# Congressional Budget Office Data Access Act

Right now, when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) needs information from government agencies to do its job, there are strict privacy rules that can slow things down. The CBO is Congress's independent research arm that analyzes how much bills will cost and what their effects will be. To do this work accurately, they often need data from agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department, and others. This bill makes it easier for those agencies to share that information with the CBO without running into legal roadblocks.

The bill modifies the Privacy Act of 1974, which protects people's personal information held by the government. Currently, agencies have to be very careful about sharing data, even with Congress, because of privacy concerns. This bill adds a new exception that says agencies can share their data with the CBO and its authorized staff without violating privacy laws. Essentially, it's saying "the CBO is allowed to get this information" so they don't have to jump through as many legal hoops to request it.

In practical terms, this means the CBO could get faster answers when analyzing proposed legislation. For example, if Congress is debating a healthcare bill, the CBO could more quickly obtain relevant data from health agencies to estimate costs and impacts. This could speed up the legislative process and give Congress better information when making decisions. The change is fairly narrow—it only affects the CBO's ability to access data and doesn't change privacy protections for ordinary citizens or create new ways for the public to access government information.

Congressional Budget Office Data Access Act

Grothman, Glenn

Congressional Budget Office Data Access Act This bill exempts the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from the Privacy Act of 1974 to expedite the sharing of data and information between CBO and federal agencies. Under current law, the Privacy Act of 1974 generally prohibits federal agencies from disclosing certain records pertaining to an individual without the individual's prior written consent. This bill allows federal agencies to disclose such records to CBO (or to an authorized representative of CBO) without obtaining the prior written consent of the individual. Several agencies, including the Government Accountability Office and the National Archives and Records Administration, are currently exempt from these requirements, and this bill adds CBO to the list of exemptions.