Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process

Baselines and scorekeeping are an integral part of the federal budget process, providing Congress and the President with a framework for making and enforcing budgetary decisions. A baseline serves as a benchmark for federal budget decisions. While the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office create different baselines, their baselines project federal spending, revenue, and budget surplus or deficit amounts that would occur if existing budget policies were left unchanged. Scorekeeping is the process by which the budgetary impact of proposed ad enacted budgetary policies is measured; it assists Congress and the President in making and enforcing budgetary decisions.