A Guide To Style And Usage

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CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

CBO
A Guide to
Style and
Usage

2013

I feel strongly that our reports should be lucidly written and comprehensible to
noneconomists. We should break with the ponderous prose of most official
economic writing and aim at giving Congressmen themselves something they can
actually read and understand. We should assume that the reader is an intelligent,
well-informed person without formal training in economics (the average
Congressman is a middle-aged lawyer who may or may not have had an
economics class 30 years ago in college). We should not be patronizing or talk
down to the audience, but we should avoid jargon and explain all the concepts as
we go along.
— Alice Rivlin, Founding Director of CBO, 1975

Preface
Since its inception, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has stressed the importance of
good, clear writing. This guide to style and word usage, the fourth in CBO’s history, updates
the 1996 publication A Style Guide for CBO. It reflects the evolution of the agency’s style rules
and should be followed in all CBO documents.
The bulk of the guide consists of entries, arranged alphabetically, that answer the most
frequently asked questions about grammar, punctuation, and word usage at CBO. In general,
examples of correct usage are shown in italics, and examples of incorrect usage are shown
in quotation marks. Entries that consist of a word or phrase without further explanation
are intended to illustrate a term’s spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, or lack thereof.
Definitions of common economic and budgetary terms come from the glossary periodically
published with CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook.
The style guide concludes with a section about footnotes and references that shows in detail
how to cite many types of source material. The notable addition to that section is information
about citing online sources (which were not widely used when the previous guide was
published).
Unless shown otherwise in the style guide, the spelling of words in CBO documents
should agree with the latest edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (available at
www.m-w.com). When Webster’s lists alternative spellings of a word, CBO’s practice is
generally to use the first one listed. For more details about grammar, punctuation, and word
usage than are contained in this guide, good sources to consult are The Chicago Manual of
Style and The New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage.

Table of Contents
Alphabetical Guide to Style and Usage

Special Topics
Abbreviations

Active and Passive Voice

Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations

Hyphenation and Compound Words

Numbers

Plain English

Possessives

Pronouns

Footnotes and References
What to Put in References

77
78

Examples of References

CBO Publications

Books, Reports, and Working Papers From Nongovernment Sources

Articles in Periodicals

Government Publications

Legislation, Laws, Regulations, and Court Cases

Websites

Other Sources

A
a-. achromatic, atypical. See prefixes.
abbreviations. For information about when and
how to use abbreviations, see the box on page 2.
Some common terms and their abbreviations
are listed separately and alphabetically in this
style guide.

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
See AIDS.

across. Do not use across to mean “between” or
“among,” as in “The new program would avoid
inequities across crop types.” Such constructions sound like jargon and are best avoided.
Across, however, is an appropriate substitute for
“throughout”: Payments have been evenly distributed across the school district. Also see among/
between.

act. Lowercase when not part of a formal title:
Referring to the provisions of ERTA, critics argued
that the act would have grave repercussions.
Uppercase in shortened titles: Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the Budget Act, the Balanced
Budget Act. Names of Congressional acts are not
italicized or underlined.

One exception is a joint resolution proposing
an amendment to the Constitution. Before a
constitutional amendment takes effect, it must
be approved by two-thirds of both Houses
and ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Presidential approval is not required.
Simple resolutions and concurrent resolutions
do not become laws when they are agreed to.
Instead, they serve to express the sense of one
House (a simple resolution) or both Houses
of Congress (a concurrent resolution) or to
accomplish housekeeping functions.
All of the types of legislative vehicles discussed
above may be referred to as measures. The
Congress considers and disposes of measures.
Also see adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/
ratify.

acute care. No hyphen as an adjective: acute care
hospital.

ad hoc. Not italicized. See the box about Foreign

active-duty personnel

Phrases and Abbreviations on page 27.

active voice. See the box about Active and Passive
Voice on page 3.

act/bill/law/measure/resolution. A piece of
legislation in the Congress is a bill until it is
passed by either the House or the Senate; then it
is called an act. A joint resolution, by contrast,
continues to be called a joint resolution when
it is passed by either House. Acts and joint
resolutions become laws after passing both
Houses of Congress and being signed by the
President (enacted). Note that it is usually
inaccurate to say “The Congress enacted a law.”
Except in very rare cases in which the Congress

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

overrides a Presidential veto, enacting a law
requires action by both the Congress and the
President.

2013

adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)
adjusted gross income (AGI). Income from
all sources not specifically excluded by the
tax code, minus certain deductions. Personal
exemptions and the standard or itemized
deductions are subtracted from AGI to
determine taxable income.

Administration. Uppercase when referring to
the executive branch of the U.S. government:
one of the Obama Administration’s proposals, a
program carried out by several Administrations.
(Refer to a plan or budget of the Administration

ADMINISTRATION • ADVANCED

Abbreviations
Abbreviations are a useful tool to avoid repeating cumbersome names or phrases, but they require work on the part
of readers to remember them, so use them judiciously. If a term appears once or only a few times in a document, do
not abbreviate it. Also, try to avoid abbreviating terms of just two words, such as budget authority.
If a report is heavily laden with often-used special terms or names of organizations, a list of abbreviations can be
helpful. Such a list can appear in a box early in the text; a longer list can appear as a glossary at the end of the
report.

Where to Use. At first mention in the text of a document, spell out a name in full and give its abbreviation in
parentheses: the consumer price index (CPI), power marketing administrations (PMAs), the Congressional
Budget Office’s (CBO’s). If a report is divided into chapters, in any chapter after the one in which the abbreviation
was introduced, spell out the name at its first appearance, with no parenthetical abbreviation—The Congressional
Budget Office has analyzed the 2011 budget—and then use the abbreviation freely. However, in reports with
chapters that may be read independently, such as The Budget and Economic Outlook, spell out a name and include
its abbreviation in parentheses at the first mention in each chapter.
Because appendixes and boxes are generally treated as independent of the main text and of each other, a name
should be spelled out and followed by its abbreviation in parentheses at the first mention in each appendix or box.
The same is true in a summary that functions as a separate chapter rather than as the first section of a report.
Once a term has been introduced, the full name, the abbreviation, or an informal reference (the act, the program,
the department) can be used interchangeably for variety.

Punctuation. Although a few abbreviations take periods (U.S., U.N., U.K.), most do not (NATO, ROTC). Plural
abbreviations take no apostrophes: the GNPs of the United States and Japan. Possessive abbreviations do take
apostrophes: DoD’s report, the USPS’s budget.

With Definite Article. Whether to use “the” before an abbreviation is not established by any reliable rule. In
general, an abbreviation that starts with a vowel (or with a consonant that has a vowel sound) takes a definite article
(the IRS, the USPS, the SBA, but OMB and EPA); one that begins with a consonant usually does not (CBO, HUD,
DoD, VA). The most important thing is to treat an abbreviation consistently within a document.
In Tables and Figures. Avoid abbreviations in tables and figures. If they must be used because of lack of space,
as in a column heading, spell them out elsewhere in the table or in a note at the bottom. (Note: CPI = consumer
price index.)

as the Administration’s plan, not “the Administration plan.”) Lowercase administration when
referring to the management of something.

Administrator. See titles of office.
adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/ratify.
When discussing legislation, using the correct
verb is important. Congressional amendments,
ordinances, resolutions, and rules are adopted,
agreed to, or approved. Bills, acts, and joint
resolutions are passed. Laws are enacted. Treaties and constitutional amendments are ratified.
Also see act/bill/law/measure/resolution.

ad valorem. Not italicized. A term characterizing
an excise tax as one levied on the value of a
commodity rather than on some physical
measurement such as the commodity’s weight
or volume.

advanced/advance. The adjective advanced is
frequently used where advance is correct.
Advanced means “far on in time or course” or
“beyond the elementary or initial stage”:
advanced degree, advanced mathematics. Advance
means “furnished ahead of time” or “going or
situated before”: advance funding, advance
procurement, advance guard.
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

ADVERB PLACEMENT • AGES

Active and Passive Voice
To be readable, writing should mirror speech patterns. Thus, most sentences should be in the active voice rather
than the passive voice. (The passive voice generally contains a form of the verb to be plus a past participle: “was
said,” “is driven.”)
The active voice emphasizes the doer of an action (George processed 12 applications today). The passive voice
subordinates the doer to what is done, or drops the doer entirely, and thus sounds either stilted (“Twelve applications were processed by George today”) or imprecise (“Twelve applications were processed today”—by whom?).
Notice the difference in clarity and strength between these passages in passive and active voice:

In 1981, the legislation was passed by the Congress, although the potential adverse effects of increased
inflation and added pressure on interest rates were noted during the deliberations by a vocal minority.
When the Congress passed the legislation, in 1981, a vocal minority noted potential drawbacks: the
threat of increased inflation and pressure on interest rates.
Use the passive voice sparingly—for example, when you want to emphasize the action rather than the doer or when
the doer is unknown or unimportant.

adverb placement. When an adverb modifies a
verb that includes one or more auxiliary verbs
(such as can or could, may or might, will or
would), the adverb should generally follow the
first auxiliary verb for readability: The subsidies
would greatly reduce total revenues. She may actually have said that. Do not confuse the placement of adverbs in this situation with their
placement when they modify an infinitive; see
split infinitive.

affect/effect. Affect is used primarily as a verb
meaning “influence”: The programs may affect
low-income families. (Affect also means “to
feign,” which has little application at CBO.)
The result of affecting is the noun effect:
Low-income families are likely to experience
pronounced effects. Effect can also be used as a
verb meaning “to bring about, to cause to
happen”: The new law effected a change in
participation. Also see impact.

Affordable Care Act. This term refers to the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Public Law 111-148); the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152);
and, in many cases, the effects of related
judicial decisions, statutory changes, and
administrative actions.

African American. Never hyphenated.
after-tax income. After-tax and before-tax are
preferable to “posttax” and “pretax.”

agency. Uppercase when referring to a specific
agency by name: the Agency for International
Development. Lowercase when referring to the
same body informally: projects funded by the
agency.

agencywide
agenda, agendas (pl.)
ages. Ages of people should be given in numerals:
7-year-olds, a 3-month-old boy, a worker who is
30 years old, people ages (not “aged”) 45 to 50,
women age 60 or older, the under-25 population.
Ages of other things should follow the general
rule for numbers—spelled out below 10, in
numerals above that: three-year fight, a city that
is more than 200 years old.

AGGREGATE DEMAND • AMONG

aggregate demand. Total purchases by
consumers, businesses, government, and
foreigners of a country’s output of final goods
and services during a given period.

agree to. See adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/
ratify.

AIDS. Stands for acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome. AIDS is well enough known by its
acronym that it does not need to be spelled out.

aircraft. Names of aircraft have hyphens after
letters (A-12, B-1, F-16) but not after numbers
(C-5A, F/A-18E/F).

aircraft carrier battle group
air-defense radar system
airfield
Air Force. Uppercase when referring to the
U.S. Air Force. Lowercase when referring to the
services of other countries: China’s air force.

Air National Guard (ANG), the Guard
Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF),
airport and airway tax rates
airspace
air-support mission
air traffic control (ATC) system
air wing
all-. all-around, all-day, all-encompassing,
all-important, all-inclusive. See prefixes.

alliance, allies. Lowercase even when referring
to the NATO allies.

allot, allotted, allotting
all-payer system
All-Volunteer Force (AVF)

alternative-fuel vehicle (AFV)
alternative minimum tax (AMT). A tax
intended to limit the extent to which higherincome people can reduce their tax liability (the
amount they owe) through the use of preferences in the tax code. Taxpayers subject to the
AMT are required to recalculate their tax
liability on the basis of a more limited set of
exemptions, deductions, and tax credits than
would normally apply. The amount by which a
taxpayer’s AMT calculation exceeds his or her
regular tax calculation is that person’s AMT
liability.

although/though. These two words mean the
same thing and are generally interchangeable.
Although is the more commonly used of the
two and is preferable at the beginning of a
sentence. Also see however and while.

a.m. Stands for ante meridiem. Never use with
“morning”: 10:45 a.m., at 9:30 in the morning.

amendments. Lowercase when referring to an
unratified constitutional amendment: the
balanced budget amendment. Uppercase when
referring to a ratified amendment if its formal
title or number is used: the Fifth Amendment,
the 18th Amendment.

American. If possible, avoid using the word
American—as either an adjective or a noun—
when referring to people in the United States,
because all citizens of Central, North, and
South America are Americans. An alternative is
to use U.S. as an adjective and U.S. residents or
U.S. citizens (if citizenship is important in the
context) as a noun.

among/between. The rule seems simple enough:
Use between when discussing two things,
among when referring to more than two.
Rivalry has long existed between the two companies. Revenues were distributed evenly among the
four states involved. Unfortunately, enough
exceptions exist to bedevil even the most careful

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

AMONG • A PRIORI

writer. The distinction to bear in mind is that
among implies a looser, less direct relationship.
Between should be used for more than two
items if each item is considered separately.
Therefore, it is correct to write Talks between
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom ended
in an agreement to divide the responsibility among
the three nations or Train service is available
between New York, New Haven, and Hartford.
Also see across.

analytic, analytical. Synonyms that mean “of or
relating to analysis”; analytic is a bit neater.

and. This conjunction may be used sparingly to
begin a sentence within a paragraph. When
used that way, and imparts emphasis. It is a
poor way to start a paragraph, however. (The
same applies to but.) Also see comma.

and/or. This usage is awkward and sounds too
bureaucratic for CBO writing. Instead of “X
and/or Y,” better options are X, Y, or both or
X or Y or both. Also, in many cases, using or by
itself conveys the same meaning. For example,
fiscal policy can affect behavior by changing
people’s current or expected income implies that
fiscal policy can affect current income for some
people, expected income for other people, and
both types of income for yet others.

annualized. In writing intended for a general
audience, average annual is clearer.

follows the same rule as collective nouns: If
what follows any is plural, use a plural verb
(Any of my friends are happy to go); if what
follows is singular, use a singular verb (Check
to see whether any of the cash is missing).

anybody, anyone. These nouns take singular
verbs and pronouns: Anybody who enrolls in
the auto club receives a decal for his or her car
window. When “his or her” proves too awkward,
recast a sentence in the plural. For example,
instead of writing “If anyone arrives before the
meeting, he or she will not be able to park his or
her car,” write If any participants arrive before the
meeting, they will not be able to park their cars.
The same rules apply to everybody and everyone.
Also see the box about Pronouns on page 57.

any-willing-provider law
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
appendix, appendixes (pl.). Uppercase when
referring to a specific section of a report: see
Appendix B. Lowercase when referring to such
sections nonspecifically or when there is only
one: in the three appendixes to this paper or see the
appendix.

appreciation. Gain in the exchange value of a
currency.

appropriation. The legal authority for a federal

another. Means “one more of the same kind” and
thus, in reference to a number, should be used
only when repeating a number mentioned
earlier. For example, another is incorrect in
this sentence: “The cuts will reduce outlays by
$62 billion in 2013 and by another $640 billion
in 2014”; another would be correct only if the
second number was also $62 billion. With a
different number, say by an additional
$640 billion or by $640 billion more.

anti-. antiair, antiaircraft, antidiscrimination,
antipathy, antisatellite, antiship, antisocial,
antisubmarine, antitank, antitrust, but
anti-inflationary, anti-intellectual. See prefixes.
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

any. In terms of subject-verb agreement, any

2013

program or agency to incur obligations
and make payments from the Treasury.
Appropriations takes an s only when used as a
noun: Those appropriations would permit HHS
to expand the program. The adjective form is
appropriation: the appropriation process, the
appropriation act. The one exception is
the appropriations committee. Also see
spending/funding.

approve. See adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/
ratify.

a priori. Not italicized. Also see the box about
Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations on page 27.

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE • AVERAGE INDEXED MONTHLY EARNINGS

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
areawide
Army. Uppercase when referring to the U.S. Army.
Lowercase when referring to the services of
other countries: Russia’s army.

Army Corps of Engineers, the Corps, the
Corps’
Army National Guard (ARNG), the Guard
around. As a synonym for approximately, around
has informal connotations. A better choice is
about or roughly.

as. See because/since/as and like/as.
Asian American. Never hyphenated.

assure/ensure/insure. Assure means “to make
safe or certain,” but it also implies the idea of
“reassuring or giving confidence to someone.”
Ensure and insure both mean “to make
certain,” but insure also carries the idea of
guaranteeing against loss. The distinctions are
correct in the following sentence: The Senator
assured the panel that the new provision would
ensure that homeowners were insured against
floods.

authorization. A law that sets up or continues a
federal program or agency. Authorizing legislation is normally a prerequisite for appropriations. For some programs, the authorizing
legislation itself provides the authority to incur
obligations and make payments.

autumn. Lowercase even when used with a year:
in autumn 2011.

average indexed monthly earnings (AIME)

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

B
baby-boom generation, baby boomers. The
cohort born between 1946 and 1964.

bachelor’s degree, bachelor of arts (B.A.),
bachelor of science (B.S.)
balance-billing. Always hyphenated.

state laws based on both types of preemptions
implies that the laws are based on the preemptions. Courts have invalidated state laws on
the basis of both types of preemptions implies that
the invalidation is based on the preemptions.

baseline. Always one word: the current baseline,

balanced budget amendment. Never
hyphenated.

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-177).
Also known as the Deficit Control Act or
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. The law established
specific deficit targets and a sequestration
procedure to reduce spending if the targets
were exceeded. It also set rules that governed
the calculation of CBO’s baseline.

baseline projections. A baseline is a benchmark
against which the budgetary effects of proposed
changes in federal revenues or spending are
measured. As defined in the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985,
CBO’s baseline is the projection of new budget
authority, outlays, revenues, and the deficit or
surplus into the budget year and succeeding
years on the basis of current laws and policies,
calculated following the rules set forth in
section 257 of that law.

base realignment and closure (BRAC).

balance of payments. Not hyphenated as a

A process of consolidating or shutting U.S.
military installations as recommended by
the Defense Base Closure and Realignment
Commission (known informally as the BRAC
commission).

noun: a crisis in the balance of payments.
Hyphenated as an adjective: a balance-ofpayments crisis.

barrels per day (bbl/day)
base-case scenario

basis, bases (pl.)

based on/on the basis of. Which phrase to use

basis point. One one-hundredth of a percentage

depends on whether the phrase is serving as an
adjective (modifying a noun) or an adverb
(modifying a verb). Based on is the adjective
form: CBO released a new cost estimate based on
data from the IRS (“based on” modifies “estimate”). On the basis of is the adverb form:
CBO estimated the cost on the basis of data from
the IRS or On the basis of data from the IRS,
CBO estimated that the program would cost
$27 billion (“on the basis of ” modifies
“estimated”).
Why is the distinction between the two phrases
important? Consider the following sentences,
which have different meanings depending
on which phrase is used: Courts have invalidated

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

point. For example, the difference between
interest rates of 6.4 percent and 6.2 percent is
20 basis points.

because/since/as. Both because and since can
mean “for the reason that.” Avoid using since,
however, when it could mean both “because of ”
and “from the time of.” For example, The soccer
team has not won many games since its top scorer
broke her leg could mean either that the team
started losing when the player was injured or
that the team started losing because the player
was injured. Similarly, avoid using as to mean
“because” (as in “We left the party, as I was
getting tired”); it sounds stilted and can be
misread as meaning “while.” Also see like/as.

BEFORE-TAX INCOME • BUDGET AUTHORITY

before-tax income. Before-tax and after-tax are
preferable to “pretax” and “posttax.”

benefit, benefited, benefiting
benefit-cost analysis. Synonymous with costbenefit analysis. Whichever term appears in a
CBO document should be used consistently
throughout the document.

benefit package (not “benefits package”)
beside/besides. Beside is a preposition meaning
“by the side of ” or “in comparison with”: Original estimates of Medicaid’s cost pale beside the
actual spending. Besides means “except,” “in
addition to,” or “furthermore”: No one is going
besides me. Besides her other car problems, her rear
tire was flat.

better off. Not hyphenated after a noun: The
family is better off than before. Hyphenated
before a noun: better-off families.

between/among. See among/between.
bi-/semi-. When referring to time, bi- properly
means “occurring in every two instances of
a time unit” (biweekly, every two weeks;
bimonthly, every two months). The only exception is biannual, which means “twice a year,” as
opposed to biennial, which means “every two
years.” In general, use semi- to mean “occurring
twice in a unit of time” (semiweekly, twice a
week; semimonthly, twice a month). See prefixes.

bill. See act/bill/law/measure/resolution.
black. Lowercase as a racial designation.
Black Lung benefits, black lung disease
Blue Chip consensus forecast. The average of
about 50 private-sector economic forecasts
compiled for the monthly publication Blue
Chip Economic Indicators. The name Blue Chip
is always italicized.

blue-collar. Always hyphenated.

book-value accounting
Britain. See United Kingdom.
British thermal unit. The abbreviation is Btu
following a number (378 Btu) and Btus otherwise (the Btus needed to cool a given space).

Brookings Institution. In text references, lowercase “the” before Brookings; in footnote
citations, drop it completely.

budget. A detailed statement of actual or
anticipated revenues and spending during
an accounting period.
Whether the adjective form should be budget
or budgetary does not depend on any rule;
rather, it is a matter of preference. Over the
years, CBO has demonstrated a preference for
the following usages, which should be followed
for the sake of consistency: budget analysts,
budget cycle, budget deficit, budget outlook,
budget policy, budget process, budget projections,
budget scenarios, but budgetary challenges,
budgetary cost, budgetary effects, budgetary
imbalance, budgetary outcomes, budgetary path,
budgetary perspective, budgetary resources,
budgetary savings, budgetary shortfalls.

budgetary resources. All sources of authority
provided to federal agencies that permit them to
incur financial obligations. Budgetary resources
include new budget authority, unobligated
balances, direct spending authority, and
obligation limitations.

budget authority. Authority provided by law to
incur financial obligations that will result in
immediate or future outlays of federal government funds. Budget authority may be provided
in an appropriation act or authorization act and
may take the form of a direct appropriation of
funds from the Treasury, borrowing authority,
contract authority, entitlement authority, or
authority to obligate and expend offsetting
collections or receipts. Offsetting collections

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

BUDGET AUTHORITY • BY-

and receipts are classified as negative budget
authority. Also see spending/funding.
In text, spell out budget authority rather than
abbreviating it as “BA.”

budget deficit. The amount by which the federal
government’s total outlays exceed its total revenues in a given period, typically a fiscal year.

budget function. One of 20 subject categories
into which budgetary resources are grouped so
that all budget authority and outlays can be
presented according to the national interests
being addressed. There are 17 broad budget
functions, including national defense, international affairs, energy, agriculture, health,
income security, and general government. Three
other functions—net interest, allowances, and
undistributed offsetting receipts—are included
to complete the budget.
Lowercase the names of budget functions:
Outlays for function 300, natural resources and
environment, will decline this year.

budget neutral. Not hyphenated after a noun:
The proposal would be budget neutral. Hyphenated before a noun: budget-neutral proposals.

-builder. home builder, shipbuilder. See suffixes.
buildup (n.), build up (v.)
bullets. See lists.
bureau. Uppercase when referring to a specific
bureau by name: the Bureau of Land
Management. Lowercase when referring to the
same body informally: projects funded by the
bureau.

business cycle. Fluctuations in overall business
activity accompanied by swings in the unemployment rate, interest rates, and corporate
profits. Over a business cycle, real (inflationadjusted) activity rises to a peak (its highest level
during the cycle), then falls until it reaches a
trough (its lowest level following the peak),
whereupon it starts to rise again, defining a new
cycle. Business cycles are irregular, varying in
frequency, magnitude, and duration.

business fixed investment. Spending by businesses on structures, equipment, and software.
Such investment is labeled “fixed” to distinguish
it from investment in inventories.

budget-planning exercise
budget resolution. A concurrent resolution
(adopted by both Houses of Congress) that
sets forth a Congressional budget plan for the
budget year and at least four succeeding years.
The plan consists of targets for spending and
revenues. Later appropriation acts and authorization acts that affect direct spending or revenues are expected to comply with those targets.

budget surplus. The amount by which the federal government’s total revenues exceed its total
outlays in a given period, typically a fiscal year.

budget year. Never hyphenated. The budget year
is the fiscal year for which the budget is being

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

considered. In relation to a session of Congress,
it is the fiscal year that starts on October 1 of
the calendar year in which that session of
Congress began.

2013

but. This conjunction may be used sparingly to
begin a sentence within a paragraph. When
used that way, but imparts emphasis. It is a poor
way to start a paragraph, however. (The same
applies to and.) Also see comma.

buy. As a verb, buy is a short, good substitute
for purchase, procure, or acquire. As a noun,
however, buy sounds like slang (as in “DoD’s
annual weapons buys”) and should not be used.

by-. bylaw, byline, bypass, bystander, but
by-election, by-product. See prefixes.

