October 16, 2026 – Cost Estimate.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 16, 2026
October 16, 2026 – Cost Estimate.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 16, 2026
“Over the past three months, the Congressional Budget Office has produced a variety of budget and economic analyses, cost estimates, and analytical products, thus fulfilling its core mission of supporting Congress during each stage of the legislative process. This newsletter is a companion to CBO’s Recent Publications and Work in Progress as of September 30, 2026, which offers a summary of recent publications and those scheduled to be released in the coming months.
CBO also regularly publishes presentations and budget and economic data, which can be found on the agency’s website, as well as models and code, which are posted on the agency’s Github page.To learn more about CBO, see An Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office.”
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Social Security’s long term financial outlook has again moved to the forefront with the release of the Congressional Budget Office’s 2026 long term projections and the Social Security Trustees’ latest annual assessment. Although the reports differ in methodology and some of their estimates, they point to the same fundamental challenge: under current law, the gap between Social Security’s scheduled benefits and the revenues available to finance them is projected to persist and generally widen over the decades ahead. This article examines the findings of CBO and the Trustees, supplemented by analysis from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with particular attention to the projected depletion of trust fund reserves, the distinction between scheduled and payable benefits, the demographic and economic forces contributing to the financing gap, and what these projections actually mean, and do not mean, for the future of Social Security.
CBO’s 2026 Long Term Projections for Social Security
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) final report, August 28,2026.*
CBO reports annually on programs whose authorizations of appropriations have already expired or will expire. This report updates CBO’s preliminary report that was released on January 15, 2026.
SUMMARY:
Cost Estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), August 6, 2026.
Overview of Document:
From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
S. 3733, a bill to amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to authorize certain public libraries to collect and retain a fee for the execution of a passport application as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on June 17, 2026. This bill would authorize the Department of State to restore the ability of nongovernmental public libraries to accept passport applications. The bill also would require the department to report to the Congress within 30 days of enactment on whether it has done so.
Budget reconciliation is a special congressional procedure created by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that allows Congress to consider legislation affecting federal spending, revenues (taxes), and the debt limit under expedited procedures. Most notably, reconciliation bills can pass the Senate with a simple majority vote rather than the 60 votes normally needed to overcome a filibuster. As a result, reconciliation has become one of the most important tools for enacting major fiscal policy changes. The following is an overview of the congressional budget reconciliation process and a discussion of its importance to librarians, researchers, and the general public.
Reconciliation is designed to align existing laws with the fiscal goals established in a congressional budget resolution. It can be used to:
From: Congressional Budget Office (CBO), June 8, 2026.
By Chapin White, CBO’s Director of Health Analysis.
This week, several of my colleagues in the Congressional Budget Office’s Health Analysis Division are participating in sessions at the 15th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) in Minneapolis. The sessions are part of CBO’s ongoing efforts to engage with the broader research community. Such engagement improves the quality of CBO’s analysis and makes the agency’s methods and findings more transparent and available. CBO looks forward to discussion and feedback on the following topics.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Report, May 12, 2026.*
CBO estimates that a national missile defense system possessing capabilities broadly consistent with those in the “The Iron Dome for America” executive order would cost about $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and operate for 20 years.
SUMMARY:
A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) presentation by Phill Swagel, Sean Dunbar, Sarah Masi, and Sarah Sajewski on May 11, 2026
SUMMARY:
“This presentation describes CBO’s February 2026 projections of federal subsidies for health insurance, with a focus on Medicare, Medicaid, and premium tax credits. Projected enrollments in those and other programs are discussed, as are the factors that prompted changes to CBO’s projections since January 2025.”