Budget Options (budgetary implications of various approaches to altering federal policies).
- Estimates of the President’s Budget Proposals (mandatory/revenue proposal estimates with detailed tables).
- Publications with Supplemental Data Files (one-stop list of reports that include datasets/spreadsheets).
Key recurring reports & products
- The Budget and Economic Outlook (CBO’s baseline + macro outlook).
- Long-Term Budget Outlook (30-year projections).
- Cost Estimates (bill-by-bill legislative cost estimates).
- Budget Options (policy menu with budgetary effects).
Nonpartisan committee that provides analysis of federal tax policy, prepares official revenue estimates for tax legislation, and produces tax-related reports and distributional analyses.
Primary access points
- A Joint Committee of the United States Congress | Joint Committee on Taxation. (Publication search page for JCT)
- Revenue Estimating (overview of methods and the estimating process).
- Requesting Estimates and Analysis (how congressional offices request JCT analysis).
Key recurring reports & products
- Revenue Estimates (example: recent revenue estimate publication).
- Tax Expenditures (latest report: annual estimates of federal tax expenditures).
- Bluebook (general explanation: general explanation of tax legislation enacted by Congress).
Official US national accounts: GDP, income, consumption, investment, trade, regional accounts, and more.
Primary access points
- Current releases list. (List of recent publications)
- Release Schedule (Upcoming release schedule)
- Interactive Data (iTable) Application Hub (reference link for key data tables).
- National GDP & Personal Income tables (National Income and Product Accounts table access + documentation pointers).
Key recurring reports & products
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) release page (tables + “key source data and assumptions”).
- Personal Income and Outlays (includes PCE inflation measures).
- PCE Price Index (headline) and core PCE page.
Primary federal statistics on inflation, employment, wages, productivity, and more.
Primary access points
- BLS release calendar.
- Databases, Tables & Calculators (entry point for major BLS series and tools).
Key recurring reports & products
- The Employment Situation (monthly jobs report).
- CPI (Consumer Price Index) homepage (includes “average price” series references).
- Employment Cost Index (ECI).
Demographics, households, labor force survey support, social and economic characteristics, and business/economic structure.
Primary access points
- Census Bureau Data (main dissemination platform).
- Census data landing page (entry point by topic/program).
Key recurring reports & products
- American Community Survey (ACS) data access page.
- Current Population Survey (CPS) program page (key monthly labor force/demographic tables).
- Population Estimates Program (annual population estimates).
- Decennial Census of Population and Housing (program overview + data tools/datasets).
- County Business Patterns (CBP) (annual local business counts/employment/payroll by industry).
Executive branch budget formulation, execution guidance, and official budget tables (President’s Budget).
Primary access points
- Budget of the United States Government (official PDFs/volumes by fiscal year).
- OMB Historical Tables (official long-run receipts/outlays/debt series).
- OMB Analytical Perspectives (conceptual/technical budget chapters; often includes downloadable tables).
- OMB supplemental materials / technical supplement (crosscuts and other supporting tables).
Key recurring reports & products
- OMB Circulars page (includes Circular A-11—budget preparation/execution guidance).
- Public Budget Database User’s Guide (describes the database extracts and key caveats).
Nonpartisan policy and legal analysis for Congress; products vary (Reports, In Focus, Insights, etc.).
Primary access points
- CRS Products on Congress.gov (search/browse CRS products collection).
- “About CRS Products” help page (explains product types and how the collection works).
Key recurring reports & products
- CRS Appropriations Status Table (quick tracking for annual appropriations cycle).
- Appropriations Report Language: Overview of Development, Content, and Issues (sample CRS product page).
FRED is the St. Louis Fed’s public platform to download, graph, and track hundreds of thousands of US and global economic time series from many official sources.
Primary access points
- Federal Reserve Economic Data (search + charts + downloads).
- Economic Release Calendar (weekly view of scheduled releases).
- Economic FRED Maps (cross-sectional mapping of regional data directly in FRED).
Key recurring reports & products