C
Cabinet. Uppercase when referring to the
President’s Cabinet: a meeting of the Cabinet, a
Cabinet member. Lowercase when referring to
other cabinets: the British cabinet, a state
cabinet.

calendar year. Lowercase when not part of a
formal title: outlays for calendar year 2014.
Calendar year is always spelled out in full, not
abbreviated to “calendar 2014” or “CY 2014.”
It is never hyphenated.

cancel, canceled, canceling, cancellation
capital. Tangible and intangible resources that can
be used or invested to produce a stream of benefits over time. Physical capital—also known as
fixed capital or the capital stock—consists of
land and the stock of products set aside to
support future production and consumption,
including business inventories and capital goods
(residential and nonresidential structures and
producers’ durable equipment). Financial
capital is wealth held in the form of financial
instruments (such as stocks, bonds, and mortgages) rather than held directly in the form of
physical capital. Human capital is the education,
training, work experience, and other attributes
that enhance the ability of the labor force to
produce goods and services.

capital gains or losses. The increase or decrease
in the value of an asset that comes from the
increase or decrease in the asset’s market price
after it was purchased. A capital gain or loss is
realized when the asset is sold.

capital income. Income that is derived from
capital, such as stock dividends, realized capital
gains, an owner’s profits from a business, or the
interest paid to holders of debt. Compare with
labor income.

capital-intensive. Always hyphenated.

capitalization. Terms commonly used at CBO
and their correct capitalization are listed
separately and alphabetically.
Resolve most other questions about capitalization by consulting Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary (www.m-w.com). As a general rule,
capitalize proper nouns but not common
nouns. Thus, capitalize the name of a specific
agency, act, or program but lowercase later
references to it (the act or the agency). Capitalize
specific regional names (the Northeast) but
lowercase general geographic indications
(western Missouri).
In headings or titles, do not capitalize definite
and indefinite articles (a, an, the) or coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, nor, for, so,
yet). Do not capitalize prepositions unless they
contain at least four letters (in, With, Through)
or are an inseparable part of a verb (Five Steps to
Clean Up Hazardous Waste). Capitalize both
parts of a hyphenated compound (Long-Term
Outlook, Project-Based Aid) unless it contains a
hyphenated prefix or suffix (Anti-inflationary).

capital services. A measure of the flow of services
available for production from the stock of
capital goods.

carbon 14. Like other names of isotopes, this
phrase should not be capitalized or hyphenated.

carbon dioxide emissions. Never hyphenated.
Do not use the phrase “carbon emissions” as a
shorthand for emissions of carbon dioxide
(CO2) or carbon monoxide (CO).

carryover (n. and adj.), carry over (v.)
caseload
cash flow. Always two words and never
hyphenated: a cash flow crisis.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

CAUCASIAN • COAST GUARD

Caucasian

chapter. When referring to a chapter in a report,

CBO. Takes no article, even at the beginning of
a sentence: CBO assumed those responsibilities
under the amendments of 1982. When discussing
the agency’s analyses and conclusions, use
CBO and its rather than “we” or “our.” For
guidelines about when to spell out CBO and
when to use the abbreviation, see the box about
Abbreviations on page 2.

Census Bureau, census data, the census
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). Takes a singular verb or pronoun.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS). Takes a singular verb or pronoun.
(The ampersand follows CMS’s style for its
name.)

central bank. A government-established agency
responsible for conducting monetary policy and
overseeing credit conditions. The Federal
Reserve System fulfills those functions in the
United States.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Note that
the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
is different from the Director of National
Intelligence (formerly called the Director of
Central Intelligence).

follow the style for appendix. When referring
to a chapter of a public law, follow the style for
section.

chemical terms. Do not capitalize or hyphenate
names of elements or isotopes: carbon 14,
uranium 238.

child care. Always two words and never
hyphenated: child care centers.

Child Care and Development Fund
(CCDF). Also known as the Child Care
and Development Block Grant.

Children’s Health Insurance Program
(CHIP). Previously called the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program.

Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program
circum-. circumlocution, circumnavigate,
circumscribe, circumspect, circumstance,
circumvent. See prefixes.

Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS). An agency in the Department of
Homeland Security that replaced elements
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
No need to add “U.S.” before the name when
introducing the abbreviation.

cents. See dollars and cents.

city. See state.

century. Lowercase: the 21st century. References to

civilian unemployment rate. Unemployment as

specific centuries are hyphenated as adjectives:
ninth-century artifacts, 18th-century thought.

a percentage of the civilian labor force—that is,
the labor force excluding military personnel.

ceteris paribus. See the box about Foreign
Phrases and Abbreviations on page 27.

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)

Chairman. Uppercase when referring to the head

co-. coexist, coinsurance, collaborate,

cleanup (n. and adj.), clean up (v.)

of a Congressional committee or other federal
government entity: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the
Chairman. Lowercase in nonfederal references:
chairman of the board. Also see Congressional
correspondence and titles of office.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

cooperation, cooperative, coordinate, copartner,
copayment, cosine, coworker, but co-benefits,
co-op, co-opt, co-owner. See prefixes.

Coast Guard (USCG). No need to add “U.S.”
before the name when introducing the
abbreviation.

COLD WAR • COMMUNIST

Cold War, post–Cold War era
collective nouns. Whether to use a singular or
plural verb with a collective noun depends on
the individual case. In general, if the focus of
the phrase is on a unit (that is, if a sense of
“oneness” predominates), use a singular verb:
A breathtaking collection of paintings is on display.
The family is standing by the beleaguered Senator.
If the focus is on the items in the unit (if a sense
of “more than oneness” predominates), use a
plural verb: A host of new laws restrict the chemical industry. The couple are taking separate
vacations this year.
Nouns such as percent, majority, remainder, rest,
and variety are treated as singular or plural
depending on the nouns that follow them:
Seventy percent of the students support the change.
The rest of the building is unpainted. When such
nouns appear without an “of ” clause, the
number of the verb depends on whether “of it”
(singular) or “of them” (plural) is implied: Last
year’s appropriation totaled $27 billion; the
majority was spent on highways. Twenty-seven of
the 33 legislators departed this morning; the rest
are leaving tomorrow.
Having determined whether a collective noun is
singular or plural, make sure that any possessives or pronouns agree with it. “The corporation is going to notify their shareholders” is
incorrect.

colon. Use a colon after an independent clause to
signal that what follows is closely related to the
preceding clause. Those patterns differ for the
major commodities in U.S.-Mexican trade: grains,
oilseeds, and dry edible beans. The first word
after a colon should be capitalized if it begins a
complete sentence. The implications of the delay
soon became clear: They were not going to meet the
deadline.
In text, a colon should not separate a verb or a
preposition from its object, as in “The obstacles
we face are: lack of time, lack of money, and an

overworked staff ” or “The doctor said I am
allergic to: cats, dogs, smoke, mold, and
pollen.” In such cases, omit the colon.
Slightly different rules apply to colons in
displayed lists. See lists.

comma. Use commas to separate items in a series
of three or more: The candidate promised prosperity, jobs, and health care for all. Also use a
comma to separate independent clauses in a
compound sentence: The 3-month Treasury bill
rate is expected to be 5.6 percent, and the 10-year
Treasury note rate is projected to be 7.1 percent.
Do not use a comma to divide parts of a
compound predicate (two or more verbs that
have the same subject), as in Interest rates will
drop this year because of the recession but will rise
moderately in 2013, or to separate objects of the
same verb, as in The President will focus on crime
this month and on job creation next month. In
other words, do not put a comma before a
clause beginning with and, but, or or unless
the clause can stand as a complete sentence.

Commander in Chief
Committee. Uppercase when part of a formal
name (the House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure), in almost-formal references
(the Senate Budget Committee), and in testimony
when referring to the committee holding the
hearing (I wish to thank the Committee for
inviting me). Lowercase when committee is
used informally (The budget committee agreed to
take up the proposal).

Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
commonwealth. See state.
communism. Always lowercase.
communist. Lowercase in general references
(the communist system); uppercase when referring to a specific party (the Communist Party, he
is a lifelong Communist—that is, a member of
the party).

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT • CONSTANT DOLLARS

Community Development Block Grant

or session of Congress. The possessive is the
Congress’s.

(CDBG, not “CDBG grant”)

compare to/compare with. Compare to points
out or implies resemblances between things of
a different order: Life can be compared to a
dream. The economy can be compared to a boat.
Compare with is used to point out differences
between objects that are similar: The Congress
can be compared with the British Parliament. One
defense program can be compared with another.
Most of the comparisons that CBO makes
are of the latter type: Compared with last year’s
funding, this year’s budget request is much smaller.

compensation. All of the income due to an
employee for his or her work during a given
period. In addition to wages, salaries, bonuses,
and stock options, compensation includes
fringe benefits and the employer’s share of
payroll taxes for social insurance programs, such
as Social Security.

complement/compliment. Use the first to indicate completing or supplementing, the second
to convey praise or flattery.

legislation. Known informally and on second
reference as the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 or the Budget Act.

Congressional correspondence. CBO protocol
dictates that in letters to Members of Congress,
the term Honorable or The Honorable be used in
the inside address: The Honorable Scott Smith,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC
20515. In the salutation, use Dear Congressman
(male House Member), Dear Congresswoman
or Representative (whichever a female House
Member prefers), or Dear Senator. For Members
with special titles, use Dear Madam Speaker,
Dear Mr. Leader (Minority or Majority Leader),
or Dear Mr. Chairman (when addressing him in
that capacity). For female heads of committees,
contact their staff to find out their preferred
manner of address (Madam Chairman, Madam
Chair, and so on).

Congressman, Congresswoman. Uppercase

comprise/compose/constitute. Comprise
means “consist of ” or “embrace.” The whole
comprises the parts: The Congress comprises the
Senate and the House. Comprise does not take
“of ”; the phrase “is comprised of ” is incorrect.
Compose and constitute mean “to make up”
and are used when discussing the parts that
make up a whole: The Congress is composed of the
House and the Senate. The House and the Senate
constitute the Congress. Also see include.

concerning, regarding. A better choice is about,
which is shorter, easier to read, and means the
same thing. See the box about Plain English on
page 53.

Congress. Always uppercase, as are all variants:
Congressional, Congressman. Use the definite
article when referring to the Congress as a body
(the proposal now before the Congress) but not in
references to a Member of Congress or to an act

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974. CBO’s mandating

2013

when referring to Members of the U.S. House
of Representatives: The Congressman voted for
the bill.

connote/denote. These words are often mistakenly used interchangeably, but their meanings
are distinct. Connote means “to imply” (as in
the noun connotation): The ambassador’s reply,
though civil, connotes great annoyance with the
prime minister’s words. Denote means “to indicate” or “to mean”: the humid days and rainy
afternoons that denote summer in Washington.

consolidation loan. Lowercase.
consortium, consortia (pl.)
constant dollars/current dollars. Not hyphenated after a noun: The figures are presented in
constant dollars. Hyphenated before a noun:
a current-dollar estimate.

CONSTANT DOLLARS • COST CONTROL

Constant dollars measure spending or revenues
in a given year in real terms—that is, by
adjusting for differences in prices (such as
inflation) between that year and a base year.
The phrase “in constant 2009 dollars” is redundant; in 2009 dollars will suffice. Current
dollars measure spending or revenues in a given
year in nominal terms—that is, in terms of the
prices that prevailed at that time (not adjusted
to remove the effects of inflation).

Constitution, constitutional. Uppercase as a
noun when referring to the U.S. Constitution;
lowercase as an adjective (constitutional
amendments).

consumer durable goods. Products that are
designed to be used by consumers and that have
an average life of at least three years. Examples
include automobiles and major household
appliances.

consumer price index (CPI). An index of the
cost of living, produced by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, that is commonly used to measure
inflation. The CPI-U is an index of consumer
prices based on a typical market basket of goods
and services consumed by all urban consumers.
The CPI-W is an index of consumer prices
based on the typical market basket of goods and
services consumed by urban wage earners and
clerical workers.

consumption. In principle, the value of goods
and services purchased and used up during a
given period by households and governments.
In practice, the Bureau of Economic Analysis
counts purchases of many long-lasting goods
(such as cars and clothes) as consumption even
though the goods are not used up. Consumption by households alone is also called personal
consumption expenditures or consumer spending.

continental United States (CONUS)
continually/continuously/constantly. All three
words suggest repetition but in different ways.

Continually refers to events that occur regularly
and often. The phone rang continually the day
CBO released its economic forecast. Continuously
describes something that occurs without interruption. During the filibuster, the Senator spoke
continuously for 14 hours. Constantly suggests
that something not only occurs regularly and
often but also has an immutable quality. The
tide constantly ebbs and flows.

contractions. Do not use contractions in CBO
writing unless they are part of a direct quotation
or in the title of a work being cited.

contrast. Takes the preposition “to” (something
opposite) or “with” (something different): The
day was hot, in contrast to the night, which was
cold. This study contrasts the Administration’s plan
with the Senate’s.

control, controlled, controlling
core inflation. A measure of the rate of inflation
that excludes changes in the prices of food and
energy.

corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)
standards
Corps. Uppercase when referring to the Marine
Corps or the Army Corps of Engineers: The
most important mission of the Corps is amphibious
assault. Lowercase when referring to a military
unit: The Army has four corps and 18 divisions.
Note that corps can be singular or plural. The
possessive is corps’ (as in Marine Corps’ ).

cost-benefit analysis. Synonymous with benefitcost analysis. Whichever term appears in a
CBO document should be used consistently
throughout the document.

cost-conscious. Always hyphenated.
cost containment. Never hyphenated: cost
containment provisions.

cost control. Never hyphenated: cost control
measures.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

COST-EFFECTIVE • CURRENT-YEAR COST

CPI. See consumer price index.

cost-effective, cost-effectiveness. Always
hyphenated.

credit crunch. A significant, temporary decline in

cost of living. Not hyphenated as a noun: an
increase in the cost of living. Hyphenated as an
adjective: a cost-of-living increase.

cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). An annual
increase in payments (such as Social Security
benefits) to reflect inflation.

cost sharing. Not hyphenated as a noun: the
provisions for cost sharing. Hyphenated as an
adjective: cost-sharing arrangements. The same
rule applies to cost recovery.

counter-. counterargument, counterattack,
counterbalance, counterintelligence,
countermeasure, counteroffensive, counterpart,
counterproductive, counterproposal,
counterrevolution, countersign, countervailing.
See prefixes.

countercyclical. Acting to moderate the ups and
downs of the business cycle.

county. See state.
court cases. Names of court cases should be in
italics, with versus abbreviated and also in italics:
National Cable Television Association v. United
States. Mentions of court cases in text should
include the court that decided the case and the
year of the decision. For information about
citing court decisions in footnotes, see page 93
in the section about Footnotes and References.

courts. Capitalize the names of courts: Supreme
Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit, U.S. District Court, International Court
of Justice (the World Court). Also capitalize
Court when referring to the Supreme Court
or the World Court (the Court’s decision about
individual mandates). Lowercase court in
second references to other courts or in general
references (She is going to court).

credit reform. A system of budgeting and
accounting for federal credit activities that
focuses on the cost of the subsidies conveyed in
federal loans and loan guarantees. The system
was established by the Federal Credit Reform
Act of 1990 and took effect at the beginning of
fiscal year 1992.

crisis, crises (pl.)
criterion, criteria (pl.)
cross-. cross-cultural, crosscutting, cross-price
elasticity, cross-purposes, cross-reference (n.
and v.), cross section (n.), cross-section (v.),
cross-subsidy, cross-tabulation.

current-account balance. A summary measure
of a country’s current transactions with the
rest of the world, including net exports, net
unilateral transfers, and net factor income
(primarily, the capital income from foreign
property received by residents of a country,
offset by the capital income from property in
that country flowing to residents of foreign
countries).

current dollars. See constant dollars/current
dollars.

current law. Not hyphenated after a noun: policies
under current law. Hyphenated before a noun:
current-law revenues.

current-period loan
Current Population Survey (CPS). A survey
conducted monthly by the Census Bureau. See
household survey.

current-services budget
current-year cost

cover-up (n.), cover up (v.)

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

the normal supply of credit.

2013

CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION • CYCLICALLY ADJUSTED DEFICIT OR SURPLUS

Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
An agency in the Department of Homeland
Security that replaced the Border Patrol and
elements of the Customs Service.

cyclical deficit or surplus. The part of the
federal budget deficit or surplus that results
from the business cycle. The cyclical component reflects the way in which the deficit or
surplus automatically decreases or increases
during economic expansions or recessions.

cyclically adjusted deficit or surplus. The
federal budget deficit or surplus that would
occur under current law if the influence of the
business cycle was removed—that is, if the
economy operated at its potential gross
domestic product.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

D
dangling modifier. This mistake occurs when a
phrase (generally at the beginning of a sentence)
does not properly modify the noun that follows
it—for example, “One of the oldest in America,
this year was the most profitable in the company’s history” or “Because of its reputation for
impartiality, CBO’s name has become a byword
for quality.” In the first example, the year was
not one of the oldest, and in the second, CBO’s
name does not have a reputation. Rewrite
such sentences for clarity: One of the oldest in
America, the company enjoyed the most profitable
year in its history in 2010. Because of CBO’s reputation for impartiality, its name has become a
byword for quality.

dashes. An em dash (—) or a pair of em dashes is
used to show a greater separation than is indicated by a comma or to make a parenthetical
clause less separate than the use of parentheses
would imply: The annual costs to the U.S.
government are likely to be modest—several
million dollars at most. Carrying out periodic
inspections—perhaps two or three per site each
year—could significantly deter fraud. To prevent
confusion, never use more than a single em dash
or a pair of em dashes in a sentence.
An en dash (–) should be used instead of a
hyphen for ranges of page numbers and dates:
pp. 645–688; the 2008–2018 period. See ranges.
An en dash is also used in compound adjectives
as a substitute for “to” (the Berlin–Baghdad
Railway) or if at least one element of the
compound is a multiword phrase, whether
hyphenated or not (the New Mexico–Arizona
border, a government–private-industry initiative).
Note that with em dashes and en dashes alike,
there is no space between the dash and the text
around it.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

data (pl.), datum (sing.). The word data always
takes a plural verb at CBO: Better data are
available.

data-. database, but data set.
dates. When a report intersperses calendar and
fiscal years, specify in the text which is meant. If
there is little mixing, a note at the front of the
report usually suffices.
Years are always written out in full: 1979 (not
“79”), the 1990s (not “the ’90s”), the period from
2007 to 2015, the 2007–2015 period (not “the
2007–15 period”).
The correct CBO style for expressing a precise
date is October 1, 2011. A comma is needed
after the day and after the year if the sentence
continues: The memorandum dated October 1,
2011, will clarify the matter. No comma is
needed between a month and year written
together without a day: the October 2011
meeting. But a comma is needed afterward when
such a date is part of an introductory clause: In
January 2012, a pay increase will take effect.
Plural dates do not take an apostrophe: the
1980s, the 1800s.

day care. Always two words and never
hyphenated: day care center.

debt. In the case of the federal government, the
total value of outstanding bills, notes, bonds,
and other debt instruments issued by the
Treasury and other federal agencies. Debt held
by the public consists mainly of securities that
the Treasury issues to raise cash to fund the
operations and pay off the maturing liabilities
of the federal government that tax revenues
are insufficient to cover. Such debt is held by
outside investors, including the Federal Reserve
System. Other measures include debt held by
government accounts (debt issued for internal

DEBT • DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

government transactions, to trust funds and
other federal accounts, and not traded in capital
markets), gross federal debt (the sum of debt held
by the public and debt held by government
accounts), and debt subject to limit (that is, debt
subject to a statutory ceiling that applies to
gross federal debt, except for a small portion of
the debt issued by the Treasury and the small
amount of debt issued by other federal agencies,
such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the
Postal Service). Securities issued by Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac are not included in any of
those measures of debt.

debt service. Payment of scheduled interest obligations on outstanding debt. As used in some
CBO reports, debt service refers to a change in
interest payments resulting from a change in
estimates of the deficit or surplus. Hyphenated
as an adjective: debt-service costs.

decade. Usually given in numerals followed by s
(no apostrophe): the 1960s, the mid-1990s.

decimals. For numbers less than one, put a
zero before the decimal point (0.32 percent)
except for quantities that never exceed one
(.57 coefficient of correlation, a probability
of .95).
Numbers in text or tables are seldom carried
to more than two decimal places. Only if an
important subtlety would be lost in rounding
is the use of three or more places justified.
Whether a decimal point and a zero follow a
whole number (17.0 or 17) depends on the
significance. For example, a whole number in a
series that includes decimal fractions should be
followed by a decimal point and a zero if the
whole number and the decimal fraction denote
the same level of significance: Revenues are
projected to equal 18.8 percent of GDP in fiscal
year 2012, rising gradually to 20.0 percent in
2018.

decisionmaker, decisionmaking

de-emphasize
de facto. Not italicized. Also see the box about
Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations on page 27.

deficit. See budget deficit.
Deficit Control Act. See Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

deficit neutral. Not hyphenated after a noun: The
proposal would be deficit neutral. Hyphenated
before a noun: deficit-neutral proposal.

deficit reduction. Never hyphenated: deficit
reduction measures.

defined benefit plan, defined contribution
plan. Never hyphenated.
deflation. A persistent drop in prices that is so
broadly based that general indexes of prices,
such as the consumer price index, register
continuing declines. Deflation is usually caused
by a collapse in aggregate demand.

de minimis. See the box about Foreign Phrases
and Abbreviations on page 27.

denote. See connote/denote.
de novo. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

department. Uppercase when referring to a
specific department by name: the Department of
Education. Lowercase when referring to the
same body informally: projects funded by the
department.

Department of Agriculture (USDA). No
need to add “U.S.” before the name when
introducing the abbreviation.

Department of Defense (DoD). In capitalized
headings, the o in DoD is lowercase.

Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD)
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS • DISCRETIONARY SPENDING CAPS

Department of Veterans Affairs. Note that
Veterans does not have an apostrophe. The
preferred form of the department’s abbreviation
is VA, not “the VA.” The department replaced
the Veterans Administration in 1988. The two
main components are the Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) and the Veterans Health
Administration (VHA).

deposit insurance. The guarantee by a federal
agency that an individual depositor at a participating depository institution will receive the
full amount of the deposit (currently up to
$250,000) if the institution becomes insolvent.

depository institutions. Financial intermediaries that make loans to borrowers and obtain
funds from savers by accepting deposits. Depository institutions include commercial banks,
savings and loan institutions, mutual savings
banks, and credit unions.

depreciation. A decline in the value of a currency,
financial asset, or capital good. When applied to
a capital good, depreciation usually refers to loss
of value because of obsolescence, wear, or
destruction.

depression. Lowercase in general references: when
the economy is in a depression. Uppercase when
referring to the one that began in 1929: the
Depression, the Great Depression.

devaluation. The act of a government to lower
the fixed exchange rate of its currency.

diagnosis-related group (DRG)

direct spending provision. Synonymous with
mandatory spending, direct spending is the
budget authority provided by laws other than
appropriation acts and the outlays that result
from that budget authority. See spending/
funding.

direct student loan. See William D. Ford
Federal Direct Loan Program.

dis-. disaggregate, disinterested, disintermediation,
dissimilar. See prefixes.

Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund, the
DI trust fund. One of the trust funds for
Social Security. The other is the Old-Age and
Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.

discount rate. The interest rate that the Federal
Reserve System charges on a loan it makes to a
bank through its so-called discount window.
Such loans, when allowed, enable a bank to
meet its reserve requirements without reducing
its lending. Alternatively, the discount rate is the
interest rate used to compute the present value
of future income or payments. See present
value.

discouraged workers. Jobless people who are
available for work but are not actively seeking
it because they think they have poor prospects
of finding a job. Discouraged workers are not
included in measures of the labor force or the
unemployment rate.

discretionary spending. Budget authority that is

different from/different than. The preferred
phrase is generally different from: The Senate’s
version of the bill is different from that of the
House. But in clauses that require the writer to
use “from that which” or even more elaborate
constructions, different than is preferable:
How different things appear in Washington than
in London.

Director. See titles of office.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

direct spending. No hyphen as an adjective:

2013

provided and controlled by appropriation acts
and the outlays resulting from that budget
authority. When referring only to such budget
authority, it is better to say discretionary appropriations or discretionary funding than “discretionary spending.” See spending/funding.

discretionary spending caps. Statutory limits on
the amount of budget authority or outlays
provided in appropriation acts in a fiscal year.

DISPOSABLE PERSONAL INCOME • DUE TO

disposable personal income. Personal income—
the income that people receive, including
transfer payments—minus the taxes and fees
that people pay to governments.

disproportionate share adjustment,
disproportionate share hospital (DSH)
payment
dissaving. Using savings for current expenses.
do, did. In general, avoid the conversationally
emphatic use of this auxiliary verb, as in “Prices
did rise 3 percent in October.” Instead, create
the emphasis another way: In fact, prices rose
3 percent in October.

