Web Critique 13

Website Name:  www.cbo.gov
Operated By:  The Congressional Budget Office
Funded By: Congress via the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

According to the website, “CBO provides formal, written estimates of the cost of virtually every bill approved by Congressional committees to show how the bill would affect spending or revenues over the next 5 or 10 years, depending on the type of spending involved.”, as well as other information, such as evaluations of the President’s budget, tabulations of Congressional actions, etc. They are required by law to disclose the methodology for their calculations. The website presents its information in a very professional and clean layout. They have a convenient document on the website titled An Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office providing basic information about the institution. Their Topics tab makes it easy to search for budget information on any topic. Once you find a topic you are looking for, there are many different related reports sorted by “Featured”, “Latest”, and “Policy Options”. The reports succinctly convey the information along with appropriate graphs or charts. The website is easily navigable, with access to the tabs on all website pages. The Cost Estimates tab takes you directly to Cost Estimates on specific House or Senate bills, and also a search engine for finding ones you may be looking for.  And between the FAQ tab and the Blog, any other possible budget information you could ever want is easily found!