Specific amounts of money always use
numerals, even for numbers below 10:
$4 million, a 6 cent tax. Indefinite numbers
are spelled out: thousands of dollars.

domestic demand. Total purchases of final goods
and services, regardless of their origin, by U.S.
consumers, businesses, and governments during
a given period. Domestic demand equals gross
domestic product minus net exports.

double-. double check (n.), double-check (v.),
double-count (n. and v.), double-digit (adj.),
double-edged (adj.), double-space (v.),
double-spaced (adj.), double standard (n.).

doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.)

Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones
average

dollars and cents. An amount less than a dollar

down-. downgrade, download, downplay,

can be written as a decimal fraction ($0.39) or
as cents (39 cents), depending on the context.
If all of the amounts in a section of the text are
less than a dollar, they should all be written as
cents: The price per bushel was 34 cents in 2007,
28 cents in 2008, and 39 cents in 2009. If some
amounts are dollars, however, the cents can be
written as decimal fractions for consistency: The
price per bushel was $1.00 in 2007, $0.89 in
2008, and $0.99 in 2009.
A lump sum of money, though the dollars
are decidedly plural, is treated as singular: At
least $1.21 billion goes toward housing or if
$800 million is authorized next year.
Dollar amounts always take a dollar sign ($)
when a specific value is expressed: a revenue
increase of $3 billion. Otherwise, the word is
written out: a revenue increase exceeding several
million dollars.

downsizing, downturn, but down payment.
See prefixes.

-down. drawdown (n.), draw down (v.), slowdown
(n.), slow down (v). See suffixes.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
An agency of the Department of Justice.

dual-eligible beneficiaries (not “dual eligibles”).
People who are eligible to receive benefits from
Medicare and Medicaid at the same time.

due to. Means “owed to” (One dollar is due to each
taxpayer); “arranged or timed to” (The session is
due to end next week); or “because of.” In the last
case, due to should be used only as an adjective
modifying a noun (the cancellation, due to rain,
of the CBO softball game). Using due to as an
adverb modifying a verb, as in “It was canceled
due to rain,” is incorrect.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

E
e-. e-book, e-commerce, but email. (The e stands
for electronic.)

effective tax rate. The ratio of taxes paid to a

E-2, E-3. Military pay grades (in this case
denoting enlisted ranks) are always hyphenated.

earned income tax credit (EITC)
Earth. Uppercase unless referring to soil, which is
earth.

east. Lowercase when referring to a direction or
general location: an east wind, eastward, eastern
Nigeria, eastern United States. Uppercase when
referring to a specific geographic or political
region: the East, Eastern culture, Easterner, East
Asia, Eastern Hemisphere, the Far East. Thus,
note the distinctions between eastern Europe
(the countries on the eastern side of Europe)
and Eastern Europe (the Cold War political
entity) and between east coast (the shoreline)
and East Coast (the region).

Economic Growth and Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA,
Public Law 107-16). A law that significantly
reduced tax liabilities between 2001 and
2010 by cutting individual income tax rates,
increasing the child tax credit, repealing estate
taxes, and making many other changes to the
tax code. Some of the law’s provisions were
made permanent, but most were scheduled to
expire by December 31, 2010, although they
have been modified or extended since then.

economic stimulus. Federal fiscal or monetary
policies that are aimed at promoting economic
activity and used primarily during recessions.
Such policies include reductions in taxes,
increases in federal spending, cuts in interest
rates, and other support for financial markets
and institutions.

economywide

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

effect. See affect/effect.

2013

given tax base. For individual income taxes,
the effective tax rate is typically expressed as
the ratio of taxes paid to adjusted gross income.
For corporate income taxes, it is the ratio of
taxes paid to corporations’ domestic economic
profits. The effective tax rate is a useful measure
because the tax code’s various exemptions,
credits, deductions, and tax rates make actual
ratios of taxes paid to income different from
statutory tax rates. Compare with marginal tax
rate and statutory tax rate.

e.g. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

EGTRRA. See Economic Growth and Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act of 2001.

either . . . or, neither . . . nor. The nouns that
follow these words require a verb that agrees
with the noun closer to it: Neither John nor his
friends were able to finish the race. Either Mary or
James is coming over.

-elect. President-elect. See suffixes.
electro-. electrocardiogram, electromagnet, but
electro-optics. See prefixes.

eliminate. See obviate/eliminate.
ellipsis. An ellipsis is a punctuation mark that
indicates a gap in quoted material. Its placement depends on the location of the material
being omitted.
Three dots indicate an omission within a sentence: “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging
the freedom of speech.” Note that spaces separate
the dots from each other and from the surrounding text. Punctuation from the original
may be used on either side of the ellipsis if it is
needed to preserve the sense of the original:

ELLIPSIS • ESTABLISHMENT SURVEY

“We the People of the United States, in order to
form a more perfect Union, . . . do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States
of America.”
When what follows the ellipsis comes from a
different sentence or paragraph, the ending
punctuation (period, question mark, or exclamation point) of the previous sentence being
quoted is placed before the ellipsis: “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion. . . . The right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated.”
In general writing (as opposed to legal or scholarly writing), do not use an ellipsis at the beginning or end of a quoted passage unless there is a
compelling reason to indicate that something is
missing there.
In all cases, make sure that the dots of an ellipsis
remain on the same line.

email (n. and v.). Stands for electronic mail.
em dash. See dashes.
emergency unemployment benefits, Emergency Unemployment Compensation
(EUC) program
employee’s or employer’s share of payroll
taxes
employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
employment-based health insurance. This
term is more accurate than “employer-provided”
or “employer-sponsored” health insurance
because insurance is sometimes arranged by
entities such as labor unions, in which case it is
based on employment but not provided by an
employer. (The employer, however, may pay
some or all of the cost.)

employment cost index (ECI). An index produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that

measures the weighted-average cost of an
hour of labor, which comprises the cost to
an employer of wage and salary payments,
employee benefits, and payroll taxes for social
insurance programs, such as Social Security.

enact. See adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/
ratify.

en dash. See dashes.
end strength
energy efficient. Not hyphenated after a noun:
an appliance that is energy efficient. Hyphenated
before a noun: an energy-efficient mode of transport. The same rule applies to energy efficiency.

England. See United Kingdom.
ensure. See assure/ensure/insure.
entitled. Means “having the right to do or have
something.” Do not use it to mean “titled,” as
in “a book entitled Vanity Fair.”

entitlement. A legal obligation of the federal government to make payments to a person, group
of people, business, unit of government, or
similar entity that meets the eligibility criteria
set in law and for which the budget authority
is not provided in advance in an appropriation
act. Spending for entitlement programs is controlled through the programs’ eligibility criteria
and benefit or payment rules. The best-known
entitlements are the government’s major benefit
programs, such as Social Security and Medicare.

Environmental Protection Agency. The preferred form of the agency’s abbreviation is EPA,
not “the EPA.”

establishment survey. An informal name for the
Department of Labor’s Current Employment
Statistics Survey of employers, which measures
employment as the estimated number of nonfarm wage and salary jobs. Also referred to as
the payroll survey. Compare with household
survey.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES • EXTRA-

estate and gift taxes. A linked set of federal taxes
on estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers designed to tax the transfer of wealth from
one generation to the next and to limit the
extent to which wealth can be given away
during life to avoid taxation at death.

estimates. Remember that estimates is both a
noun and a verb and can easily be read the
wrong way. In the phrase “CBO estimates,” if
“estimates” is being used as a verb, insert “that”
after it to remove any doubt about which form
is meant (CBO estimates that the three options
would have similar effects); if “estimates” is a
noun, use the possessive (CBO’s estimates of the
three options).

ex-. ex-official, ex-President, but ex officio. See
prefixes.

ex ante. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

exchange rate. The number of units of a currency
that can be bought with one unit of another
currency—for example, the number of euros
that can be purchased with one dollar. Never
hyphenated: exchange rate system.

excise tax. A tax levied on the purchase of a
specific type of good or service, such as tobacco
products or air transportation services.

et al. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

et cetera, etc. See the box about Foreign Phrases

executive branch. Always lowercase.
executive order. Issued by the President or by a

and Abbreviations on page 27.

European Union (EU). Use the full name as a
noun (changes in the European Union); use the
abbreviation as an adjective (seven EU members).
The official currency of most member countries
of the European Union is the euro.

euro zone. The area comprising the member
states of the European Union that have adopted
the euro as the single currency and that are
subject to a single monetary policy conducted
under the responsibility of the European
Central Bank. Also known as the euro area.
(Several other countries use the euro but are not
members of the European Union. In addition,
some EU members are not part of the euro
zone.)

everybody, everyone. These nouns take singular
verbs and, in general, singular pronouns:
Everyone who enrolls in the auto club receives a
decal for his or her car window. Exceptions may
be made when “his or her” proves too awkward:
If everybody shows up at 3:00, they will not be
able to find parking. In such cases, however,
rewriting the entire sentence in the plural is
preferable: If all of the guests show up at 3:00,
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

they will not be able to find parking. The same
rules apply to anybody and anyone. See the box
about Pronouns on page 57.

2013

state or local official, executive orders are lowercase unless referred to by number: an executive
order about classified national security information, Executive Order 12958.

expansion. A phase of the business cycle that
begins when gross domestic product exceeds its
previous peak and extends until gross domestic
product reaches its next peak.

expenditure account. An account established
within federal funds and trust funds to record
appropriations, obligations, and outlays (as
well as offsetting collections) that are usually
financed from an associated receipt account.

expenditures. A better choice is spending, which is
shorter, easier to read, and usually means the
same thing. See the box about Plain English on
page 53. Also see spending/funding.

Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), the bank
ex post facto. See the box about Foreign Phrases
and Abbreviations on page 27.

extra-. extracurricular, extrajudicial, extraordinary.
See prefixes.

F
F-14 fighter, F-15, F-16, F-22
F/A-18 aircraft, F/A-18E/F

Federal-Aid Highway program, Federal-Aid
Highway Act of 1956, federal-aid
highways

fairly, quite, rather, somewhat. These modifiers

Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA)

are vague and detract from the clear prose CBO
aims for. Use them sparingly or, better yet, not
at all.

fair market rent (FMR)
fall. The season is lowercase even when used with a
year: fall 2011.

family day care home
family support program
Fannie Mae. The name commonly used by the
organization known formally as the Federal
National Mortgage Association. (Fannie Mae is
derived from the abbreviation FNMA.) Fannie
Mae is a government-sponsored enterprise that
was founded during the Great Depression and
federally chartered in 1968 as a shareholderowned corporation to provide a stable source
of funding for residential mortgages. Since
September 2008, Fannie Mae has been in
federal conservatorship.
Because Fannie Mae’s common name is much
better known than its formal one and is how the
organization refers to itself, the formal name
need not be mentioned in CBO documents.

farm price support, farm price support
program
farther/further. To prevent confusion, keep in
mind that farther conveys distance and further
indicates degree: Further effort was beyond him;
he could go no farther.

federal. Lowercase (federal aid, federal government)
unless part of a proper name (Federal Reserve
Board, Federal Highway Administration).

Federal Direct Loan Program. See William D.
Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)
Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance
(FEGLI) program. Note that Employees has
an apostrophe.

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)
program. Note that Employees does not have
an apostrophe.

Federal Employees Retirement System
(FERS). Note that Employees does not have
an apostrophe.

Federal Financing Bank (FFB)
Federal Flexible Spending Account Program
(FSAFEDS)
federal funds. In the federal accounting structure,
all accounts through which collections of
money and expenditures are recorded, except
those classified by law as trust funds. Federal
funds include several types of funds, one of
which is the general fund.

federal funds rate. The interest rate that financial
institutions charge each other for overnight
loans of their monetary reserves. The Federal
Reserve uses the federal funds rate to conduct
monetary policy. A rise in that rate (compared
with other short-term interest rates) suggests a
tightening of monetary policy, whereas a fall
suggests an easing.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK BOARD • FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY

Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Bank
Board

in families with income below the federal poverty
thresholds.

Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks),
Federal Home Loan Bank System, the
FHLBank system

The poverty thresholds are sometimes referred
to as the “poverty line,” and the guidelines as
the “poverty level.” Those terms are imprecise,
however, and should be used only if they are
defined first: The rules apply to households with
income below 450 percent of the federal poverty
guidelines (commonly known as the federal poverty
level, or FPL).

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). An
agency created in 2008 by merging the Office
of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the
Federal Housing Finance Board, and a team
in the Department of Housing and Urban
Development that dealt with governmentsponsored enterprises. FHFA regulates Fannie
Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan
Banks.

Federal Open Market Committee. The group
within the Federal Reserve System that determines the stance of monetary policy.

Federal Pell Grant Program (thereafter, informally, the Pell grant program), Pell grant
Federal Perkins Loan Program (thereafter,
informally, the Perkins loan program), Perkins
loan
federal poverty guidelines/federal poverty
thresholds. The federal government produces
two measures of the line between poverty and
nonpoverty. The poverty guidelines issued by
the Department of Health and Human Services
are used to determine eligibility for various
programs. They differ slightly from the poverty
thresholds issued by the Census Bureau, which
are used mainly for statistical purposes (such as
determining the number of people living in
poverty). Both measures vary for families of
different sizes, which is why guidelines and
thresholds are plural. It is important to use the
correct term for precision: Tax filers who have
income between 100 percent and 400 percent of
the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for the
tax credit. In 2007, some 37 million people lived

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

Federal Reserve System, the system, the
Federal Reserve (not “the Fed”). As the central
bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve
System is responsible for setting the nation’s
monetary policy and overseeing credit
conditions.

federal-state program
fee-for-service plan
fewer/less. Fewer refers to individually distinguishable, countable units and is usually used
with plural nouns and pronouns: fewer hours,
fewer cost effects, 20 or fewer states. In contrast,
less refers to quantity—that is, to an amount
that cannot be counted incrementally—and
is ordinarily used with a singular noun or
pronoun: less time, less money, less of it.

figure. Uppercase when referring to a specific
figure in a document: see Figure 2-5. Lowercase
when referring to figures nonspecifically or
when there is only one: The figures in this report
are based on updated estimates or See the figure
below (usually used in a text box).

Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and
Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA)
financial intermediary. An institution that
indirectly matches borrowers with lenders.
For example, depository institutions, such as
commercial banks or savings and loan institutions, lend funds that they have accepted from
depositors. Life insurance companies or pension

FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY • FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

funds lend or invest funds that they hold in
reserve against future claims by policyholders
or participating retirees.

financial services market
financing account. A nonbudgetary account
required for a federal credit program that
reconciles subsidies calculated on an accrual
basis with the cash flows associated with credit
activities. The account tracks flows between the
Treasury, the program account, and the public.
The net cash flow in each financing account for
a fiscal year is shown in the federal budget as an
other means of financing.

first-come, first-served basis
first-person pronouns. See the box about
Pronouns on page 57.

first, second, and so on. Use instead of “firstly,”
“secondly,” and so on as introductory words.

fiscal policy. The government’s tax and spending
policies, which influence the amount and maturity of government debt as well as the level,
composition, and distribution of national
output and income.

fiscal stimulus. A type of economic stimulus
consisting of changes in tax rates or government
spending intended to encourage economic
activity. Fiscal stimulus typically takes the form
of temporary or permanent cuts in tax rates, or
debt-financed increases in the government’s
transfer payments or purchases of goods and
services. Compare with monetary stimulus.

fiscal year. An annual accounting period. The
federal government’s fiscal year begins on
October 1 and ends on September 30. A fiscal
year is designated by the calendar year in which
it ends—for example, fiscal year 2013 began on
October 1, 2012, and ended on September 30,
2013.
Lowercase fiscal year when not part of a formal
title: outlays for fiscal year 2014. Fiscal year is

always spelled out, never abbreviated as “fiscal
2014” or “FY 2014.” It is never hyphenated.

fixed rate mortgage
fixed-weighted price index. An index that
measures the overall price level (compared with
a base period) without being influenced by
changes in the composition of output or
purchases.

flexible spending account
flight test (n.), flight-test (v. and adj.),
flight-tested (v. and adj.)
focus, foci (pl.)
focus, focused, focusing
-fold. Hyphenate compounds formed with the
suffix -fold if they contain a numeral over 10:
23-fold, 106-fold. Otherwise, do not hyphenate
them: eightfold, tenfold, hundredfold, manyfold,
millionfold. See suffixes.

follow-on (n. and adj.)
follow-up (n. and adj.), follow up (v.)
Food Stamp program. Now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

footnotes. See the section about Footnotes and
References that begins on page 77.

fore-. forefather, forefront, forestall, forewarn. See
prefixes and forgo/forego.

forecast. Present and past tense (not “forecasted”):
Last year, CBO forecast that the deficit would
increase.

foreign direct investment. Financial investment
by which a person or entity acquires an active
ownership share of a foreign business. As
measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis,
foreign direct investment consists only of
investments that result in an ownership share
greater than 10 percent of the value of a
business.
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

FOREIGN EXCHANGE VALUE • FREDDIE MAC

foreign exchange value

Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations

Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, the
FMS trust fund, foreign military sales
foreign-source income
forgo/forego. Forgo is a verb that means “to let
pass or abstain from”: The committee decided to
forgo debate. Forego is a verb that means “to go
before” and is rarely used in that form.
Forgoing and forgone are the present and past
participles, respectively, of forgo: The Congress is
forgoing [has forgone] any new tax increases this
year. Foregoing is an adjective meaning “earlier”
or “preceding”: Of the foregoing list, six items
deserve note. Foregone is an adjective that means
“predetermined”: It was a foregone conclusion.

formula, formulas (pl.)
forum, forums (pl.)
forward-deployed units
forward funding. The provision of budget
authority that becomes available for obligation
in the last quarter of a fiscal year and remains
available during the following fiscal year.

fractions. CBO’s documents sometimes use fractions (26½ percent) to indicate that percentages
have been rounded to a larger increment than
the nearest 0.1 percent, such as the nearest onequarter or one-half percent. When employing
fractions for that purpose, include a footnote
after the first fraction saying “This report uses
fractions to indicate numbers rounded to the
nearest quarter percent” (or whatever is applicable). For consistency within a document, do
not mix fractions and numbers with decimal
points, if possible.
Hyphenate spelled-out fractions: one-half,
one-third, nine-tenths.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

Some readers are unlikely to be familiar with Latinate
phrases or abbreviations (for instance, many people
confuse “e.g.” and “i.e.”). Thus, avoid the following
phrases in favor of English where possible:
For
ceteris paribus
de minimis
de novo
e.g.
et al.
et cetera, etc.
ex ante
ex post facto
i.e.
inter alia
per annum
per se
vis-à-vis

Use
all else being equal
insignificant, minor
over again, anew
for example, for instance
and others
and so forth, and the like
beforehand, in advance,
expected
after the fact, retroactive
that is
among others
a year, per year, annually
in itself
opposite, as compared with

Some foreign phrases, however, have no adequate
English equivalents: ad hoc, ad valorem, a priori,
de facto, sine qua non, and versus, for example. Use
them if necessary, but sparingly, and never italicize
them. Also see ibid.

Freddie Mac. The name commonly used by the
organization known formally as the Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Freddie
Mac is a government-sponsored enterprise that
was founded and federally chartered in 1970 as
a shareholder-owned corporation to provide a
stable source of funding for residential mortgages. Since September 2008, Freddie Mac has
been in federal conservatorship.
Because Freddie Mac’s common name is much
better known than its formal one and is how the
organization refers to itself, the formal name
need not be mentioned in CBO documents.

-FREE • FURTHER

-free. debt-free, interest-free, tax-free. See
suffixes.

free-market system
free-trade area

full time. Not hyphenated after a noun (The job
could be full time) or after a verb (She works full
time). Hyphenated before a noun (a full-time
position).

frequently. See often.

full-time equivalents (FTEs), full-timeequivalent positions

fuel efficient. Not hyphenated after a noun (a car

funding. See spending/funding.

that is fuel efficient). Hyphenated before a noun
(a fuel-efficient vehicle). The same rule applies to
fuel efficiency.

Future Years Defense Program (FYDP)
further/farther. To prevent confusion, keep in
mind that further indicates degree and farther
conveys distance: Further effort was beyond him;
he could go no farther.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

G
G7, G8. See Group of Seven (G7) industrialized
countries or Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries.

GDI. See gross domestic income.

gigahertz (GHz)
Ginnie Mae. The name commonly used by the

GDP. See gross domestic product.
GDP gap. The difference between actual and
potential gross domestic product, expressed as
a percentage of potential GDP.

GDP price index. A summary measure of the
prices of all goods and services that make up
gross domestic product. The change in the
GDP price index is used as a measure of
inflation in the overall economy.

gender/sex. Gender refers to grammatical (and
sometimes sociocultural) categories; sex refers to
biological categories. For example, male and
female are categories of sex, whereas masculine
and feminine are categories of gender. When
reporting on the type of data frequently used at
CBO, sex is usually the correct term, as in The
respondents were classified by age, sex, and family
income.

organization known formally as the Government National Mortgage Association. (Ginnie
Mae is derived from the abbreviation GNMA.)
Ginnie Mae is a government-owned corporation within the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. It guarantees the timely
payment of principal and interest on securities
that are backed by single-family and multifamily residential mortgages insured by government agencies, such as the Federal Housing
Administration and the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
On first mention in a CBO document, introduce the organization as the Government
National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) or
the Government National Mortgage Association
(GNMA), depending on the short name
preferred; then use that short name in later
references.

GNP. See gross national product.

general-equilibrium growth model
general fund. One category of federal funds in
the government’s accounting structure. The
general fund records all revenues and offsetting
receipts not earmarked by law for a specific
purpose and all spending financed by those
revenues and receipts.

General Schedule (GS) workers

goods. Tangible commodities, such as cars or
clothing, as opposed to such intangible
commodities as education or health care,
which are services.

government. Lowercase when referring informally to the governing body of a nation or state:
the U.S. government, the government of France.

Government Accountability Office (GAO).

GI Bill. This term refers to a collection of

Formerly the General Accounting Office.

programs administered by the Department of
Veterans Affairs that provide education benefits
to former service members. The term GI Bill
should be used only in that general sense. When
talking specifically about the Montgomery GI

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

Bill (MGIB) program or the Post-9/11 GI Bill
(Chapter 33) program, use those names instead.

2013

government-sponsored enterprise (GSE).
A financial institution created by federal law,
generally through a federal charter, to carry out
activities such as increasing the availability of

GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTERPRISE • GULF COAST

credit to borrowers or enhancing liquidity in
certain sectors of the economy, notably agriculture and housing. (Two of the housing GSEs,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were put into
federal conservatorship in September 2008.)

governmentwide
governor. See titles of office.
grant. A transfer payment from the federal government to a state or local government or other
recipient to help fund projects or activities that
do not involve substantial federal participation.

grants-in-aid. Grants from the federal government to state and local governments to help
provide for programs of assistance or service to
the public.

Great Britain. See United Kingdom.
Great Depression
Great Society
greenhouse gas. Never hyphenated: greenhouse
gas emissions.

gross domestic income (GDI). The sum of all
income earned in the domestic production of
goods and services. In theory, GDI should equal
gross domestic product, but measurement difficulties leave a statistical discrepancy between
the two.

gross domestic product (GDP). The total
market value of goods and services produced
domestically during a given period. That value
of the nation’s output is conceptually equal to
gross domestic income, but measurement difficulties result in a statistical discrepancy between
the two. The components of GDP are consumption (household and government), gross
investment (private and government), and net
exports.

gross investment. A measure of additions to the
capital stock that does not subtract depreciation
of existing capital.

gross national product (GNP). The total market
value of goods and services produced in a given
period by labor and capital supplied by residents of a country, regardless of where the
labor and capital are located. That value is
conceptually equal to the total income accruing
to residents of the country during that period
(national income). GNP differs from gross
domestic product primarily by including
the capital income that residents earn from
investments abroad and excluding the capital
income that nonresidents earn from domestic
investment.

groundwater
group-model health maintenance
organization, group- and staff-model
HMOs
Group of Eight (G8) industrialized
countries. The G7 members plus Russia.
Group of Seven (G7) industrialized
countries. The current members are Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United
Kingdom, and the United States.

guarantee. Use instead of “guaranty,” except
in proper names (Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation) or when referring to certain
programs that use that term (VA’s home loan
guaranty program).

Guard. See National Guard.
Gulf Coast (the region), Gulf coast (the
shoreline)

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H
hard-line (adj.), hard-liners

his or her. See the box about Pronouns on
page 57.

hardrock mining

Hispanic, Hispanic American. Never

hard-target warhead

hyphenated.

hazardous waste. Never hyphenated: hazardous
waste site.

H. Con. Res. Stands for House concurrent
resolution. Not spelled out when used with
a number: H. Con. Res. 8.

he or she. See the box about Pronouns on
page 57.

Head Start
health care. Always two words and never
hyphenated: health care services.

historic/historical. Historic means “contributing
to or making history” and suggests momentousness, as in a historic expedition. Historical means
“pertaining to the past,” as in a historical
account. (Note that “a,” not “an,” is the correct
article to use with either word.) In most cases,
the simpler past will suffice for historical, as in
Past reports indicate that such measures can be
effective. Avoid the phrases “past history,” “past
experience,” or “historical experience”; they are
redundant.

HIV. Stands for human immunodeficiency virus.

Health Care and Education Reconciliation
Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152). One
of two laws enacted in March 2010 that made
major changes to the U.S. health care and
health insurance systems. (The other was the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
P.L. 111-148.) See Affordable Care Act.

HIV is well enough known by its acronym that
it does not need to be spelled out.

H.J. Res. Stands for House joint resolution.
Not spelled out when used with a number:
H.J. Res. 132.

Hobson’s choice. As the story goes, Thomas

health maintenance organization (HMO)

Hobson was a 17th-century liveryman who
required every customer to take the horse
nearest the door or leave empty-handed. The
choice, then, is really no choice at all. It is an
ultimatum, not a dilemma.

hemisphere. Lowercase except when referring

-holder. bondholder, claim holder, debt holder,

Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

to a particular part of the world: the Northern
Hemisphere.

high income. Not hyphenated after a noun: a
family with high income. Hyphenated before a
noun: a high-income family. The same treatment
applies to other phrases containing high, higher,
or highest. Exception: people in the highest
income category, in which “highest” is modifying
“income category” rather than just “income.”

equity holder, leaseholder, officeholder,
policyholder, shareholder, stockholder. See
suffixes.

home-. home-based care, homebound, home
builders, home-building industry, homebuyer,
home-equity loan, homeland, home mortgage
lending, homeowner, home ownership,
home page, home port (n.), homeport (v.),
homeschool (v.). See prefixes.

Highway Trust Fund
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2013

HONORABLE • HYPOTHESIS

Honorable. See Congressional correspondence.
Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, the
HI trust fund. The fund used for Part A of
Medicare.

House. Uppercase in references to the House of
Representatives and in informal references such
as Both Houses of Congress have considered the
measure.

household survey. Informal name for the Census
Bureau’s Current Population Survey, which,
among other things, measures employment as
the estimated number of people employed
(rather than as the estimated number of jobs).
Compare with establishment survey.

however. When it means “contrary to expectation,” however should be placed in a sentence
so that it emphasizes the contrast with what
precedes it: Domestic use is up because of new
policies; exports, however, are down. However
should not appear so far along in a sentence that
it loses its impact. As an alternative, use but
judiciously for sharp emphasis, or start the

sentence with in contrast or by contrast. Though
can also be used instead of however to avoid
repetition.

H.R. 3102. The H.R. stands for House of Representatives, and 3102 is the number of the bill.
Not spelled out.

H. Res. Stands for House resolution. Not spelled
out when used with a number: H. Res. 14.

human immunodeficiency virus. See HIV.
hundredweight (cwt)
hydro-. hydrocarbon, hydroelectric,
hydromagnetic, hydronuclear, hydropower.
See prefixes.

hyper-. hyperinflation, hyperresponsive,
hypertension. See prefixes.

hyphenation and compound words. See the
box on page 33.

hypothesis, hypotheses (pl.)

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HYPHENATION

Hyphenation and Compound Words
“If you take the hyphen seriously, you will surely go mad,” wrote the author of the stylebook of the Oxford University
Press. Many rules and exceptions exist for this pesky piece of punctuation, but they all serve a single purpose:
to prevent confusion by showing which words and ideas go together (for example, to show that in referring to
20-odd Senators, the writer does not mean 20 strange Senators). The dictionary (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, www.m-w.com) can answer many hyphenation questions, as can The Chicago Manual of Style. Some
general rules follow:

 In most cases, hyphenate two or more words when they are combined to form a single idea that is used as a
compound adjective before the noun it modifies: across-the-board increase, cost-of-living adjustment, full-time
employee, private-sector initiative. That rule applies particularly to compounds in which one element is a
present or past participle: cost-sharing provisions, inflation-adjusted estimate. (However, compounds that have
become so familiar that they are unlikely to be misread are not hyphenated: day care center, health care costs,
income tax receipts. Such exceptions are listed separately and alphabetically in this guide.)
 Do not hyphenate words used to form a single idea when they follow the noun they modify or are not used as
adjectives: an increase across the board, an adjustment in the cost of living, an employee working full time,
an initiative taken by the private sector, provisions for cost sharing. (Exceptions, such as cost-effective or
tax-exempt, are listed separately and alphabetically in this guide.)
 Do not hyphenate adverbs ending in -ly combined with adjectives or participles, even if they immediately precede
the noun they modify: clearly preferable option, widely discussed alternatives.
 Hyphenate number-and-noun compounds that form modifiers (unless they involve money or percentages or
include abbreviated units of measure): five-year projection, three-phase program, 11-year lag, 150-mile
pipeline, 230-page report. Also hyphenate fractions written out: one-third, two-fifths. Note the correct usage
when money, percentages, or abbreviations are involved: $3 million increase, 90 cent tax, 11 percent decline,
0.2 percentage-point increase (but better to write an increase of 0.2 percentage points), 16 kWh battery.
 Do not hyphenate most compound adjectives used as verbs, even though the same words may merge when
they form an adjective or noun: phase out the program, the phaseout period; pass through the costs, the
pass-through costs; the plan to build up forces, the force buildup. An exception is short circuit, which is
not hyphenated as a noun but is hyphenated as a verb: a short circuit, to short-circuit a system.
 In a series, the hyphens stand: low- and middle-income families; low- and lower-middle- as well as uppermiddle-income families (but after the noun: a family with low income). Similarly, pre- and postwar Iraq.
 Hyphenate prefixes or suffixes only when specified by Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
(www.m-w.com) or by the entries for particular prefixes and suffixes in this guide or when necessary to
prevent confusion or peculiar multiplication of letters: re-signed (signed again), resigned (quit), un-ionized,
anti-inflation, bell-like, semi-independent.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

I
I. See the box about Pronouns on page 57.
ibid. Use ibid. in footnotes to indicate that a work
is identical to the one cited in the preceding
footnote. Ibid. is an abbreviation of the Latin
word ibidem (“in the same place”) and thus is
followed by a period; it is not italicized.

i.e. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

if/whether. If introduces a conditional idea;
whether introduces an alternative or possibility
(sometimes in the form of an indirect question).
If it rains, the roads may flood, so I want to find
out whether a storm is coming. The distinction
between if and whether is important because
the two words can mean different things when
used in the same place. For instance, the group
needs to know if she can help with the project
means that the group needs to know only if the
answer is yes; the group needs to know whether she
can help with the project means that the group
needs to know either way. Also see whether or
not.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE). An agency in the Department of
Homeland Security that replaced elements of
the Immigration and Naturalization Service
and the Customs Service.

impact. Do not use as a verb. A reduction in tax
revenues does not impact a town—it affects it,
influences it, or has an impact on it. The noun
impact means a “sudden strike or sharp blow”
or “a significant or major effect”; unless one of
those senses is meant, another noun is usually
preferable, such as effect, influence, or result. Also
see affect/effect.

Impact Aid

in-. inbound, indoor, inelastic, inorganic,
inpatient, insider, invaluable, but in-depth,
in-house, in-law, in situ. See prefixes.

include. Use to introduce items that do not
constitute a complete list. For example, the
statement labor income includes cash wages and
salaries implies that those two things are not the
only components of labor income. If they are,
write labor income consists of cash wages and
salaries or labor income comprises cash wages and
salaries. Also see comprise/compose/constitute.

income. This word should generally be singular.
See the box about Possessives on page 54.

income replacement, income security, income
support. Never hyphenated: income replacement benefits, income support programs.

income tax. Never hyphenated: income tax
brackets.

independent practice association (IPA)
index, indexes (pl.)
Indian. Use only as part of a proper noun, such as
the Indian Health Service. Otherwise use Native
American.

individual/person. Although these words are
synonymous, person is preferred in singular
uses: Each person who enrolls in the class will
receive a textbook. Individual is appropriate
when contrasting a person with a group or
organization: Individuals may have to forgo
some rights for the sake of the organization. (In
the plural, use people rather than “persons.”)

individual income tax rate
individual retirement account (IRA)
infinitive. See split infinitive.

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2013

INFLATION • IT IS

inflation. Growth in a general measure of prices
(such as the consumer price index), usually
expressed as an annual rate of change. Because
inflation denotes a general increase in prices,
avoid using it to refer to a specific item; for
example, instead of “gasoline price inflation,”
say gasoline price increases.

infra-. infrared, infrastructure. See prefixes.
infrastructure. Government-owned capital goods
that provide services to the public, usually with
benefits to the community at large as well as to
the direct user. Examples include schools, roads,
bridges, dams, harbors, public buildings, and
water treatment systems.

Inland Waterways Trust Fund, the inland
waterway system
in-network pharmacy

Internet. Always capitalized.
Interstate System. Familiar name for the
National System of Interstate and Defense
Highways. Interstate is uppercase when referring to roads that are officially part of the
system (Interstate highways); it is lowercase when
referring to other roads that cross state lines
(interstate highways).

intra-. intrabudgetary, intracoastal, intramural,
intranet, intraregional, intrastate. Hyphenate
intra- before a vowel unless the dictionary
specifies otherwise: intra-agency, intra-industry,
but intraocular. See prefixes.

in turn. See therefore.
inventories. Stocks of goods held by businesses

insure. See assure/ensure/insure.

for further processing or for sale.

investment. Physical investment is the current

inter-. interaction, intercontinental,
international, interrelated, interstate, but
inter-American. See prefixes.

inter alia. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
interest rate. Never hyphenated: interest rate
subsidy.

interest rate spread. The difference between two
interest rates.

Internal Revenue Code (IRC), the tax code
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD). One of two entities
that make up the World Bank. (The other is the
International Development Association.) Refer
to the World Bank unless there is a reason to
refer to only one of the entities.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the fund

2013

product set aside during a given period to be
used for future production; it represents an
addition to the capital stock. As measured by
the national income and product accounts,
private domestic investment consists of investment in residential and nonresidential structures, producers’ durable equipment and
software, and the change in business inventories. Financial investment is the purchase of a
financial security, such as a stock, bond, or
mortgage. Investment in human capital is
spending on education, training, health services, and other activities that increase the
productivity of the workforce. (Investment in
human capital is not treated as investment by
the national income and product accounts.)

it is, there is, there are. Avoid overuse of these
constructions to begin sentences; they can
sound dull and postpone the reader’s arrival at
the topic. In addition, a solitary “it” can raise
questions of reference. The constructions are
easy to avoid, however. For example, instead of

IT IS • IT’S

writing “There are several ways to approach the
problem,” write Several ways exist to approach
the problem. And instead of writing “There is
little reason to assume that the savings from
adopting the plan would be significant,” write
No significant savings would be likely to result
from the plan.

it’s/its. It’s is the contraction of “it is” or “it has.”
Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun.
I always know when it’s time for the shop to have
its annual sale. Do not use it’s or other contractions in CBO writing unless they are part of a
direct quotation or in the title of a work being
cited.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

J–K
jargon. The dictionary defines jargon as “the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a
special activity or group.” At CBO, some jargon
enjoys a special status. Many concepts related to
economics or government programs cannot be
discussed with precision if the writer does not
use some jargon. The term means-tested, for
example, not only has its own meaning but
also creates a distinction with income-tested.
Similarly, common speech offers no simple
alternatives to cross-subsidy, marginal tax bracket,
constant dollars, or many other examples.
A simple-sounding rule applies: Never use jargon unless it is essential for precision. In other
words, avoid it whenever common, universally
understood words or phrases will serve. Even
jargon that is deemed essential must be defined
at its first mention.

Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation
Act of 2003 (JGTRRA, Public Law
108-27). A law that reduced taxes by
advancing the effective date of several tax cuts
previously enacted in the Economic Growth
and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and
by making other temporary changes to the tax
code.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Not to be confused
with the Joint Staff, which is the staff of the
Chairman of the JCS.

Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). On the
first reference in the text of a CBO document to
an estimate by this committee, specify the staff
of the Joint Committee on Taxation, which does
the actual estimating, as in CBO and the staff of
the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate
that changing those provisions would have little
net effect on revenues. On further references in
the text, use the abbreviation JCT to refer to the
committee staff (rather than writing “the staff of
JCT”). In source lines for figures and tables,
which typically do not include abbreviations,
specify the staff of the Joint Committee on
Taxation.

judgment (not “judgement”)
judicial branch. Always lowercase.

kilogram (kg)
kilohertz (kHz)
kilometer (km), square kilometer (km2)

job-search assistance

kiloton (kt)

Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA),
job-training program

kilowatt-hour (kWh)

joint-and-several liability

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

L
labor force. Never hyphenated: labor force projections. Although Webster’s defines labor force as
synonymous with workforce as general terms,
labor force also has a distinct meaning: It refers
to the number of people age 16 or older in the
civilian noninstitutionalized population who
have jobs or who are available for work and are
actively seeking jobs. (The civilian noninstitutionalized population excludes members of the
armed forces on active duty and people in penal
or mental institutions or in homes for the
elderly or infirm.) The labor force participation
rate is the labor force as a percentage of the
civilian noninstitutionalized population age
16 or older.

labor income. Income that is derived from
employment, such as wages and salaries.
Compare with capital income.

labor-intensive. Always hyphenated.
labor productivity. See productivity.
laid-off worker
last/latest/past. Last and latest are usually
interchangeable, but last can mean “final” and
latest can mean “most recent.” Do not use last
when past is meant: during the past month (the
previous 31 days), not “during the last month”;
but during the last month of 2012 (that is,
December 2012).

Latina, Latino
law. See act/bill/law/measure/resolution and
Public Law.

lawmaker, lawmaking
layoff (n.), lay off (v.)
Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST)
Trust Fund, the LUST trust fund

legal citations. See Public Law and the part of
the Footnotes and References section that
begins on page 90.

legislation. See act/bill/law/measure/resolution.
legislative branch. Always lowercase.
lend/loan. In general usage, lend is a verb and
loan is a noun: My parents are lending a hand
until I can get a loan. Will you lend me a pencil?
In references to money, however, loan is widely
accepted as a verb: The bank loaned me $10,000.

less. See fewer/less.
less developed country. Use developing country
instead.

less than/under, more than/over. Traditionally,
less than and more than have been used for
countable units: More than 40 governors
attended the conference. Under and over have
been used for cumulative quantities: She
completed the course in under a year. Those
distinctions are blurring, however, and the term
that sounds the best and is the most logical in
a given case is the one to use. That approach
applies particularly to money, which is treated
sometimes as countable units and sometimes as
cumulative quantities.

letters. See Congressional correspondence.
life-. lifeblood, life cycle (n.), life-cycle (adj.), life
insurance, lifelike, lifelong, lifesaving, life-size,
life span, lifestyle, lifetime, lifework. See
prefixes.

like-. likable, like-minded, likewise. See prefixes.
-like. bondlike, businesslike, lifelike. See suffixes.
like/as. Use like as a preposition to compare
nouns and pronouns: This year’s budget looks like
last year’s. Use as as a conjunction to link two

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

LIKE • LOAN-TO-VALUE

clauses: The House leadership called a meeting
as the President requested. Also see because/
since/as.

likely. When used as an adverb, likely should be
preceded by very, quite, or most: The Congress
will most likely pass this bill. Without such a
modifier, likely is used incorrectly, as in “The
bill will likely be passed.” (In that case, use
probably instead.) As an adjective, likely needs
no modifier: The bill is likely to pass. It was a
likely story.

limit/limitation. These two words are similar in
meaning, but limit connotes a boundary or
ceiling, whereas limitation connotes a liability,
drawback, or defect. Her boss’s limitations drove
her to the limit of her patience. (An exception to
that distinction is obligation limitation, which is
a specific budgetary term. See obligation.)

Capitalize the first word of each bulleted item.
Use the same punctuation to end each item
except the last one, which always ends with a
period. If the items are complete sentences, end
each with a period. Otherwise, use commas or
semicolons (if one or more of the items have
internal commas). When bulleted items are
sentence fragments, “and” follows the secondto-last one so that, together with the introduction, they form a complete sentence.
The plan designates the following types of projects
as “technically difficult”:

line-item veto
liquidating account. A budgetary account associated with a federal credit program that records
all cash flows resulting from direct loan obligations and loan guarantee commitments made
under the program before October 1, 1991.

liquidity. With respect to an asset, liquidity is the
quality of being readily convertible into cash—
that is, the ease with which an asset can be
bought and sold in large quantities without
affecting its price. Treasury securities are among
the most liquid of assets. With respect to an
institution, liquidity is the ability to meet financial obligations by virtue of possessing assets
that can be readily converted into cash.

lists. Displayed lists are good for emphasizing
important information or for helping readers
through a long series of items. Use them sparingly, however, to avoid blunting their impact.
No item in a displayed list should be longer
than about one-third of a page. A series of
longer items should be turned into paragraphs
with their own headings.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

Bullets are the preferred format for displaying
items in a list. Bulleted items should be parallel
in structure—all phrases or all sentences—and
should flow naturally from the introductory
statement. If possible, the introduction should
be a complete sentence, followed by a colon or
a period. If it is a sentence fragment, follow it
with a colon.

2013

 Monitoring very large land areas or highly
radioactive waste in tanks,
 Cleaning up contaminated groundwater or
soil, and
 Decontaminating and decommissioning
buildings that contain radioactive waste.
Use numbers instead of bullets in a list only
if the items are given in order of importance
or occurrence or will be referred to later by
number. Numbered lists within sentences—as
in “The projects included (1) monitoring large
areas, (2) cleaning up sites”—are generally
unnecessary; simply omit the numbers.

loan. See lend/loan.
loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The relationship
between the amount of a loan (such as a mortgage) and the value of the underlying collateral.
The LTV ratio is one measure that lenders use
to assess the riskiness of a loan.

LOCAL • LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

local. Lowercase (local government) unless part
of a proper noun (Local 323 of the American
Federation of Musicians).

long run, long term. Not hyphenated after a
noun: an effect in the long run. Hyphenated
before a noun: a long-term effect.

long-term interest rate. An interest rate associated with a security that matures in 10 or more
years.

low income. Not hyphenated after a noun: a
family with low income. Hyphenated before a
noun: a low-income family. The same treatment
applies to other phrases containing low, lower, or
lowest. Exception: people in the lowest income
category, in which “lowest” is modifying
“income category” rather than just “income.”

Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP)

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2013

M
macro-. macrobiotic, macroeconomic,

Marine Corps. Always treated as a singular noun:

macroscopic. See prefixes.

mail-order pharmacy
maintenance-of-effort payment
Majority Leader. Always capitalized: Majority
Leader Harry Reid, the Majority Leader.

-maker, -making. automaker, decisionmaker,
decisionmaking, lawmaker, peacemaker,
policymaker, policymaking, rulemaking,
troublemaker. See suffixes.

markdown, markup (n. and adj.); mark down,
mark up (v.)

mal-. maladjusted, malfunction, malpractice,

market basket, market-basket index. See, for
example, consumer price index.

malware. See prefixes.

managed care. Never hyphenated: managed care
programs.

market interest rate
marketplace

managed competition. Never hyphenated:

market risk. Risk that investors cannot

managed competition plan.

protect themselves against by diversifying
their portfolios.

mandatory spending. Never hyphenated:
mandatory spending provision. Synonymous with
direct spending, mandatory spending is the
budget authority provided by laws other than
appropriation acts and the outlays that result
from that budget authority. (As used in many
CBO reports, mandatory spending refers only to
the outlays that result from budget authority
provided in laws other than appropriation acts.
See spending/funding.)

man-hours. Better to use hours, as in If the project
requires 100 hours of work, a 20-person team
should be able to finish it in 5 hours.

manpower. Better to use personnel, workers, or
labor force whenever possible.

marginal-cost pricing
marginal tax rate. The percentage of an additional dollar of income from labor or capital
that is paid in taxes. Compare with effective tax
rate and statutory tax rate.
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

The Marine Corps staged its landing at night.
Capitalize Corps on second reference: The
Corps will buy six new helicopters. The Corps’
mission has changed over the years. Capitalize
Marines when referring to the service as a body
rather than to individuals: enlistment in the
Marines, a Marine operation. Lowercase it when
referring to individual service members: five
marines, a company of marines.

2013

market-value accounting
master’s degree, master of arts (M.A.),
master of science (M.S.)
materiel. Equipment and supplies used by an
institution: The Army kept some of its materiel
in storage overseas.

may/might. In the present tense, may suggests a
real possibility; might suggests a less certain
possibility. When talking about hypothetical
CBO options, might is usually preferable.
Note that might also functions as the past tense
of may: I think I may go now. He thought he
might go today.
May and might also differ when they are followed by have. May have implies that the writer
does not know whether something happened
or did not happen: The bill may have passed

MAY • METHODOLOGY

already. Might have connotes that something
could have happened but in fact did not: If two
more Senators had been present, the bill might
have passed.

mayor. See titles of office.
MBS. See mortgage-backed securities.
M.D. (doctor of medicine). Refer to someone
who holds this degree as a doctor or physician,
not an M.D.

mean/median. A mean is an average; a median is
a number in the exact middle of a series of
numbers arranged in ascending or descending
order.

means of financing. Means by which a budget
deficit is financed or a surplus is used. The
primary means of financing is borrowing from
the public. In general, the cumulative amount
borrowed from the public (debt held by the
public) will increase if there is a deficit and
decrease if there is a surplus, but other factors
can affect the amount that the government
must borrow. Those factors, known as other
means of financing, include changes in the
government’s cash balances, seigniorage,
changes in outstanding checks, changes in
accrued interest costs included in the budget
but not yet paid, and cash flows reflected in the
financing accounts of federal credit programs.
Means of financing are not included in federal
budget totals.

means test (n.), means-test (v.), means-tested,
means-testing
means-tested program. A program that provides
cash or services to people who meet a test of
need on the basis of income and assets. Most
means-tested programs are entitlements—for
example, Medicaid, Supplemental Security
Income, family support programs, and veterans’
pensions. A few, however, such as housing
subsidies and various social services, are funded
through discretionary appropriations.

measure. For legislative measures, see act/bill/law/
measure/resolution; for units, see units of
measure.

Medical Insurance. The official name for Part B
of Medicare (the trust fund associated with
Part B is the Supplementary Medical Insurance
Trust Fund).

Medicare. This federal health insurance program
for people age 65 or older has three parts:
Hospital Insurance (Part A), Medical Insurance
(Part B), and prescription drug coverage (Part
D). Part C of Medicare (known as Medicare
Advantage) specifies the rules under which
private health care plans can assume responsibility for, and be compensated for, providing
benefits covered under Parts A, B, and D.

Medicare economic index (MEI)
Medicare fee schedule (MFS)
medigap insurance
megahertz (MHz)
Member. Uppercase when referring to a Member
of Congress: The Member agreed to sponsor the
bill. The Members of the Committee on Armed
Services met yesterday. Lowercase when referring
to any other member: an executive board
member.

memorandum, memorandums (pl.)
meter (m)
methodology/method. A methodology is the
approach or framework employed by a particular discipline, such as economics, or in a
particular analysis. A method is the steps or
procedures used in carrying out the analysis.
What most CBO analysts mean when
describing how they arrived at their results is
method. An appropriate subhead or reference,
therefore, is method used in the analysis or, more
simply, analytic method.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA • MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES

monetary policy. The strategy of influencing the

metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
micro-. microeconomic, micromanage,
microscopic. See prefixes.

mid-. midafternoon, midair, midcourse, midday,
middecade, midgrade, midlife, midpoint,
midrange, midsize, midterm, midway,
midweek, midyear, but mid-1980s, mid-ocean,
mid-rise. See prefixes.

middle-aged

availability and cost of money and credit to
affect output and inflation. An “easy” monetary
policy attempts to reduce interest rates to
increase aggregate demand, but it may lead to
higher inflation. A “tight” monetary policy
attempts to raise interest rates in the near term
to reduce inflationary pressure by lowering
aggregate demand. The Federal Reserve System
sets monetary policy in the United States.

monetary reserves. The amount of funds that

Middle Atlantic states, mid-Atlantic states
Middle East, Mideast, Middle Eastern
Midwest, Midwestern, Midwesterner

banks and other depository institutions hold
as cash or as deposits with the Federal Reserve
System.

monetary stimulus. A type of economic stimulus

might. See may/might.
miles per gallon (mpg)
miles per hour (mph)
military construction (MILCON) account
Military Health System (MHS)
military personnel (MILPERS) account
military retirement system (MRS). A blanket
name for several retirement programs for service
members.

consisting of an increase in the availability of
(and hence a lower cost for) money and credit
that is intended to encourage economic activity.
The Federal Reserve can lower short-term
interest rates (and, to a lesser extent, long-term
rates) by purchasing Treasury or other securities
through its open-market operations. To a more
limited extent, it can provide stimulus by
reducing the reserve ratio (the percentage of
assets that member banks are required to keep
on deposit at the Federal Reserve) or by
lowering the discount rate (the rate at which it
lends money to member banks). Compare with
fiscal stimulus.

military treatment facility (MTF)

money, moneys (pl.). See dollars and cents.

minimum, minimums (pl.)

money market mutual fund

minimum-wage worker

Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). See GI Bill.

Minority Leader. Always capitalized: Minority

monthlong

Leader Mitch McConnell, the Minority Leader.

Minuteman III (MM III) missile

mortgage-backed securities (MBSs). Financial

missile defense system

securities whose payments of interest and principal are backed by the payments from a pool of
mortgages. MBSs are sometimes structured to
create multiple classes of claims (or tranches) of
different seniority and timing.

mix-up (n.), mix up (v.)
model, modeled, modeling

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

more than/over. See less than/under.

2013

MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION • MULTIPLE-PAYER SYSTEM

mortgage interest deduction
motor vehicle industry
MSG multicountry model (MSG model).
Originally the McKibbin-Sachs Global model,
this tool was renamed after its distributor, the
McKibbin Software Group. Later versions
include the MSG2 and MSG3 models.

multi-. multiagency, multibillion-dollar savings,
multicolored, multifold, multilateral,
multimode, multinational, multiowner,
multipayer, multirole, multiyear. See prefixes.

multiple-employer plan
multiple-payer system, multipayer system

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

N
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2010, the 2010 defense authorization
act
National Guard, the Guard. The United States
has two National Guards: the Army National
Guard and the Air National Guard. Unless one
is specified, readers will assume both are meant.
See reserve.

national health expenditures. The preferred
abbreviation is NHE (rather than “NHEs”),
even though the term is plural. Medicare
spending increased as a percentage of NHE last
year. The same style applies to personal health
expenditures.

national income. Total income earned by U.S.
residents from all sources, including employees’
compensation (wages, salaries, benefits, and
employers’ share of payroll taxes for social insurance programs), corporate profits, net interest,
rental income, and proprietors’ income.

national income and product accounts
(NIPAs), NIPA data. Official U.S. accounts
that track the amount and composition of gross
domestic product, the prices of its components,
and the way in which the costs of production
are distributed as income.

National Institutes of Health (NIH). Takes a
singular verb or pronoun.

National Science Foundation (NSF)
nationwide
Native American
natural rate of unemployment. The rate of
unemployment that results from all sources
except fluctuations in aggregate demand. Those
sources are frictional unemployment, which is
associated with normal turnover of jobs, and
structural unemployment, which includes
unemployment caused by mismatches between
the skills of available workers and the skills
necessary to fill vacant positions and unemployment caused when wages exceed their marketclearing levels because of institutional factors
(such as legal minimum wages, the presence of
unions, social conventions, or wage-setting
practices by employers that are intended to
increase workers’ morale and effort).

Naval Reserve. See reserve.
Navy. Uppercase when referring to the U.S. Navy.
Lowercase when referring to the services of
other countries: Japan’s navy.

near term. Not hyphenated after a noun: an effect
in the near term. Hyphenated before a noun: a
near-term effect.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)

net domestic product (NDP). Gross domestic

National Priorities List (NPL). Part of

product minus depreciation of physical capital.

Superfund.

national saving. Total saving by all sectors of the
economy: personal saving, business saving

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

(corporate after-tax profits not paid as dividends), and government saving (budget surpluses). National saving represents all income
not consumed, publicly or privately, during a
given period. As measured by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis, national saving does not
include unrealized capital gains or losses.

2013

net exports. A country’s exports of goods and
services minus its imports of goods and services.
Also referred to as the trade balance.

NET INTEREST • NOUN STACKS

net interest. In the federal budget, net interest
comprises the government’s interest payments
on debt held by the public (as recorded in
budget function 900), offset by interest income
that the government receives on loans and
cash balances and by earnings of the National
Railroad Retirement Investment Trust.

net national saving. National saving minus
depreciation of physical capital.

net operating loss (NOL)
net present value. Not hyphenated as a noun:
calculating the net present value. Hyphenated as
an adjective: on a net-present-value basis. See
present value.

net-receipt basis
network-model health maintenance
organization
New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
(New START). Signed by the United States
and Russia in April 2010.

NIPAs. See national income and product
accounts.

no-. no-fault, no-load, no-man’s-land,
no-nonsense, no-win. See prefixes.

nominal. A measure based on current-dollar
value. Nominal income and spending are
measured in current dollars. The nominal
interest rate on debt is the promised dollar
return, without an adjustment to remove the
effects of inflation. The nominal exchange rate is
the rate at which a unit of one currency trades
for a unit of another currency. Compare with
real. See constant dollars/current dollars.

non-. noncommissioned, noncompliance,
nonnuclear, nonpartisan, nonprofit,
nonproliferation, nonvoting, but non-activeduty, non-means-tested, non-oil, non sequitur,
non-work-related. See prefixes.

none. In terms of subject-verb agreement, none
follows the same rule as collective nouns: If
what follows none is plural, use a plural verb
(None of the studies are ready to be published); if
what follows is singular, use a singular verb
(None of the money is available yet). Use a
singular verb with a plural object only to
emphasize the idea of “not a single one”: Of the
37 invited guests, none has bothered to reply.

north. Lowercase when referring to a direction
or general location: a north wind, northward,
northern Kentucky, northeastern Canada. Uppercase when referring to a specific geographic or
political region: the Northeast, Northerner,
Northern Hemisphere, the Pacific Northwest,
North Africa, North Atlantic, North Pole. Thus,
note the distinction between North Shore (a
section of Chicago suburbs) and north shore
(a coastline).

North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), North American free-trade area
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
not-for-profit
not only . . . but also. Many writers have trouble
with the proper placement of these correlative
conjunctions. The grammatical construction
that follows not only should parallel the construction that follows but also. For example, the
sentence “He not only knew the Vice President
but also the President” is incorrect, because not
only is followed by a verb whereas but also is
followed by a noun. The sentence should be
He knew not only the Vice President but also the
President.
Also may be deleted if the words that follow but
intensify those that follow not only rather than
simply add to them: Her suggestion is not only
shortsighted but dangerous.

noun stacks. One of the plagues of bureaucratic
writing is strings of nouns used as modifiers
without a preposition in sight (as in a

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

NOUN STACKS • NUMBERS

Department of Energy publication titled “Risk
Assessment Model Review Workshop Summary
Report”). Noun stacks are hard to read—thus
slowing down the reader—and they create confusion about which word in the stack modifies
which other words.
Your ear should be your guide with noun stacks,
but as a general rule, use no more than two
nouns consecutively in a phrase, or three nouns
if two of them form a recognized compound.
For example, the phrase corporate tax rates is
easy to read, but “corporate tax rate changes” is
not (rewrite it as changes in corporate tax rates).

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

nouns as adjectives. Avoid the awkward use of
nouns as adjectives (“the Administration plan,”
“hospital financial performance,” “the government share of financing”) by making the nouns
possessive (the Administration’s plan, hospitals’
financial performance, the government’s share of
financing).

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but
nonproliferation
numbers. See the box on page 48.

NUMBERS

Numbers
Words or Numerals? In general, write out numbers from zero through nine in text and use numerals for numbers
greater than nine. That rule applies to cardinal and ordinal numbers: two proposals, 10 years, the seventh month,
the 21st century (note that the st is not superscript).
Exceptions to that rule include the following:

 Beginning of a sentence. Write out any number that begins a sentence: Twenty-five agencies cooperated on the
program. Rewrite, however, to avoid starting a sentence with a large number. For example, instead of “1989 was a
very good year for the automobile industry,” write For the automobile industry, 1989 was a very good year.
 Parallelism between single-digit and larger numbers. When a pair or a series of similar items in the same
sentence or paragraph contains at least one number greater than nine, all of the numbers in that series should be
expressed as numerals for the sake of consistency: The agency plans to award 7 grants in 2015 and a total of
47 grants between 2015 and 2020. CBO estimates the budgetary effects of such options over the next 2, 5, or
10 years. The use of numerals for parallelism applies only to items in the same category; items in other categories
in the same sentence or paragraph should follow the general rule for numbers: Interest rates on 3-month
Treasury bills and 10-year Treasury notes are expected to rise over the next four years.
 Money and percentages. Use numerals: a 3 cent surcharge, $5 billion, 8 percent, an increase of 1 percentage
point. (Exceptions: one-half of one percentage point, one dollar, and indefinite numbers, such as thousands of
dollars.)
 Ratios. Use numerals: 4 to 1; 4:1.
 Ages. Use numerals for a person’s age: a 3-year-old boy, children ages 7 to 11, people age 65 or older. (Follow
the general rule for ages of things: three-year fight, a city that is more than 200 years old.)
 Time. Express hours of the day as numerals: 2 p.m. (Follow the general rule for other references to time:
six hours, two days, 15 weeks.)
 Weights and measures. Use numerals with units of weight or measure, whether the unit is spelled out or abbreviated: 3 kilometers, 3 km; 5 miles per gallon, 5 mpg. (Hyphenate compounds when the unit is spelled out but not
when it is abbreviated: 200-meter race, 16 kWh battery.) See units of measure.
Large Numbers. Numbers from 1,000 to 999,999 have commas, unless they refer to page numbers or years:
6,280 voters, a $500,000 loan, pp. 1123–1246, in 2010. Numbers larger than 999,999 are expressed as numeraland-word combinations: $3 trillion budget, 6 million people.
Avoid expressing billions as “thousands of millions” except in a series that consists primarily of numbers below
1 billion: $130 million, $546 million, $868 million, and $1,072 million. (Note that million is repeated for
clarity.)
Rounded Numbers. When numerical data are rounded, include the following note (ordinarily on the “Notes” page
at the front of the document rather than on each table): Numbers in the text, tables, and figures may not add up
to totals because of rounding.
Zero. In text, spell out zero. Place a zero before the decimal point for quantities less than one (0.05 percent)
unless the quantity is always less than one (p < .05, a probability of .05). In tables, use 0, not “0.0” or “0.00”;
never use “-0” or “0 percent.” If a number in a table rounds to zero, replace it with an asterisk and add a note to the
table such as * = between -$500 million and $500 million or * = between zero and 0.5 percent.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

O
O-3, O-4. Military pay grades (in this case

off-budget. Always hyphenated. A program is off-

denoting officer ranks) are always hyphenated.

obligate/oblige. Obligate means “to bind under
an obligation” (generally a legal one): I am
obligated by the terms of the will to pay you $100.
Oblige means “to be bound by circumstance,
to be in debt for a favor or service, or to do a
favor”: I am obliged to go to New York tomorrow.
Will you oblige me by coming to the airport?

obligation. A legally binding commitment by the
federal government that will result in outlays,
immediately or in the future. An obligation
delay is legislation that precludes the obligation
of an amount of budget authority provided in
another law until some time after the date on
which the budget authority would normally
become available. An obligation limitation is a
provision (typically in an appropriation act)
that restricts or reduces the availability of
budget authority that would have become
available under another law.

obviate/eliminate. Obviate means “to anticipate
and prevent something” (By resigning, Rick
obviated his dismissal) or “to make something
unnecessary” (The bypass obviates having to drive
through the city). Eliminate means “to remove or
get rid of something” (He eliminated the problem
of how to get to the party by deciding not to go).
The phrase “obviate the need for” is redundant;
use eliminate the need for or rewrite the
sentence.

of course. See therefore.
off-. off-base, off-key, off-limits, off-line, off-peak,
off-ramp, off-season, off-site, but offhand,
offset, offshore. See prefixes.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
offsetting collections, offsetting receipts.
Funds collected by government agencies from
other government accounts or from the public
in businesslike or market-oriented transactions
that are credited to an expenditure account (in
the case of offsetting collections) or a receipt
account (in the case of offsetting receipts). Both
types of collections are treated for budgetary
purposes as negative budget authority and
outlays. Collections that result from the government’s exercise of its sovereign or governmental
powers are ordinarily classified as revenues, but
they are classified as offsetting collections or
offsetting receipts when a law requires it.

often. A good substitute for frequently, as in
The missile misfired often before it was finally
launched. Often should be used only to indicate
repetition in time, however. Do not write
“Localities often reported noncompliance with
the regulation” if what you mean is Localities
generally reported noncompliance with the regulation or Many localities reported noncompliance
with the regulation.

oil field, oil-field equipment
Okun’s law. A rule of thumb, named after econo-

-off. As nouns, blastoff, cutoff, drop-off, layoff,
payoff, runoff, send-off, sign-off, spin-off,
standoff, takeoff, trade-off, write-off. (As verbs,
those compounds are all two separate words.)
See suffixes.
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

budget if its spending or revenues are excluded
from the budget totals by law. For instance, the
outlays and revenues of the two Social Security
trust funds (the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance
Trust Fund) and the transactions of the Postal
Service are off-budget (although they are
included in the total budget).

2013

mist Arthur Okun, that generalizes that an
increase of 1 percentage point in the unemployment rate is accompanied by a loss of roughly
2.5 percent in gross domestic product.

OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE • OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)
Trust Fund, the OASI trust fund. One of
the trust funds for Social Security. The other is
the Disability Insurance Trust Fund.

Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance
(OASDI). A collective name for Social
Security.

on. Synonymous with “upon” but almost always
preferable: The poverty level depends on family
size. See the box about Plain English on
page 53.

on-. on-base, onboard, on-budget, ongoing,
online, on-ramp, onset, onshore, on-site. See
prefixes.

-on. As nouns or adjectives, carry-on, run-on,
slip-on. (As verbs, those compounds are all two
separate words.) See suffixes.

only. Place only before the word it modifies to
ensure the correct meaning: Only the three of us
are going to the store (no one else is going). The
three of us are only going to the store (we are not
doing anything else).

open-enrollment period
operation and maintenance (O&M)
operation and support (O&S)
optimal/optimum. Optimal means “the most
desirable or satisfactory.” Optimum means “the
best possible for a given end or under a given set
of conditions.”

option. Lowercase unless used with a number
(under this option, Options 1 and 4).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD)
Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)

out-. outdoor, outmaneuver, outnumber,
outpatient, outperform, output, outweigh,
but out-year. See prefixes.

-out. As nouns, closeout, dropout, fallout,
hideout, payout, phaseout, pullout, walkout,
but fade-out. (As verbs, those compounds are all
two separate words.) See suffixes.

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
outlays. Spending to pay a federal obligation.
Outlays may pay for obligations incurred in a
prior fiscal year or in the current year; hence,
they flow partly from unexpended balances of
prior-year budget authority and partly from
budget authority provided for the current year.
Also see spending/funding.

out of pocket. Not hyphenated after a noun
or a verb (The expenses were paid out of pocket).
Hyphenated before a noun (out-of-pocket
expenses). The same treatment applies to out of
network.

out-year. Always hyphenated. An out-year is a
fiscal year beyond the budget year (the fiscal
year for which the budget is being considered).
Out-years is jargon, so if it cannot be replaced
by a more familiar phrase—such as succeeding
years—it should be defined on first use in a
document.

over-. overabundant, overall, overproduce,
overreach, override, oversee. See prefixes.

-over. As nouns or adjectives, carryover,
changeover, leftover, spillover, takeover,
turnover. (As verbs, those compounds are all
two separate words.) See suffixes.

over/more than. See less than/under.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC)

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

P
Pacific Islanders. People born or living in any
of the Pacific islands that make up the regions
of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia—
including Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Guam,
and New Guinea.

Pacific Rim countries. The nations that border
the Pacific Ocean, particularly those in Asia.

Panel of Economic Advisers, Panel of Health
Advisers. Capitalized when referring to CBO’s
advisory groups.

pay raise. Always two words and never
hyphenated.

PCE price index. See price index for personal
consumption expenditures.

PDF. Stands for portable document format; no need
to spell it out.

peacetime
Pell grant. See Federal Pell Grant Program.

participating provider agreement
part time. Not hyphenated after a noun (The job
is part time) or after a verb (He works part time).
Hyphenated before a noun (a part-time job).

pass. See adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/
ratify.

passive voice. See the box about Active and
Passive Voice on page 3.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(PBGC)
people. Preferable to “persons,” which sounds
stilted, and to “individuals,” except when
differentiating between individuals and groups
of people (such as families). Also see individual/
person.

per. per capita (never hyphenated), per-case

pass-through (n. and adj.), pass through (v.)
past. See last/latest/past.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Public Law 111-148). One of two laws
enacted in March 2010 that made major
changes to the U.S. health care and health
insurance systems. (The other was the Health
Care and Education Reconciliation Act of
2010, P.L. 111-152.) See Affordable Care Act.

pay-as-you-go (PAYGO). Procedures established in law or in House and Senate rules
that are intended to ensure that laws affecting
mandatory spending or revenues are deficit
neutral over some period of time. When the
term is used in headings or titles, all four words
are capitalized: Pay-As-You-Go Scorecard.

pay grade. Military pay grades are expressed as
E-2, O-5, and so on and are always hyphenated.
CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

payload

2013

payment, per-person cost, cost per person.
Because per is a preposition of fewer than four
letters, it is not capitalized in titles or headings.

per annum. See the box about Foreign Phrases
and Abbreviations on page 27.

percent. One word (not “per cent”); generally
spelled out in text and tables. Percent takes
a singular or plural verb depending on whether
the “of ” construction that follows it (whether
explicitly or implicitly) is singular or plural:
Nearly 40 percent of the spending is for nonessential items. Almost 35 percent of the workers
are on vacation; another 28 percent are out sick.

percent/percentage. Although similar in
meaning (Webster’s gives percentage as a
synonym for percent), the two words are not
interchangeable at CBO. Percent is used to
denote a definite proportion and appears only
after a number: 23 percent of expenditures,

PERCENT • PLURALS

37 percent of agency personnel. Percentage is used
for an unspecified portion or share of a whole:
defense spending rose as a percentage of GDP.
Percentage is also the adjective form: percentage
change.
Always express percentages in numerals:
0.01 percent, 6 percent, 98 percent. In a range
or series, percent is repeated for clarity: between
8 percent and 11 percent (not “8 and 11 percent”); an increase of 4 percent, 6 percent, or
9 percent. If a percentage is less than one, put a
zero before the decimal point: 0.3 percent. See
decimals and fractions.

percentage points. The difference between two
percentages is expressed in percentage points:
The President’s approval rating rose by 7 percentage points, from 41 percent to 48 percent.
Percentage points are expressed as numerals and
are generally plural, to conform with spoken
language, even if the number is less than one:
0.2 percentage points. Exceptions: 1 percentage
point, 0.1 percentage point. The adjective form is
hyphenated: a 9 percentage-point reduction (but
better to write a reduction of 9 percentage points).
Be careful to distinguish between an increase
of X percent and an increase of X percentage
points. If revenues rise relative to GDP from
18 percent to 21 percent, that is an increase of
3 percentage points, or almost 17 percent (not
3 percent).

person. See individual/person and people.
personal health expenditures. The preferred
abbreviation is PHE (rather than “PHEs”), even
though the term is plural. Spending on hospital
care increased as a percentage of PHE last year.
The same style applies to national health
expenditures.

personal income. The income that people
receive, including transfer payments, such as
Social Security benefits.

personal saving. Saving by households. Personal
saving equals disposable personal income minus
spending for consumption, interest payments,
and transfer payments. The personal saving rate
is personal saving as a percentage of disposable
personal income.

phase-in (n. and adj.), phase in (v.)
phaseout (n. and adj.), phase out (v.)
Ph.D. (doctor of philosophy). The plural is
Ph.D.s.

phenomenon, phenomena (pl.)
physicians’ services. Not “physician services.”
See nouns as adjectives.

pickup (n. and adj.), pick up (v.)
P.L. See Public Law.

Perkins loan. See Federal Perkins Loan Program.

play or pay, the play-or-pay plan

permit, permitted, permitting

plurals. Although the plural of most English

per se. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

Persian Gulf, Persian Gulf states, Persian
Gulf War, the Gulf (region), the gulf (body
of water)

nouns is formed by adding s (banks, dollars)—
or es if the noun ends in ch, s, sh, j, x, or z
(lunches, taxes)—many exceptions and special
cases exist. Unless shown otherwise in this style
guide, CBO follows the first choice shown in an
entry in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
(www.m-w.com).

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

PLUS LOANS • POTENTIAL LABOR FORCE

PLUS loans. Although originally called Parent

Plain English
Strunk and White’s maxim “Omit needless words”
should be a guiding principle for every CBO writer.
Using wordy phrases in an effort to sound more
formal or serious is tempting, but it adds to the length
and complexity of writing and forces readers to work
harder. When reviewing their writing, authors should
keep simplicity in mind and try to avoid ponderous
phrases such as these:

Loans for Undergraduate Students, these loans
are now available to graduate students as well as
to parents of undergraduates and are known
simply as PLUS loans.

p.m. Stands for post meridiem. Never use with
“afternoon” or “evening”: 4 p.m., at 7:30 in the
evening.

point-of-service (POS) plan
Wordy
as a means of
at the present time
due to the fact that
during the course of
during the period
for a period of
for the purpose of
in a timely manner
in close proximity to
in order that
in regard to
in the amount of
in the event that
in the near future
in the process of
point in time
successfully complete
under the provisions of
until such time as
with the exception of

Simple
to
now
because
during, while
during, while
for
for, to
on time, promptly
near
so
about
for
if
soon, shortly
(omit)
point, time
complete, pass
under
until
except for

policy-. policyholder, policymaker, policymaking.
See prefixes.

possessives. See the box about Possessives on
page 54.

post-. postgraduate, postoperative, postsecondary,
postwar, but post–Cold War era, post–World
War II period. See prefixes.

Postal Service (USPS). No need to add “U.S.”
before the name when introducing the
abbreviation.

Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). After its first
use in a document, refer to the Post-9/11 GI
Bill as the Chapter 33 program, which pays
Chapter 33 benefits. See GI Bill.

postwar. When using this term, be sure to specify
which war you mean.

Writers should also keep an eye out for long or
multisyllabic words where shorter ones will do. If
sentences are long or material is complex, one way
to make writing easier to read is to substitute about
for “concerning” or “regarding,” end for “terminate,” help for “facilitate,” later for “subsequent,”
spending for “expenditures,” total for “aggregate,”
use for “utilize,” and so forth.

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

2013

potential gross domestic product. The
maximum sustainable level of gross domestic
product. That level corresponds to a high rate of
use of labor and capital. See potential output.

potential labor force. The labor force adjusted
for movements in the business cycle. Specifically, it is the labor force that exists when the
unemployment rate equals the natural rate
of unemployment (the rate that results from
all sources except fluctuations in aggregate
demand). The number of hours worked by the
potential labor force is referred to as potential
hours worked.

POTENTIAL OUTPUT • PREFIXES

Possessives
Possessives of Nouns. The possessive case of a singular noun is formed by adding apostrophe s: the project’s
budget, the committee’s request.
Plural nouns ending in s take an apostrophe only: the policies’ effects, the Joneses’ dog, but women’s rights
(plural not ending in s).
Proper nouns, abbreviations, and most nouns ending in sibilants (s, x, z, sh, ch) take apostrophe s: the Congress’s
deliberations, Senator Jones’s bill, the MX’s guidance system, Alcatraz’s inmates. Exceptions: the United States’
obligations, the United Nations’ budget, the Marine Corps’ policy. (For further treatment of possessives and some
exceptions to the rules, see The Chicago Manual of Style.)
Singular Noun With a Plural Possessive. In most cases, a plural possessive should be followed by a singular
noun when only one of the things possessed belongs to each individual: The passengers held their breath as the
plane began to shake. Most workers earn more now than they did in their previous job.
In CBO writing, this issue arises most often with the word income: People participating in the Medicare program
are also eligible for Medicaid benefits if their income is low enough. Housing costs are considered affordable
to renters whose income is above a certain threshold. Similarly, use a singular noun when a plural possessive is
implied: people with low income.
Possessives With Gerunds. The possessive case is sometimes necessary before a gerund (a verb ending in -ing
that acts as a noun) to show that the gerund is “owned” by the noun or pronoun preceding it: All of us worry about
Sally’s smoking. Lee objected to our eating the whole cheesecake. Failure to use the possessive when needed can
change the meaning of a sentence. For instance, My brother loves that woman singing suggests that the brother
loves the woman; My brother loves that woman’s singing suggests that he loves the singing.
If using the possessive with a gerund sounds awkward (frequently the case in long or complex sentences), revise the
sentence. Correct but awkward: Spending decreased because of several large pharmaceutical firms’ changing
their behavior. A better alternative: Spending decreased because several large pharmaceutical firms changed
their behavior.

potential output. The maximum sustainable
level of production. That level corresponds to a
high rate of use of labor and capital. Potential
output for the national economy is also referred
to as potential gross domestic product.

pounds per square inch (psi)
poverty level/poverty line. See federal poverty
guidelines/federal poverty thresholds.

power marketing administration (PMA)
pre-. preadmission, preadolescent, prearrange,
predetermine, preemptive, preexisting, prepay,
preregister, preretirement, pretax, prewar, but
pre-engineered. See prefixes.

preferred provider organization (PPO)
prefixes. To determine whether a prefix forms a
hyphenated or a closed compound, refer to the
entries for specific prefixes in this style guide
or to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
(www.m-w.com), not online spell-check programs. Most words formed with prefixes are not
hyphenated. Exceptions include compounds
that contain a capitalized word or a number
(sub-Saharan, mid-2007), multiword compounds (non-means-tested), and potentially confusing compounds (recover, to regain, re-cover, to
cover again). Other exceptions are compounds
formed with all-, ex-, no-, or self-, which are
usually hyphenated, and those formed with

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2013

PREFIXES • PRINCIPLE

in-, off-, or on-, which are about equally likely to
be hyphenated or not hyphenated.
If a hyphenated word with a prefix appears in a
heading or title, only the prefix should be capitalized (History of Anti-inflationary Policies).

prepositions. Avoid imprecise prepositions when

President, Presidential. Uppercase when referring to the President of the United States: The
President asserted or by Presidential directive.
Any other president takes a lowercase p unless
the word is used before the person’s name: the
president of Harvard, President Faust of Harvard,
the presidents of 12 nations.

precise ones exist. Write information about the
policy, details of the plan (rather than “information on” or “details on”) and concerns about
inflation, dissatisfaction with the change (rather
than “concerns over” or “dissatisfaction over”).

President-elect

In certain contexts, ending a sentence with a
preposition is acceptable. He received the award
he had hoped for is stronger than “He received
the award for which he had hoped.” Another
acceptable example: After the Congress passes this
bill, no further action will be called for.

price-conscious. Always hyphenated.

In headings or titles, do not capitalize prepositions unless they contain at least four letters (in,
for, With, Through) or are an inseparable part of
a verb (Five Steps to Clean Up Hazardous Waste).

presently. Can mean either “before long” (An aide
assures me that the mayor will arrive presently) or
“at the present time” (The board is turning its
attention to personnel spending, presently the
fastest-growing part of the budget). To avoid
confusion about which meaning is intended,
consider using soon or now instead.

present value (n.), present-value (adj.). A single
number that expresses a flow of current and
future income (or payments) in terms of an
equivalent lump sum received (or paid) today.
The present value depends on the rate of
interest (known as the discount rate) that is
used to translate future cash flows into current
dollars. For example, if $100 is invested on
January 1 at an annual interest rate of 5 percent,
it will grow to $105 by January 1 of the next
year. Hence, at an annual 5 percent interest rate,
the present value of $105 payable a year from
today is $100.

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pretax. See before-tax income.
preventive (not “preventative”)

price index for personal consumption
expenditures (PCE price index). A
summary measure of the prices of all goods and
services that make up personal consumption
expenditures. The Federal Reserve uses
measures based on the PCE price index as its
primary measures of inflation in conducting
monetary policy because those measures better
represent consumers’ current spending patterns
than the consumer price index does. The PCE
price index is also known as the chained price
index for personal consumption expenditures.

price support. Never hyphenated: price support
programs.

primary care. Never hyphenated: primary care
physician.

primary deficit or surplus. The total budget
deficit or surplus excluding net interest.

primary insurance amount (PIA)
principle/principal. A principle is a law,
doctrine, assumption, or code of conduct. A
principal is one who is in charge, has authority,
or is in a leading position; principal also refers
to a sum of capital earning interest or due as a
debt. As an adjective, principal means “first in
importance, rank, or degree.” The principal suspended the principal troublemakers on principle.

PRIOR TO • PUBLIC LAW

prior to. A stilted phrase; use before instead.
prior-year outlays
private saving. Saving by households and businesses. Private saving equals personal saving
plus after-tax corporate profits minus dividends
paid.

private sector (n.), private-sector (adj.)
problem, problematic
producer price index (PPI). A measure of
average changes in the prices received in all
stages of processing by producers in various
sectors of the economy (such as manufacturing,
agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, gas and
electricity, and public utilities). The PPI is
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

producers’ durable equipment (PDE).
Primarily nonresidential capital equipment
(such as computers, machines, and transportation equipment) owned by businesses.

productivity. Average real (inflation-adjusted)
output per unit of input. Labor productivity is
average real output per hour of labor. The
growth of labor productivity is defined as
the growth of real output that is not explained
by the growth of labor input alone. Total factor
productivity is average real output per unit of
combined labor and capital services. The
growth of total factor productivity is defined as
the growth of real output that is not explained
by the growth of labor and capital. Labor
productivity and total factor productivity differ
in that increases in capital per worker raise labor
productivity but not total factor productivity.

profit sharing (n.), profit-sharing (adj.)
program (n.). Lowercase unless the word is
officially part of the program’s name. A handy
rule of thumb is to capitalize program if it is
included in the program’s abbreviation:
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Child
Support Enforcement (CSE) program.

program (v.), programmed, programming,
programmable, programmatic
program account. A budgetary account associated with a federal credit program that receives
an appropriation of the subsidy cost of that
program’s loan obligations or commitments as
well as (in some cases) the program’s administrative expenses. From the program account, the
subsidy cost is disbursed to the applicable
financing account.

pronouns. See the box about Pronouns on
page 57.

pro rata share, prorated
prospective payment system (PPS)
proved/proven. Proved is the past tense and the
preferred past participle of the verb “to prove”:
The lawyer has proved the defendant’s innocence.
Proven is used at CBO only as an adjective: a
proven formula.

pseudo-. pseudonym, pseudoscience. See prefixes.
Public Health Service (PHS)
public housing agency (PHA)
Public Law (P.L.). Uppercase when referring to
a specific law (Public Law 102-378), otherwise
lowercase (it is a matter of public law). Spell out
Public Law on first use in a section of a report
(main text, stand-alone summary, appendix, or
box); use the abbreviation P.L. in that section
thereafter.
In a passing reference to a law—when the law is
mentioned only once or twice in a document
and specific provisions are not highlighted—
it is not necessary to include the public law
number. An exception is made in The Budget
and Economic Outlook and similar “reference
documents,” where P.L. numbers should be
included for all laws enacted in the current or
previous Congress and for any other laws for
which a P.L. number may be useful for research

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PUBLIC LAW • PURCHASING-POWER PARITY

Pronouns
The pronoun problem at CBO is confined to two areas: the first person (to whom does “we” apply?) and sexism and
how to avoid it in the third-person singular.
First-Person Pronouns. Avoid using we and other first-person pronouns—I, me, us, our—in CBO reports. They
can raise too many questions in a reader’s mind about the people being referred to. We, the authors of this study?
We, CBO? We, the United States? Or we, the human race?
When voicing the analysis and conclusions of the agency, use CBO rather than “we.” When referring to the Congress,
the federal government, the population of the United States, or some other subject, state that explicitly. For example,
instead of saying “We have made enormous progress in eradicating tuberculosis,” say Medical science has made
enormous progress in eradicating tuberculosis.
Exceptions may be made in testimony, letters, cost estimates, blog entries, or working papers when it is clear that
I refers to the testifier or writer and we refers to CBO.
Sexism in Pronouns. The English language, abundantly rich in many respects, lacks a third-person singular
pronoun that does not indicate gender. Some writers try to work around that problem by alternating the use of he
and she in general statements, but such an approach can seem artificial or cause confusion.
One rule is clear, however: When a single person is referred to—say, a legislator, a taxpayer, or a program
beneficiary—a singular pronoun is required. The plural they (as in “ask the next customer if they want coffee”)
is ungrammatical.
When referring to an unidentified person, use he or she and his or her: When can a recipient collect his or her
benefit payment? If a taxpayer earns less than a certain amount, he or she may participate in the program. If
that construction becomes too clumsy, write around the problem. One simple way is to make the unidentified parties
consistently plural: When can recipients collect their benefits?
The he or she construction should be used when referring to a general category of people who might be of either
sex. Thus, when discussing an officeholder, but not a specific person, proper reference should take this form: The
Secretary of Transportation, under authority granted to him or her by statute, may determine compliance
with the rule. That construction could, however, be circumvented this way: By statute, the Secretary of Transportation has authority to determine compliance with the rule. When the reference is to a specific officeholder, the
problem disappears: Justice Kagan made the point in her dissenting opinion.

purposes. In addition, if the P.L. number would
be helpful to distinguish a law from others with
similar names (especially names that do not
contain a year), it may be included even in a
passing reference.
When discussing a law in depth or highlighting
a specific provision, use a more complete legal
citation in a footnote, following the guidelines
in the Footnotes and References section that
begin on page 90. When in doubt about a legal
citation, consult the General Counsel’s office.

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2013

public-private partnership
public sector (n.), public-sector (adj.)
punctuation. See colon, comma, dashes, ellipsis,
hyphenation and compound words, quotation
marks, and semicolon. For more information
about punctuation, see The Chicago Manual of
Style, Words Into Type, or The New York Public
Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage.

purchasing-power parity

Q
quasi-. quasi-governmental, quasi-judicial,
quasiperiodic, quasi-public. See prefixes.

quite. This modifier is vague and detracts from the
clear prose CBO aims for. Use it sparingly.

quotation marks. With anything other than a
direct quotation, use quotation marks sparingly
for emphasis or to highlight slang or jargon, but
only on first reference. In the case of jargon,
rewriting is a better choice; see jargon.
The rules for using quotation marks with other
punctuation vary. Periods and commas always
go inside quotation marks, whether the marks
surround an entire sentence or just a word:
Then he said, “I think the sky is falling.” In the

case of “ghost beneficiaries,” the Congress could
take several actions.
Colons, semicolons, and dashes go outside
quotation marks: EPA must meet the standards
deemed “relevant and appropriate”; who will
define those criteria, however, is unclear. “I never
met a dog I didn’t like”—that was what the mail
carrier said, anyway.
Exclamation points and question marks go
inside quotation marks only if they are part of
the quoted material: Thompson yelled, “Stop that
immediately!” Did the Senator really call her
opponent a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”?

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R
racial and ethnic designations. Capitalization
in racial, ethnic, and cultural designations
follows the rules applying to the proper and
common nouns from which those designations
derive. Here is a list of correct forms: African
American, Asian American, black, Caucasian,
Hispanic, Hispanic American, Indian (in the
context of federal programs; otherwise, Native
American), Latina, Latino, nonwhite (to be
defined whenever used), Pacific Islander, white.

re-. reappear, reauction, recover (to regain),
re-cover (to cover again), recreate (to take
recreation), re-create (to create anew), reelect,
reemploy, reenter, reexport, refund, reignite,
remake, reopen. See prefixes.

real. Adjusted to remove the effects of inflation.
Compare with nominal. See constant dollars/
current dollars.

Railroad Retirement benefits
RAND Corporation (thereafter just RAND).
A think tank headquartered in Santa Monica,
California, with offices in Arlington, Virginia,
and elsewhere.

ranges. Express numerical ranges according to
the following examples: the 1984–1989 period
(with an en dash); the period from 1965 to 1975
(without an en dash); beneficiaries in the
$1,000–$1,250 annual income bracket; retirees
in the age range between 61 and 66 years; a
revenue loss in the $3.7 billion–$4.2 billion range
(repeat “billion”); estimates ranging between
7 percent and 11 percent (repeat “percent”).

Ranking Member, Ranking Minority
Member. Use the term that the Member in
question favors (as indicated on the Member’s
or committee’s stationery or website). Always
capitalized.

rather. This modifier is vague and detracts from
the clear prose CBO aims for. Use it sparingly.

ratify. See adopt/agree to/approve/enact/pass/
ratify.

ratios and comparisons. Use numerals to express
ratios: The unemployment rate among young
black men compared with the rate among young
white men is almost 2 to 1. That 2-to-1 ratio
has persisted for years. Use hyphens to express

CBO ’ S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE ,

comparisons in text that involve words rather
than numerals: the debt-to-asset ratio, but the
ratio of debts to assets.

2013

real estate agent (someone who sells real estate),
Realtor (a real estate agent who is a member of
the National Association of Realtors)

receipt account. An account established within
federal funds and trust funds to record offsetting receipts or revenues credited to that
fund. The receipt account typically finances
the obligations and outlays from an associated
expenditure account.

receipts. See revenues.
recession. A significant decline in economic
activity that is spread across the economy; lasts
more than a few months; and normally is visible
in production, employment, real income, and
other indicators. A recession begins just after
the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends
when the economy reaches its trough.

recision. See rescission.
reconciliation. A special Congressional procedure
used to implement the revenue and spending
targets established in a budget resolution.
Reconciliation affects revenues, mandatory
spending, and offsetting receipts but usually not
discretionary spending.

reconnaissance

RECORDKEEPING • REVENUES

recordkeeping
recovery. A significant, broad-based increase in
economic activity that begins just after the
economy reaches a trough of activity and ends
when the economy reaches the level of its
previous peak.

reduction in force (RIF), reductions in force
(RIFs)
referendum, referendums (pl.)
regarding. A better choice is about, which is
shorter, easier to read, and means the same
thing. See the box about Plain English on
page 53.

regime/regimen. Although these words are often
used interchangeably, careful writers observe the
following distinction: A regime is a form of
government or a government in power; a
regimen is a prescribed routine, a regular course
of action, or a systematic plan.

Representative. Used as a title for Members of
the U.S. House of Representatives who prefer it
to Congressman or Congresswoman. (Check
with the Member’s office to determine such
preferences.) In those cases, Representative is
uppercase: During the hearing, Representative
Susan Smith presented several charts. In contexts
not related to the U.S. Congress, representative
is lowercase: Several conferees, representatives of
interest groups, argued for the policy change.

rescission. Means “the act of rescinding.” In
budgetary terms, rescission refers to the withdrawal of authority to incur financial obligations that was previously provided by law and
has not yet expired. (The related word recision,
which means “cancellation,” is a general,
nonlegal term and should not be used in
budgetary references.)

research and development (R&D)

research, development, test, and evaluation
(RDT&E)
reserve. Lowercase when referring collectively to
the non-active-duty part of the military (the
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps
Reserves; the Army and Air National Guards;
and others): the reserve component or the reserves
numbered fewer than 1 million members by 1996.
Uppercase when referring to a specific Reserve:
The active Marine Corps took part in this
operation, but the Reserve did not. See Guard.

resolution. Lowercase when referring informally
or generally to a piece of legislation: The resolution was brought to the floor or when the second
concurrent resolution was agreed to. Uppercase
when part of an official title: the Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year
1983. Also see act/bill/law/measure/resolution.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
1976 (RCRA)
retro-. retroactive, retrofit, retrograde, retrospect.
See prefixes.

return. To avoid confusion, talk about returns to a
person or place and on or from an investment:
With interest rates so low, the return to depositors
on savings is small.

revenues. Funds collected from the public that
arise from the government’s exercise of its sovereign or governmental powers. Federal revenues
come from a variety of sources, including individual and corporate income taxes, excise taxes,
customs duties, estate and gift taxes, fees and
fines, and payroll taxes for social insurance
programs. Also known as governmental receipts.
In many cases, revenues and receipts can be used
as synonyms: income tax revenues, income tax
receipts. Note, however, that whereas all federal
revenues are receipts, not all federal receipts are
revenues. For example, oil companies’ payments

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REVENUES • RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE

to the federal government for the right to drill
on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are
counted in the budget as offsetting receipts
rather than as revenues; thus, they are referred
to as OCS receipts, not “OCS revenues.”
Revenues is preferable to revenue, except as an
adjective (revenue laws) or when modified by
much or less (How much revenue would the
proposal raise? Less revenue than last year).

risk-weighted asset
river. Lowercase in general references: emptying
into smaller rivers. Uppercase when referring to
specific rivers: the Delaware River, the Potomac
and Patapsco Rivers.

rulemaking (n. and adj.)
rural statistical area (RSA)
Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

risk taking. Not hyphenated as a noun: her
approach to risk taking. Hyphenated as an adjective: risk-taking behavior. The same style applies
to risk adjustment, risk management, risk
selection, risk sorting, and risk spreading.

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2013

S
S. 273. The S stands for Senate, and 273 is the
number of the bill. No need to spell it out.

sale, salable (not “saleable”)
saving/savings. Saving is a process or activity, and
savings are what result. Savings is commonly
used as a modifier, as in savings account or
savings bond. But the national total used in
CBO reports is the saving rate. Treat savings as
a plural noun: The savings are limited to three
programs.

savings and loan associations (S&Ls). They
are associations or institutions, not banks.

S. Con. Res. Stands for Senate concurrent resolution. No need to spell it out when used with a
number: S. Con. Res. 10.

S corporation (or Subchapter S corporation).
A domestically owned corporation with no
more than 100 owners who have elected to
pay taxes under subchapter S of the Internal
Revenue Code. An S corporation is taxed like a
partnership: It is exempt from corporate income
taxes, but its owners pay individual income
taxes on all of the business’s profits, even if some
of those profits are retained by the company.

sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM)
search-and-destroy mission
seasons. Lowercase: summer, fall, autumn, winter,
spring.

Secretary. See titles of office.
section. Lowercase when referring to part of a
piece of legislation or a legal code: section 212
of the act. Uppercase when referring to a
program: Section 8 housing.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

securitization. A financial process that involves
aggregating a number of assets into a pool (in
many cases, by selling them to an entity specifically created for that purpose) and then issuing
a new set of securities backed by the assets and
the flows of income they generate. The aggregation of assets is intended to redistribute (and
thus dilute) the risk that any of the assets will
fail to generate the expected income flows.

seigniorage. The gain to the government from the
difference between the face value of currency
and coins put into circulation and the cost of
producing them. Seigniorage is considered a
means of financing and is not included in
federal budget totals.

select/selected. As a verb, select means “choose.”
As an adjective, select means “superior” or
“choice” and selected means “chosen.” Do not
write “data from select jurisdictions” when what
you mean is data from selected jurisdictions or
data from a sample of jurisdictions.

self-. self-explanatory, self-government,
self-respect. See prefixes.

-self. herself, himself, oneself. See suffixes.
SEMATECH. A consortium of international
companies formed to research and develop
semiconductor technology.

semi-. semiannual, semicircular, semicolon,
semifinal, semitrailer, semiweekly, but
semi-independent, semi-industrialized. See
prefixes and bi-/semi-.

semicolon. Use a semicolon when you want to
link related independent clauses that would
otherwise be separated by a period: The ramifications of systemic changes to the health care system
are uncertain; even the outcomes of incremental
changes are hard to predict. In such usage,

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2013

SEMI COLON • SKILLED NURSING FACILITY

semicolons sometimes suggest a cause-andeffect relationship: The attempt to filibuster the
bill failed; not enough Senators showed up.
When independent clauses are divided by words
such as however, thus, therefore, indeed, besides,
furthermore, or otherwise, the proper punctuation between the clauses is a semicolon, not a
period or a comma: Carol planned to go; however, she was delayed at the last minute. The ad
promised free tickets; otherwise, we would not
be here.
Semicolons should also separate items in a
series that has internal commas: The average
growth rate since the oil shock of 1973 has been
about 0.75 percent; since World War II, about
1.5 percent; and since 1900, about 1.25 percent.

Senate, Senator. Uppercase in all references to
the U.S. Senate or a U.S. Senator, whether
specific or general: As Senator Kennedy proposed,
the Senators debated the amendment. The Senate
vote was delayed. Lowercase in other references:
Williams was elected a state senator. Also see
Congressional correspondence.

sequester. A verb; the noun is sequestration.
sequestration. An enforcement mechanism by
which the President orders the cancellation of
budgetary resources in amounts sufficient to
eliminate the following: a debit on the statutory
pay-as-you-go scorecards created by the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, a breach of
discretionary spending caps under the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985, or a deficit as calculated under the
Budget Control Act of 2011.

services. Intangible commodities, such as education or health care, as opposed to such tangible
commodities as cars or clothing, which are
goods.

sex. See gender/sex.
shipbuilding
ships. Names of individual naval vessels are capitalized and italicized (U.S.S. Arleigh Burke);
names of specific classes of Navy ships are
capitalized but not italicized (Arleigh Burke
class destroyer, Wasp class amphibious assault
ship). Names of general types of ships are
neither capitalized nor italicized (dock landing
ship, littoral combat ship).
Every Navy ship has a unique letter-andnumber identifier; for example, the U.S.S.
Arleigh Burke is DDG-51. When a ship is the
first (or lead) ship in a class, the class can also
be referred to by that ship’s identifier: Beginning
in 2016, new DDG-51s will have an upgraded
design.

short circuit (n.), short-circuit (v.)
short run, short term. Not hyphenated after a
noun: an effect in the short run. Hyphenated
before a noun: a short-term effect.

short-term interest rate. The interest rate earned
by a debt instrument (such as a Treasury bill)
that will mature within one year.

shutdown (n. and adj.), shut down (v.)
simple words and phrases. See the box about
Plain English on page 53.

since. See because/since/as.
sine qua non. Means “something absolutely
essential.” Not italicized. Also see the box about
Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations on page 27.

single-payer system
sizable (not “sizeable”)
S.J. Res. Stands for Senate joint resolution. No

session of Congress

need to spell it out when used with a number:
S.J. Res. 43.

set-aside (n. and adj.), set aside (v.)

skilled nursing facility (SNF)
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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION • SPENDING

Small Business Administration (SBA)
Social Security. A federal program for retired
workers, people with disabilities, and their
families. Social Security has two parts: Old-Age
and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability
Insurance (DI). The program is sometimes
referred to as Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability
Insurance (OASDI). Capitalize Social Security
unless referring to general social security
programs in other countries: The social security
programs in Chile and Sweden use different rules
for eligibility.

Social Security Administration (SSA)
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
program. Also known as the Title XX Social
Services Block Grant program because it was
created by title XX of the Social Security Act.

socio-. socioeconomic, sociopolitical. See prefixes.
sole community hospital (SCH)
some. See those.
south. Lowercase when referring to a direction or
general location: a south wind, southward, south
of the border, southern Montana, southern United
States. Uppercase when referring to a specific
geographic or political region: the South, the
Southwest, Southerner, Southern Hemisphere,
Southeast Asia, South Sudan, South Pole. Thus,
note the distinction between South Side (a section of Chicago) and south side (the southern
part of something).

space-. spacecraft, spaceflight, space shuttle,
space station. See prefixes.

spare parts (not “spares”)
Speaker of the House, the Speaker. See
Congressional correspondence and titles of
office.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

spelling. Because spelling can vary and may be
arbitrary, consult Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary (www.m-w.com). If an entry gives
alternative spellings, use the first one unless
otherwise indicated in this style guide.
For the names and abbreviations of organizations, CBO generally follows the style that an
organization uses for its name in print—
Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks),
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)—unless that
style is so strange that no other publications
use it.
Troublesome words, especially hyphenated
and compound words, are listed separately and
alphabetically in this style guide. Words formed
with prefixes or suffixes are found under separate alphabetical listings for the prefix or suffix.
For general guidelines about various aspects of
spelling and word formation, see the boxes
about Hyphenation and Compound Words on
page 33 and Possessives on page 54.

spending/funding. In the context of the federal
government, spending generally refers to cash
flows recorded for disbursement from the
Treasury; it is synonymous with outlays or
expenditures. Funding refers to the authority to
enter into obligations on behalf of the government that result in spending; it is synonymous
with budget authority or (for discretionary
programs) appropriations.
Budget laws, and thus CBO, sometimes use
spending in a broader sense to encompass both
budget authority and outlays. That broader
usage generally occurs in references to mandatory spending, direct spending, or discretionary
spending as general categories or in specific
budgetary terms such as discretionary spending
caps. When a CBO document is referring
specifically to amounts appropriated, however,
discretionary appropriations or discretionary
funding is preferable to “discretionary
spending.”

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SPLIT INFINITIVE • STRAIGHT-

split infinitive. A split infinitive occurs when one
or more adverbs come between “to” and a verb.
Avoiding split infinitives is fairly easy. Instead of
writing “The next step is to slowly and carefully
lift the weight,” write The next step is slowly and
carefully to lift the weight or The next step is to lift
the weight slowly and carefully. Split infinitives
are permissible, however, when moving an
adverb elsewhere in a sentence would sound
awkward or would make it unclear which verb
the adverb was modifying. The President
declined to flatly rule out invading North Korea.

spring. The season is lowercase even when used
with a year: spring 2011.

S. Res. Stands for Senate resolution. No need to
spell it out when used with a number: S. Res 57.

staff-model health maintenance organization
Standard & Poor’s (S&P)
state. Lowercase when referring geographically to a
particular state (the state of Washington) or to an
unnamed state in the United States or another
country, whether as a noun or an adjective (four
states are involved or delegated to the state level).
State is uppercase when it is part of a title (the
Seal of the State of Illinois), when it follows a
state’s name (Washington State), or when it refers
to a state government (the State of California
plans to draft new regulations or employees of the
State of Michigan, but state employees). The same
rules apply to city, commonwealth, county,
town, and so forth.
When referring to a city and state, use the state’s
full name: The demonstration took place in Fall
River, Massachusetts. If a city is well known,
however, the state can be omitted: The association held its annual meeting in Chicago. When
only the state is mentioned, spell it out as well:
The New England states include Vermont, New
Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
When a state’s name must be abbreviated, as in
a crowded table, use the standard abbreviation

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(Mass., Pa., Nev.). Use the two-letter abbreviation (MA, PA, NV) only when an address and
zip code are given.

State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Now called the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP).

State of the Union address
stationary-source emissions
Statutes at Large. The United States Statutes at
Large is a chronological compilation of the laws
enacted during each session of Congress. Citations to it take this form: 88 Stat. 297, 302,
in which the first number is the volume, the
second number is the first page of the law, and
the last number is the first page of the provision
being cited. For information about when to cite
Statutes at Large, see the part of the Footnotes
and References section that begins on page 90.

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010,
statutory PAYGO procedures
statutory tax rate. A tax rate specified by law. In
some cases, such as with individual and corporate income taxes, the statutory tax rate varies
with the amount of taxable income. In other
cases, such as with the federal excise tax on gasoline, the statutory tax rate is uniform. Compare
with effective tax rate and marginal tax rate.

steady state. Not hyphenated after a noun: The
economy is in a steady state. Hyphenated before a
noun: steady-state costs.

stealth. Lowercase when referring to design
characteristics that help an object, such as an
aircraft, avoid detection by radar: stealth bomber,
stealth fighter. Also refer to such aircraft by their
numerical designation (B-2, F-22) to prevent
confusion.

straight-. straightaway (n. and adv.),
straightforward (adj.), straight-line (adj.).
See prefixes.

STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TREATY • SUMMER

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), the
second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
(SALT II)
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START),
the second Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty (START II), the New Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
student loans. See William D. Ford Federal
Direct Loan Program.

sub-. subcategory, subcommittee, subcontractor,
subheading, subnormal, subzero, but
sub-Saharan. See prefixes.

subchapter. Lowercase when referring to part of a

 Wishes (which are, by definition, contrary
to fact)—I wish I were home now.
Traditionally, the subjunctive was also used in
conditional sentences that expressed uncertain
or hypothetical situations, but modern grammarians concur that this usage is becoming
extinct. One reason is that an “if ” clause is
usually enough to convey some uncertainty
without the addition of the subjunctive: If the
funding for subsidies is insufficient, the government can reduce the size of the subsidy.
The real value of the subjunctive today lies in
distinguishing between factual conditions and
those contrary to fact and giving extra punch to
the latter: If this jury were to sit for the next six
years, it still would not reach a decision.

piece of legislation or a legal code: subchapter S
of chapter 1 of the tax code. The exception is a
Subchapter S corporation.

submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM)

Subcommittee. Uppercase when part of a formal

substance abuse. Not hyphenated as an adjective:

name (the Subcommittee on Agriculture of the
House Committee on Appropriations) or in testimony when referring to the subcommittee
holding the hearing (I wish to thank the Subcommittee for inviting me). Lowercase when
used informally (The agriculture appropriations
subcommittee agreed to take up the proposal).

subjunctive. Although the subjunctive mood is
becoming less common, in formal writing it is
still used to express the following ideas:
 Demands—The law requires that new
spending be (not “is” or “will be”) offset by
cuts elsewhere.
 Requests—We ask that he proceed (not
“proceeds”) here immediately.
 Conditions contrary to fact—I wouldn’t go
there if I were (not “was”) you. If she were the
Queen of England, she could spend all of her
time at the beach.

subsequent to. A stilted phrase; use after instead.
substance abuse treatment.

suffixes. To determine whether a suffix forms a
hyphenated, a closed, or an open compound,
refer to the entries for specific suffixes in this
style guide or to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary (www.m-w.com), not online spellcheck programs. Most words formed with
suffixes are not hyphenated. Exceptions include
compounds formed with a number (23-fold);
with -elect, -free, or -on, which are usually
hyphenated; or with -off or -up, which are
about equally likely to be hyphenated or not
hyphenated.
If a hyphenated word with a suffix appears
in a heading or title, the suffix should not be
capitalized.

summer. Lowercase even when used with a year:
summer 2011.

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SUNSET PROVISION • SYMPOSIUM

sunset provision. A provision in law that is
due to expire on a specified date—the sunset
date. “Sunset” is not a verb and should not be
used as one; say expire or end instead.

super-. superabundant, supercarrier,
supercomputer, superhighway, supersede (not
“supercede”), supertanker. See prefixes.

Superfund (no article). Familiar name of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980,
which established a trust fund for cleaning up
hazardous waste sites.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP). Formerly the Food Stamp program.

Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI)
Trust Fund, the SMI trust fund. The fund
used for Parts B and D of the Medicare program
(Medical Insurance and prescription drug
coverage, respectively).

supply-side (adj.)
supra-. supragovernmental, supranational. See
prefixes.

Supreme Court. See courts.
surface-to-air missile (SAM)
surplus. See budget surplus.
sustainable growth rate (SGR). The formula
that determines updates to payment rates for
physicians under the Medicare program.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

symposium, symposiums (pl.)

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T
table. Uppercase when referring to a specific table
in a document: see Table 12. Lowercase when
referring to tables nonspecifically or when
there is only one: Numbers in the text and tables
of this report may not add up to totals because of
rounding or see the table below (usually used in a
text box).

take-home pay
take-up (n. and adj.), take up (v.)
tanks. Use Arabic numerals in designations: M1,
M1A1, T-84.

TARP. See Troubled Asset Relief Program.
tax-. The terms tax-deductible, tax-deferred,
tax-exempt, tax-free, and tax-sheltered are always
hyphenated: a tax-exempt loan, the gift will be
tax-deductible.

taxpayer
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
that/which. The distinction between these two
words is subtle but important. In correct U.S.
usage (British usage is different), that introduces a restrictive clause and which introduces a
nonrestrictive one. In other words, that introduces information that is essential in a sentence;
which introduces information that could be
removed without changing the sentence’s
meaning. The Senator is visiting the new shipyard
that builds submarines implies that there are
several new shipyards and the that clause is
needed to identify which one. The Senator is
visiting the new shipyard, which builds submarines implies that there is only one new shipyard and the information in the which clause is
incidental.
A simple rule of thumb: As relative pronouns,
which requires a comma in front of it; that
does not.

the. In text, do not capitalize the as part of the
name of an organization or periodical (such as
a newspaper or journal): the World Bank, the
Urban Institute, the New York Times, the
Journal of Taxation. Make an exception only
when the is an integral part of the name: The
Emergency Food Assistance Program (abbreviated
TEFAP). In footnote citations, omit the for
organizations, publishers, and periodicals.

then. Used to designate a person’s or thing’s
former status: then President Harry Truman,
then Secretary Rumsfeld, but then-operating
provisions, then-current laws.

therefore. At the beginning of a sentence,
therefore is followed by a comma. When
incorporated within a sentence, therefore may
or may not need to be set off by commas. The
test is whether, if the reader was reading the text
aloud, he or she would pause for emphasis at
therefore: It therefore behooves us to act. It
behooves us, therefore, to act.
The same rules apply to thus, of course, and in
turn.

there is, there are. See it is, there is, there are.
these. See this/that.
thesis, theses (pl.)
third world. A pejorative term that has become
irrelevant given the disintegration of the second
world (the former East bloc). Use developing
countries instead.

this/that. This and that are used primarily to
distinguish between something present (in
space or in thought) and something at a
distance, as in When the committee finishes
marking up this bill, it will tackle that one.
Strictly speaking, when the words are used individually, this refers to something that is about

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THIS • TRADE-WEIGHTED VALUE OF THE DOLLAR

to be mentioned. This is the problem: Funding
will run out in just two weeks. That refers to
something that has already been mentioned.
Funding is due to run out soon; when that
happens, the program will end. This, therefore,
should not be used to refer back to an idea
expressed in a previous sentence. Raising the
saving rate can boost GDP and lower the deficit.
That (not “this”) is a good idea.
The same rule applies to these and those.

those. When used as a pronoun, those needs
something to refer back to. A phrase such as
“those without health insurance” can leave the
reader guessing. (Those what? People under age
65? Employees of small businesses? U.S. residents in general?) If the previous sentence
contains a plural noun, the reader may wrongly
assume those refers to it. Even when those is
meant to be general, replace it with a general
noun that will not make the reader guess: people
without health insurance.
The same argument applies to some. When the
antecedent is not clear, some should be followed
by a noun: some critics, some economists, some
people.

though. See although/though and however.

of legislation or a legal code: title 212 of the law.
Uppercase when referring to a program: Title I
grants.

titles of office. In general, titles are lowercase
unless they are used immediately before a
person’s name: Governor Patrick, the governor
of Massachusetts. Some titles of federal offices,
however, are always uppercase at CBO:
Administrator, Chairman (of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, of a Congressional committee),
Congressman, Congresswoman, Director, Majority
Leader, Member (of Congress), Minority Leader,
President, Ranking Member (of a Congressional
committee), Representative, Secretary (of a
department), Senator, Speaker (of the House
of Representatives), Vice President. Those titles
are lowercase when they refer to nonfederal
offices: Jim Brown, the state senator.

ton-mile
total, totaled, totaling
total factor productivity (TFP). See
productivity.

toward (not “towards”)
town. See state.

thrift institutions. Savings and loan institutions
and mutual savings banks.

trade balance. See net exports.
trade-off. Hyphenated as a noun: the trade-off

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
thus. See therefore.
Tier I benefits. Part of the Railroad Retirement
program.

time-. time-consuming (adj.), time frame,
timekeeping, time line, time-out, time series
(n.), time-series (adj.), time sheet, timetable,
time zone. See prefixes.

TIPS. See Treasury.

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2013

between increased revenues and efficiency losses.
Two words as a verb: Participants would be forced
to trade off efficiency losses for revenue gains. In
most such cases, however, trade is sufficient by
itself.

trade-weighted value of the dollar. The value
of the U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of
U.S. trading partners, with the weight of each
country’s currency equal to that country’s share
of U.S. trade.

TRANS- • TRUST FUND

trans-. transatlantic, transcontinental,
transoceanic, transpacific, transship. See
prefixes.

transfer payments. Payments made to a person
or organization for which no current or future
goods or services are required in return. Federal
transfer payments include Social Security and
unemployment benefits.

Transportation Security Administration
(TSA)
travel, traveled, traveling
Treasury. Takes a capital T and a definite article:
the Treasury. Securities issued by the Treasury
have different names depending on their characteristics. A Treasury bill has an original maturity of no more than one year; interest on a
Treasury bill is the difference between the purchase price and the value paid at redemption.
A Treasury note is an interest-bearing security
with a fixed rate and an original maturity of
more than a year but not more than 10 years.
A Treasury bond is an interest-bearing security
with a fixed rate and an original maturity of
more than 10 years. A Treasury inflationprotected security (TIPS) is a security designed
to protect investors from inflation by offering
a fixed real rate of interest. The principal of a
TIPS is linked to the consumer price index and
is thus adjusted to reflect the change in that
index; at maturity, the security pays the greater
of the original or the adjusted principal.
Holders of TIPS receive semiannual interest
payments that are based on a fixed rate of
interest and the adjusted principal amount.

tri-. triangular, tricentennial, trilateral, tristate.
See prefixes.

TRICARE. A health care program for military
personnel, military retirees, and their dependents. The program is run by the TRICARE
Management Activity, which is part of the
Military Health System. TRICARE contains
various health care plans, including TRICARE
for Life, TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Reserve
Select, and TRICARE Standard.

trickle-down theory
Trident II missile
triple-A rating, triple-A-rated bond.
Triple-A ratings are designated Aaa or AAA
depending on the rating agency.

Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
A program established by the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that permits the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase or
insure troubled financial assets. The program’s
activities have included the purchase of preferred stock from financial institutions, support
for automakers and related businesses, a program to avert housing foreclosures, and
partnerships with the private sector.

trust fund. Uppercase when part of a formal
title: Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, Disability
Insurance Trust Fund. Lowercase in informal
references (the provisions of the trust fund) and
when used with an abbreviation (HI trust fund,
DI trust fund). Not hyphenated as an adjective:
trust fund revenues.
In the federal accounting structure, an account
designated by law as a trust fund records the
revenues, offsetting receipts, or offsetting collections earmarked for the purpose of the fund, as
well as budget authority and outlays of the fund
that are financed by those revenues or receipts.

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U
ultra-. ultrahigh, ultranationalistic, ultrasonic,
ultrasound, ultraviolet. See prefixes.

un-. unaffected, unbiased, undo, unnecessary,
unself-conscious, unused, but un-American.
See prefixes.

under-. undercapitalized, underconsumption,
underdeveloped, underdog, underestimate,
underfunded, undergraduate, underground,
underlying, underwrite, but under secretary
(as a title), under way (see below). See prefixes.

under/less than. See less than/under.
under way/underway. Two words after a noun
(the project is under way); one word before a
noun (underway replenishment ship, underway
refueling).

unemployment insurance, unemployment
compensation, unemployment benefits.
Those terms may be used interchangeably when
discussing the Federal-State Unemployment
Insurance Program. They should always be
lowercase.

unemployment rate. A measure of the number
of jobless people who are available for work
and are actively seeking jobs, expressed as a
percentage of the labor force. See natural rate of
unemployment.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(UMRA)
uni-. unidimensional, unilateral. See prefixes.
Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences (USU)
United Kingdom (U.K.). Comprises Great
Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and
Northern Ireland. Use only in contexts that
clearly include Northern Ireland (for example,

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membership in the United Nations or the
European Union); otherwise, use Great Britain
or Britain.
In references to people from or cities in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, cite
the specific entity: Cambridge, England; a young
Scotsman; three Welsh playwrights.

United Nations. Use the full name as a noun (the
United Nations met); use the abbreviation U.N.
as a adjective (a U.N. committee, the U.N.
Charter). The possessive is United Nations’.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP)
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP)
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR)
United States. Use the full name as a noun
(cars manufactured in the United States); use the
abbreviation U.S. as an adjective (U.S. troops).
The possessive is United States’.

units of measure. In general, spell out units of
measure. But when a unit is long or complicated or appears repeatedly, use the full name
with the abbreviation in parentheses according
to the rules for abbreviations: miles per gallon
(mpg), hundredweight (cwt), barrels per day
(bbl/day), kilowatt-hour (kWh). Always use
numerals with units of measure: 2 kilograms,
12 kg. Compounds that consist of a numeral
and a unit of measure are hyphenated unless the
unit is abbreviated: 100-kilohertz chips, an
856 kHz signal.

UNOBLIGATED BALANCES • UTILIZE

unobligated balances. The portion of budget
authority that has not yet been obligated.
Depending on the original terms of the budget
authority, unobligated balances either expire at
the end of the current fiscal year or are carried
forward to future years.

up-. upcoming, update, upgrade, upload,
upswing, uptick, upturn, but up close (adv.
or adj.), up front (adv.), up-front (adj.). See
prefixes.

-up. As nouns or adjectives, backup, breakup,
buildup, call-up, checkup, cleanup, close-up,
cover-up, crack-up, follow-up, grown-up,
holdup, letup, lineup, makeup, markup,
mix-up, mock-up, mop-up, pent-up, pickup,
pileup, push-up, roundup, runner-up, run-up,
setup, shake-up, sign-up, speedup, start-up,
tie-up, walk-up, windup. (As verbs, those
compounds are all two separate words.) See
suffixes.

upward (not “upwards”)
U.S. Code (U.S.C.). The United States Code is
the official code of federal laws. Citations to it
take this form: 31 U.S.C. §1301, in which the
first number is the title and the second number
is the section. For information about when to
cite the U.S. Code, see the part of the Footnotes
and References section that begins on page 90.

user fee. Money that the federal government
charges for services, or for the sale or use of
federal goods or resources, that generally
provide benefits to the recipients beyond those
that may accrue to the general public. In the
federal budget, user fees can be classified as
offsetting collections, offsetting receipts, or
revenues.

utilize, utilization. A better choice is use, which
is shorter, easier to read, and usually means the
same thing. See the box about Plain English on
page 53.

upon. In general, on, which is simpler and means
the same thing, is preferable: The poverty level
depends on family size. See the box about Plain
English on page 53.

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V
value-added tax (VAT)

veterans’ compensation. Not an official program

variable rate mortgage

name; it refers to a series of programs run by the
Compensation and Pension Service in VA’s
Veterans Benefits Administration.

versus. Spell out, but do not italicize, in text and
titles. (In titles, versus should be capitalized.)
Use the abbreviation v. only when citing court
cases. Also see court cases and the box about
Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations on page 27.

very. Compound words that are hyphenated as
adjectives (a well-known man) lose their
hyphens when modified by very or similar
words (a very low income family, a rather well
known man). In many cases, rewriting the
phrase is preferable (a family with very low
income).

Vice President. See titles of office.
Vietnam War
vis-à-vis. See the box about Foreign Phrases and
Abbreviations on page 27.

vitamin C
volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
voluntary separation incentive (VSI)
payments

Veterans Administration. See Department of
Veterans Affairs.

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W
wage earner
wage-replacement benefits
wartime
wastewater treatment
we. See the box about Pronouns on page 57.
weapon. Singular as an adjective modifying
“system”: the design of this weapon system. Plural
as an adjective in most other uses: weapons
inventory, weapons production.

web page, website, the web
weeklong
well-being. Always hyphenated.
well off. Not hyphenated after a noun: taxpayers
who are well off. Hyphenated before a noun:
well-off families.

west. Lowercase when referring to a direction or
general location: a west wind, westward, western
Thailand, northwestern United States. Uppercase
when referring to a specific geographic or political region: the West, Western culture, Westerner,
Western Hemisphere, the West Side. Thus, note
the distinctions between western Europe (the
countries on the western side of Europe) and
Western Europe (the Cold War political entity)
and between west coast (the shoreline) and
West Coast (the region).

where. In formal writing, where should apply
only to places (the factories where the layoffs will
occur), not to circumstances (companies may face
situations in which [not “where”] layoffs are
unavoidable).

whether. See if/whether.

whether or not. Whether implies “or not,” so in
most cases saying “whether or not” is redundant. Let me know whether you can go to the
movies. Adding “or not” is necessary, however,
when whether introduces a noun clause that
acts as an adverb: Whether or not you agree with
my decision, you must go along with it. Also see
if/whether.

which. See that/which.
while. Means “happening at the same time” or
“as long as”: I will stay here while you go to the
store. While is not a good choice for making a
contrast or contradiction. In those cases, use
but, and, although, or whereas. Instead of writing
“Spending has increased only slightly, while the
deficit continues to soar,” write Spending has
increased only slightly, but the deficit continues to
soar or Although spending has increased only
slightly, the deficit continues to soar or, for a
sharper contrast, Spending has increased only
slightly, whereas the deficit continues to soar.

white. Lowercase as a racial designation.
white-collar. Always hyphenated.
who/whom. Who is a subject (Who will attend
the party?) and whom is an object (You spoke to
whom?). In complicated sentences, the best way
to determine which word is needed is to recast
the sentence in your mind substituting he/him
for who/whom. If him is called for, whom is
correct (easy to remember because they both
end in m). For example: the Senator who spoke
last week (he spoke last week); the Senator whom
we saw last week (we saw him last week).

whose. Refers both to people and to inanimate
objects: the hockey player whose team is in the
play-offs, the stadium whose locker room needs
some renovations.

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WIC • WRITE-OFF

WIC. The standard abbreviation for the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children.

wide-. wide-angle, wide-open, wide-ranging, but
widespread. See prefixes.

direct unsubsidized loans, direct PLUS loans
(originally Parent Loans for Undergraduate
Students), and direct consolidation loans. Use
the program’s name only when referring to all of
the above, not just one part.

winter. Lowercase even when used with a year:

-wide. agencywide, citywide, economywide,
governmentwide, industrywide, nationwide,
statewide, worldwide. See suffixes.

will/would. In the present tense, would is the
conditional form of the verb will. In CBO
documents, discuss the effects of bills, proposals, or options that are not law using the
conditional would (and related verb forms
could and might). The bill would preserve services through January 1, 2017, but could limit
them afterward.

winter 2011.

work-. workday, workforce, workload, workout,
workplace, workstation, workweek, but
work-study. See prefixes.

workers’ compensation. Not an official program
name; it refers to four programs run by the
Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’
Compensation Programs.

workforce. See labor force.

A common error is to mix conditional and
indicative verbs improperly. When using would,
make sure that other verbs in the sentence
(especially verbs in an “if ” clause) are in the past
tense to maintain the correct sequence of tenses:
By CBO’s estimate, if current policy did not
change, spending would total $47 billion in 2015
and might increase thereafter. Likewise, when
using will, put other verbs in the present tense
to match: If current policy does not change,
spending will total $47 billion in 2015 and may
increase thereafter.

World Bank. In text, lowercase “the” before

Also see may/might.

would. See will/would.

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan
Program (FDLP). Can be referred to informally thereafter as the direct loan program. This
program comprises direct subsidized loans,

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World Bank; in footnote citations, omit it. Also
see International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.

World Trade Organization (WTO)
World War II, the Second World War, the
war, the two world wars
worse off. Not hyphenated after a noun: The
family is worse off than before. Hyphenated
before a noun: worse-off families.

wraparound benefits
write-off (n.), write off (v.)

X–Z
Xerox. A trademark, not a verb. Use photocopy.
X-ray. Use as a noun, verb, and adjective. Do not
capitalize the r in headings or titles.

year-. year-end, year-round, but yearlong. See
prefixes.

yield. The average annual rate of return promised
on an investment. For a fixed-income security,
such as a bond, the yield is determined by
several factors, such as the security’s interest
rate, face value, purchase price, and assumed
holding period. The yield to maturity is the
effective interest rate earned on a fixed-income
security if it is held until the date on which it
comes due for payment.

zero, zeros. Write the word out in text. In tables,
use a single 0, not 0.0 or 0.00. (If a number
rounds to zero, use an asterisk instead and add a
note to the table such as * = between zero and
0.5 percent.) Likewise, never use -0 or 0 percent.
Place a zero before the decimal point for quantities less than one (0.05 percent) unless the quantity is always less than one (p < .05, a probability
of .05).

zero-based budgeting
zero-coupon bond
zero rate (n.), zero-rate (v.), zero-rating,
zero-rated goods

yield curve. The relationship formed by plotting
the yields of otherwise comparable fixedincome securities (such as Treasury securities)
against their terms to maturity. Typically, yields
increase as maturities lengthen, and the rate of
increase determines the “steepness” or “flatness”
of the yield curve.

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Footnotes and References
Footnotes serve two main purposes: to cite an authority or to expand an explanation. Any
direct quotation should have a footnote citing the source of the quotation, as should any
mention of a specific study or any controversial assertion made by another author. Statements of fact—such as the years that encompass the baby boom or total outlays for Social
Security in 2011—need not be footnoted, unless they are likely to surprise the reader
because the truth is contrary to common belief. In general, footnotes are distractions to
a busy reader, so they should be kept to a minimum.
Footnotes that provide explanatory or supplementary information, in particular, should
be brief and few in number. When considering whether to include an explanatory footnote, think about whether the footnote answers a question that most readers are likely to
have. If so, include that information in the text. If, however, the explanation is likely to
interest only a few readers but is important technical information about the Congressional
Budget Office’s (CBO’s) analysis, an explanatory footnote is appropriate. Other uses of
explanatory footnotes should be limited.
In text, footnotes appear at the bottom of the page on which they are cited. They are
numbered consecutively throughout the main text of a document. If a report has a standalone summary and is divided into chapters, footnotes begin anew in the summary and
each chapter. A new set of footnotes also begins in each box and appendix. In figures and
tables, footnotes are indicated with lowercase letters rather than numbers, and they appear
below the figure or table source and any other notes.
In rare cases in which having a large number of footnotes is unavoidable, it may be preferable to put them at the end of a document as endnotes. If a report discusses many other
studies, a system of author-and-date citations in the text (with an alphabetical list of
citations at the end of the report) may be preferable. In either case, consult the Managing
Editor before submitting the manuscript.
A footnote number should appear at the end of a sentence, not in the middle, and should
follow the closing punctuation (including a closing parenthesis). Do not use more
than one footnote number per sentence; instead, combine multiple notes into a single
footnote. Very long footnotes may be divided into paragraphs, if necessary.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Footnote references should be accurate and complete enough for a reader to find the
source without difficulty. Responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of references
rests with authors. Responsibility for the technical aspects of reference style is shared by
authors and editors.
CBO’s style for footnote references differs from some styles used elsewhere. General
guidelines for CBO’s reference style are outlined below; specific examples begin on
page 81.

What to Put in References
When a source is mentioned, give the full reference, according to the rules explained
below. In most cases, CBO no longer uses shortened references when a source is cited
more than once in a report or a chapter; such references are not helpful to readers, who
must backtrack to find the original, complete reference. (An exception may be made if
a source is cited repeatedly throughout a document or several times in a short span of
pages.)
If a footnote contains multiple references, separate them with semicolons and put “and”
before the last one. List the references in reverse chronological order, unless some other
arrangement is more appropriate in a particular footnote. If several references in a footnote have the same author or set of authors, include the authors only once and separate
those references with commas rather than semicolons. All footnotes end with a period.
A reference generally contains the following parts:
 Author. Give the author’s first and last names (in that order) as they appear on the

title page, including any middle initials shown. If a publication’s style is to use an
initial in place of an author’s first name, substitute the full first name, if it can be
found easily. Do not include an author’s title, degree, or affiliation (except when
citing testimony or personal communications, as shown in the examples). For an
edited work, put a comma and the abbreviation “ed.” (or the plural “eds.”) after the
editor’s name. List multiple authors in the order shown on the title page. If a work
has more than three authors, give the first author’s name followed by “and others”
(not “et al.”) with no intervening punctuation.
If the cover or title page lists an organization or agency rather than a person as an
author—as is the case with CBO publications—treat the organization as the author.
For a government agency or office, it is not necessary to include the name of the
department first, unless the agency or office could be confused with other government entities that have similar names. (For example, the Energy Information
Administration or the Bureau of Labor Statistics would not require further
identification, but an Office of Policy Development and Research would need a
department name first for clarity.)

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

 Title. Give the complete title (and any subtitle) of a book or report as shown on the title
page, if there is one, rather than on the cover. (Note that subtitles may appear on the
title page in a different font or type size than the main title. In the reference, the subtitle
should follow the main title after a colon or em dash.) Titles of books, reports, testimonies, journals, and blogs should be in italics; titles of journal articles, book chapters,
web pages, and most other sources should be in roman type with quotation marks.
Capitalization and punctuation of a title may be edited to conform to CBO style, but
spelling may not.
 Additional Information. After the title, list any other useful information from the

cover or title page of a report, such as a publication number, a volume number in
a series, the name of the series, or an edition number. For journal articles, cite the
volume and issue numbers before the publication date. (Newspapers and magazines
are identified by date only, not by volume and issue.)
 Publisher. For books and reports from nongovernment sources, include the com-

pany or organization that published the work. (For federal government publications, it is not necessary to cite the Government Printing Office as the publisher.)
CBO no longer requires the publisher’s location to be included in references to
books and reports. However, for works that are not for general public distribution
(draft reports, dissertations, letters) or that are essentially oral in nature, even if
written copies exist (briefings, personal communications, presentations at conferences), include the place of presentation or the author’s location in parentheses after
the title. Omit “the” before the name of a publisher or organization and “Inc.,”
“Co.,” “Ltd.,” or “S.A.” after the name. If an organization is both the author and
the publisher, its name can be abbreviated as the publisher.
 Date of Publication. For published works, list the publication date as it appears on

the title page or copyright page; put the date in parentheses. If publication is
imminent, use “forthcoming.” Before citing a CBO publication as forthcoming,
however, check with the editors. The term should mean “within the next few
weeks.” Otherwise, refer in general terms to “a future CBO publication” and do not
include the title, which could change during the review and editing process. For
unpublished works, the date of publication should be the date of completion (as
with an unpublished dissertation) or the date of presentation (as with a conference
paper). For web pages, use the date posted on the page; if none is shown, include
the date on which the author looked at the page (with “accessed”).
 Page Numbers. When citing the source of a quotation or specific piece of infor-

mation, include the appropriate page number (or table or figure number) in the
reference. When referring generally to an article in a journal or a chapter or essay in
a book, include the complete range of pages for the article or chapter. Page numbers

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

appear after the publication date, preceded by a comma and the abbreviation “p.” or
“pp.” (plural). When citing a range of pages, give the first and last page numbers in
full, separated by an en dash: 223–229, not 223–9. Do not use a comma for page
numbers in thousands: 1123–1268.
 Web Address. Whenever possible, include a web address at the end of a reference

for a publication that exists online as well as, or instead of, in print (such as a book,
report, journal article, or CBO document). For journal articles, use a digital object
identifier (DOI), if one is available. For other sources, use a uniform resource
locator (URL).
Ideally, the web address should go to a summary page that gives readers a choice
of formats or access to supplemental information—for example, www.cbo.gov/
publication/43428 instead of www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/
07-11-12-FYDP_forPosting_0.pdf and www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/index.cfm
instead of www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/pdf/0383%282012%29.pdf. When the only
available link for a source goes to a PDF, include the file size in parentheses after the
URL so readers do not inadvertently open a long document that could tie up their
computer or be difficult to read on certain devices. For brevity, delete “http://” from
the beginning of any web address that also includes “www.” If an address is long or
contains many symbols and punctuation marks, the editors may convert it to a
shorter one by using a redirect service.
For books, a URL should point to the publisher’s page for the book rather than to
an outside retailer, such as Amazon.com. For online documents that are available
only by paid subscription (such as some journal articles or data tables), include a
DOI or URL for a summary page that describes the document and is accessible
to nonsubscribers, if possible (for example, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475
-5890.2002.tb00053.x). For online documents that are not readily available to the
public (such as reports by the Congressional Research Service), do not include a
web address.
Because URLs often change, a reference should never consist solely of a web
address. When citing a web page, include the author’s or organization’s name, the
name of the page (in quotation marks), and the date posted on the page (or, if there
is none, the “accessed” date) as well as the URL. That additional information may
help readers locate the page if the URL changes later.
Authors are responsible for providing accurate and complete links to their sources
and for keeping abreast of any updates to those sources. Reviewers and editors
should not add web addresses to references without checking with the author to
make sure that the address points to the same version of a source that the author
consulted.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Examples of References
The following examples cover the types of sources most commonly cited in footnotes at
CBO: the agency’s own publications, books and reports by government and nongovernment authors, articles in journals and newsletters, federal legislation, websites, and a variety of unpublished material. If a particular source does not fall into any of the categories
below, consult the editors.
These examples show how references should look when a document is submitted for
review or editing. In some cases, references may look different in their final published
form. (For example, an editor might use a redirect service to shorten a long or unwieldy
web address.)

CBO Publications
Most CBO documents are attributed to the organization rather than to individual
authors. Exceptions are testimony, presentations, and working papers (as well as their
predecessors, technical papers). Publication dates (either month-year or month-day-year)
should follow the style shown on the cover or first page of the document.
Authors should include a URL in a reference to a CBO document just as they do for other
sources. Whenever possible, the URL should point to the summary page for the
document rather than to the document itself.
Before February 2012, some CBO publications were designated on their covers or title
pages as studies, reports, issue briefs, or background papers. Those separate categories are
no longer maintained, and references to older CBO publications of those types should not
include such designations.
Report
This category consists of CBO publications not listed separately below (including
mandated reports; chart books; and documents formerly labeled studies, papers,
memorandums, or issue briefs).
Congressional Budget Office, Energy Security in the United States (May
2012), p. 21, www.cbo.gov/publication/43012.
Congressional Budget Office, A Review of CBO’s Activities in 2010 Under the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (March 2011), Table 1, www.cbo.gov/
publication/22075.
Cost Estimate
Congressional Budget Office, cost estimate for S. 2389, a bill to deem the
submission of certain claims to an Indian Health Service contracting officer
as timely (August 6, 2012), www.cbo.gov/publication/43519.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Congressional Budget Office, cost estimate for S. 3001, the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (June 13, 2008),
www.cbo.gov/publication/19886.
Testimony
Testimony of Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget
Office, before the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations, CBO’s Appropriation Request for Fiscal Year
2013 (March 15, 2012), www.cbo.gov/publication/43081.
Letter
CBO publications that take the form of a letter (or, in the case of some older documents,
an attachment to a letter) are cited as follows. In the first style, the description of the
letter’s subject should mirror as closely as possible the wording on CBO’s website. The
second style is used when a letter attachment is posted on CBO’s website with the letter at
the beginning of the PDF. (If the letter is not included in the PDF, cite the document as a
regular CBO report.)
Letter only: Congressional Budget Office, letter to the Honorable John
Boehner providing an estimate for H.R. 6079, the Repeal of Obamacare Act
(July 24, 2012), www.cbo.gov/publication/43471.
Letter with attached, titled document: Congressional Budget Office,
Analysis of Federal Civilian and Military Compensation (attachment to a letter
to the Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, January 20, 2011), www.cbo.gov/
publication/22002.
CBO Blog Entry
Congressional Budget Office, “Federal Debt and Interest Costs,” CBO Blog
(December 14, 2010), www.cbo.gov/publication/25127.
Presentation
Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Director, Congressional Budget Office,
“Economic Growth and Employment in the Short Term” (presentation
to the National Lieutenant Governors Association, Washington, D.C.,
March 17, 2010), www.cbo.gov/publication/21325.
Infographic
Congressional Budget Office, “The U.S. Federal Budget” (infographic,
December 2011), www.cbo.gov/publication/42636.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Supplemental Data or Technical Information
Congressional Budget Office, “Methods for Analysis of the Financing and
Use of Long-Term Services and Supports” (supplemental material for Rising
Demand for Long-Term Services and Supports for Elderly People, June 2013),
www.cbo.gov/publication/44370.
Baseline Table or Other Miscellaneous Document
Congressional Budget Office, “Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation—
May 2013 Baseline” (May 2013), www.cbo.gov/publication/44210.
Working Paper or Technical Paper
Tim Dowd, Robert McClelland, and Athiphat Muthitacharoen, New
Evidence on the Tax Elasticity of Capital Gains, Working Paper 2012-09
(Congressional Budget Office, June 2012, updated August 2012),
www.cbo.gov/publication/43334.
Julie Topoleski, Uncertainty About Projections of Medicare Cost Growth,
Technical Paper 2004-13 (Congressional Budget Office, August 2004),
www.cbo.gov/publication/15942.

Books, Reports, and Working Papers From Nongovernment Sources
Titles of books and published stand-alone reports (as opposed to articles) appear in italics,
followed by the publisher’s name and the publication date in parentheses. Publication
dates for books are traditionally the year of copyright; publication dates for reports and
working papers should match the date on the cover or title page. Include publication
numbers, editions, and web addresses whenever possible (see the guidelines for web
addresses on page 80). Reports by government agencies other than CBO follow a slightly
different style (see the section on “Government Publications,” which begins on page 87).
One to Three Authors
Philip G. Joyce, The Congressional Budget Office: Honest Numbers, Power, and
Policymaking (Georgetown University Press, 2011), p. 58, http://
press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/congressional-budget-office.
Nisha Mistry and Joan Byron, The Federal Role in Supporting Urban
Manufacturing (Urban Institute, April 2011), pp. 21–24, www.urban.org/
publications/1001536.html.
Jeanne M. Jarvaise, Jeffrey A. Drezner, and Daniel M. Norton, The Defense
System Cost Performance Database: Cost Growth Analysis Using Selected
Acquisition Reports, MR-625-OSD (RAND Corporation, 1996),
www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR625.html.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

More Than Three Authors
Howard C. Kunreuther and others, At War With the Weather: Managing
Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes (MIT Press, 2009), pp. 256–
261, http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11795.
Editor
Jonathan H. Adler, ed., Rebuilding the Ark: New Perspectives on Endangered
Species Act Reform (AEI Press, 2011), www.aei.org/book/energy-and-the
-environment/natural-resources/rebuilding-the-ark/.
Hualou Liang, Joseph D. Bronzino, and Donald R. Peterson, eds., Biosignal
Processing: Principles and Practices (CRC Press, 2012), www.crcpress.com/
product/isbn/9781439871430.
Organization as Author
Institute of Medicine, Ethical and Scientific Issues in Studying the Safety of
Approved Drugs (National Academies Press, 2012), www.iom.edu/Reports/
2012/Ethical-and-Scientific-Issues-in-Studying-the-Safety-of-Approved
-Drugs.aspx.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Greening
Household Behaviour: The Role of Public Policy (OECD, 2011),
www.oecd.org/australia/greening-household-behaviour-2011.htm.
Chapter or Essay in a Book
Author different from editor: Tiffany Shih and Brian Wright, “Agricultural
Innovation,” in Rebecca Henderson and Richard G. Newell, eds.,
Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights From Multiple Sectors (University of
Chicago Press, 2011), pp. 49–85, www.nber.org/books/hend09-1.
Author and editor the same: Cheng Li, “Chinese Scholarship on the Middle
Class: From Social Stratification to Political Potential,” in Li, ed., China’s
Emerging Middle Class: Beyond Economic Transformation (Brookings
Institution Press, 2010), p. 77, www.brookings.edu/research/books/2010/
chinasemergingmiddleclass.
Preface, Foreword, or Introduction to a Book
Harold Meyerson, foreword to Amy B. Dean and David B. Reynolds, A New
New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement
(Cornell University Press, 2010), pp. ix–xi, www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/
book/?GCOI=80140100697040.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Volume in a Series
To emphasize volume title: Carol Alexander, Value-at-Risk Models, vol. 4 of
Market Risk Analysis (Wiley, 2009), p. 113, www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
WileyTitle/productCd-0470997885.html.
To emphasize series title: H. Peter Gray, ed., Research in International
Business and Finance, vol. 5, Uncle Sam as Host (Jai Press, 1986).
Subsequent Edition
Steven J. Isakowitz, Joshua B. Hopkins, and Joseph P. Hopkins Jr.,
International Reference Guide to Space Launch Systems, 4th ed. (American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004), www.aiaa.org/
PubDetail.aspx?id=2052.
Working Paper or Other Series
Robert J. Gordon, Did Economics Cause World War II? Working Paper 14560
(National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2008), www.nber.org/
papers/w14560.
John M. Roberts, Using Structural Shocks to Identify Models of Investment,
Finance and Economics Discussion Series Paper 2005-69 (Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 2005),
www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2005/200569/200569abs.html.
Forthcoming Publication
Sam Harris, The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human
Values (Free Press, forthcoming).
Proceedings Volume
Raymond Robertson, “Globalization and Mexican Labor Markets,” in
James F. Hollifield, Pia M. Orrenius, and Thomas Osang, eds., Migration,
Trade, and Development: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference on Migration,
Trade, and Development (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, December 2007),
www.dallasfed.org/research/pubs/migration/index.cfm.
Note: For conference papers that are not part of a published proceedings, see the section
on “Other Sources,” which begins on page 94.

Articles in Periodicals
The examples in this section apply to articles in professional and academic journals,
general-interest magazines, newsletters, or newspapers, whether printed or online. For
journal articles, include any volume and issue numbers in addition to the journal’s
publication date (in parentheses). Volume and issue numbers are not necessary for

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

magazine, newsletter, and newspaper articles. If an article has no authors listed, cite it
by its title. Include the full range of page numbers for an article, if possible, unless citing
specific pages.
Include a web address with a DOI number, if one is available (append the number to
“http://dx.doi.org/”); if not, include a URL to a page on the periodical’s website that
contains the full article or that links to it. (If the web address goes to a PDF, include the
file size in parentheses at the end.) If the article is available online only by paid subscription, include a web address for a summary page that describes the article and is accessible
to nonsubscribers, if possible. (A DOI address will generally point to such a page.)
Journal
Kenneth A. Couch and Dana W. Placzek, “Earnings Losses of Displaced
Workers Revisited,” American Economic Review, vol. 100, no. 1 (March
2010), pp. 572–589, http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.1.572.
Daron Acemoglu and others, “When Does Policy Reform Work? The Case
of Central Bank Independence,” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
(Spring 2008), p. 355, www.brookings.edu/about/projects/bpea/past
-editions.
Carrie H. Colla and others, “Spending Differences Associated With the
Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration,” Journal of the American
Medical Association, vol. 308, no. 10 (September 2012), pp. 1015–1023,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/2012.jama.10812.
John D. Colombo, “The NCAA, Tax Exemption, and College Athletics,”
University of Illinois Law Review (forthcoming).
Magazine, Newsletter, or Online News Service
“American Banks: Where’s the Growth?” Economist (April 20, 2011),
www.economist.com/node/18586826.
Dave Ahern, “Allied Nations Interested in Buying THAAD Ballistic Missile
Defense Systems,” Defense Daily (April 22, 2008), www.defensedaily.com/
publications/dd/2428.html.
Peter Behr, “Renewable Energy: States and Regions Block Federal
‘Superhighway’ for Solar and Wind Power,” ClimateWire (December 15,
2009), www.eenews.net/climatewire/2009/12/15/5.
Newspaper
Ashley Halsey III, “High-Speed Rail Funding Chugs Ahead,” Washington
Post (May 9, 2011), p. A13.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Periodical Requiring Additional Information for Identification
If a periodical has a title similar to that of others (as with Federal Reserve publications) or
is likely to be unfamiliar to readers, include the organization that publishes it.
Daniel Carroll, “Consumption Taking Longer to Respond to Downturns in
GDP,” Economic Trends, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (January 2012),
pp. 17–19, www.clevelandfed.org/research/trends/2012/0112/
ET_jan12.pdf (3 MB).
Felix K. Chang and Jonathan Goldman, “Meddling in the Markets: Foreign
Manipulation,” Parameters, U.S. Army War College, vol. 38 (Spring 2008),
pp. 43–59, www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/Articles/08spring/
chang.pdf (237 KB).

Government Publications
References to government publications follow the guidelines given above for their particular type of publication, except that the publisher’s name is not necessary (unless the author
is an individual rather than an agency). If a report has a publication number, include it to
help readers trying to locate the document. Also include a URL, if possible. If a publication exists online only as a PDF, include a URL for a web page that has an easily identified
link to the publication or include a URL for the PDF with the file size in parentheses
afterward.
When citing a federal agency or office that is part of a larger department, include the
name of the department only if necessary to distinguish the agency or office from
other government entities with similar names. For example, the Energy Information
Administration or the Office of Tax Analysis would not need further identification,
but an Office of Budget or Office of Policy Development and Research would need a
department or agency name first for clarity.
Footnote citations for the United States Statutes at Large, the U.S. Code, the Federal
Register, and the Code of Federal Regulations are described in the section on “Legislation,
Laws, Regulations, and Court Cases,” which begins on page 90.
General Government Report
Organization as author: Energy Information Administration, Federal
Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy Markets 2007, SR/CNEAF/
2008-01(April 2008), Chapter 2, pp. 36–38, www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/
servicerpt/subsidy2.
Department of the Navy, Office of Budget, Highlights of the Department of
the Navy FY 2012 Budget (February 2011), p. 4-3, www.finance.hq.navy.mil/
FMB/12pres/BOOKS.htm.
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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Insurance, Finance, and Regulation
Primer for Terrorism Risk Management in Buildings, FEMA 429 (December
2003), www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1562.
Person as author: Janet G. McCubbin, Optimal Tax Enforcement: A Review
of the Literature and Practical Implications, Working Paper 90 (Office of Tax
Analysis, December 2004), www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/
Pages/otapaper_2000-present.aspx.
Rose M. Kreider and Diana B. Elliott, America’s Families and Living
Arrangements: 2007, Current Population Reports P20-561 (Census Bureau,
September 2009), www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/p20.html.
Report Prepared by a Contractor
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy
Development and Research, Report to Congress on the Root Causes of the
Foreclosure Crisis (prepared by Abt Associates, January 2010), p. xv,
www.huduser.org/portal/publications/hsgfin/foreclosure_09.html.
Karen Needels and Annalisa Mastri, Predesign Study for the Evaluation of
Recovery Act Green Jobs, Health Care, and Other High-Growth Competitive
Grants (submitted by Mathematica Policy Research to the Department of
Labor, April 6, 2010).
Report of a Government Commission
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, The Moment of
Truth: Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
(December 2010), www.fiscalcommission.gov/news/moment-truth-report
-national-commission-fiscal-responsibility-and-reform.
President’s Commission on Budget Concepts, Report of the President’s
Commission on Budget Concepts (October 1967), p. 65.
Federal Budget and Other OMB Publications
Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal
Year 2012: Analytical Perspectives (February 2011), p. 201, www.gpo.gov/
fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET.
Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal
Year 2011: Mid-Session Review (July 2010), p. 25, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government: Appendix
(various years), “Detailed Budget Estimates by Agency: Department of the
Interior.”
Office of Management and Budget, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of
the Budget, Circular A-11 (August 2012), www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
circulars_index-budget/.
Economic Report of the President
Council of Economic Advisers, Economic Report of the President (February
2010), pp. 243–246, www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/
economic-report-of-the-President/2010.
Government Accountability Office
Before July 2004, GAO was called the General Accounting Office. If citing a report from
that period, use the office’s name at the time of publication, followed by the current name
in parentheses. For the publication date, use the date on the cover or first page of the
document.
Report: Government Accountability Office, Superfund: Information on the
Nature and Costs of Cleanup Activities at Three Landfills in the Gulf Coast
Region, GAO-11-287R (February 18, 2011), www.gao.gov/products/
GAO-11-287R.
General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office),
Transportation Security: Federal Action Needed to Help Address Security
Challenges, GAO-03-843 (June 2003), www.gao.gov/products/
GAO-03-843.
Testimony: Testimony of Jim Wells, Director, Natural Resources and
Environment, Government Accountability Office, before the Subcommittee
on Energy and Water Development of the House Committee on
Appropriations, Advanced Energy Technologies: Key Challenges to Their
Development and Deployment, GAO-07-550T (February 28, 2007), p. 2,
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-550T.
Congressional Research Service
Publications of the Congressional Research Service are not generally available to the
public, so references to them do not include URLs.
Suzanne M. Kirchhoff, The Construction Sector in the U.S. Economy, Report
for Congress R41806 (Congressional Research Service, May 3, 2011),
pp. 2–5.

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

James V. Saturno, Amendments in Disagreement, Report for Congress 98-813
(Congressional Research Service, November 3, 2004).
Report by a Congressional Committee or House of Congress
Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Budget Effects of the Revenue Provisions Contained in the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Proposal, JCX-19-11
(March 17, 2011), www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=select&id=50.
Senate Committee on the Budget, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget,
FY 2011: Committee Print to Accompany S. Con. Res. 60, Together With
Additional Views and Minority Views, S. Prt. 111-45 (April 2010),
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CPRT-111SPRT56024/
CPRT-111SPRT56024/content-detail.html.
U.S. House of Representatives, National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008: Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 1585, House Report
110-477 (December 6, 2007), pp. 881–882, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/
CRPT-110hrpt477/html/CRPT-110hrpt477.htm.
Testimony Before the Congress
With testimony title: Testimony of Melissa M. Favreault, Senior Research
Associate, Urban Institute, before the Senate Special Committee on Aging,
Revitalizing Social Security: Effectively Targeting Benefit Enhancements for Low
Lifetime Earners and the Oldest Old (June 17, 2009), http://aging.senate.gov/
events/hr211mf.pdf (90 KB).
Without testimony title: Testimony of Ronald A. Rosenfeld, Chairman,
Federal Housing Finance Board, before the Subcommittee on Capital
Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises of the
House Committee on Financial Services (March 9, 2005), http://
archives.financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/030905rr.pdf (89 KB).
Congressional Record
Daily digest: Congressional Record—Senate (May 4, 2011), p. D446.
Complete version: Congressional Record—House of Representatives, vol. 157,
no. 41, 112th Cong., 1st Sess. (March 17, 2011), pp. H1910–H1912.

Legislation, Laws, Regulations, and Court Cases
This section describes citation styles for legislative materials (such as bills and resolutions),
statutes (public laws), regulations, and court cases. These styles are used in footnotes
when citing the source of a direct quotation, when referring readers to a specific provision,
or when such sources are discussed in depth in the text. (For information about how to

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

refer to legislation, public laws, and court cases more generally in the text of CBO
documents, see the entries for those terms in the alphabetical section of the style guide.)
Refer to a bill or statute by its short title or popular name. If no short title exists, consult
the Office of the General Counsel. A short title need not be repeated in a footnote if it is
mentioned in the text being footnoted.
Use commas to separate the elements of a citation; use semicolons to separate multiple
citations. (Semicolons may be used instead of commas within an individual citation if
necessary to prevent confusion.)
These styles are general guidelines, to which exceptions invariably exist. When in doubt,
check with the Office of the General Counsel.
Unenacted Legislation
Footnote citations for legislation that has not been enacted (whether from the current or
a previous Congress) consist of the legislation’s short title (if any), the bill or resolution
number, the number of the Congress, and the year that the legislation was published
(unless that year is part of the short title).
Health Security Act, H.R. 3600, 103rd Cong. (1993).
If referring to specific language in unenacted legislation, give the section number first.
Sec. 213(a) of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, H.R.
2454, 111st Cong.
Adopted Resolutions
Adopted simple or concurrent resolutions are cited with a brief description, the resolution
number, the number of the Congress, and the year of adoption, followed by “(adopted).”
Budget resolution for fiscal year 2008, S. Con. Res. 21, 110th Cong. (2007)
(adopted).
Public Laws
Enacted bills and joint resolutions are first published as “slip laws,” then compiled chronologically in the United States Statutes at Large, and later codified by subject matter in the
U.S. Code. The format of a footnote citation for a law depends on how recently the law
was enacted, whether it is an appropriation act, and whether the author is referring to a
specific provision of the law.
Recently enacted laws and all appropriation acts: Cite recent laws and all appropriation
acts (whether recent or not) by giving the short title as enacted (if any); the public law
(P.L.) number; the Statutes at Large citation (which consists of the Statutes volume
number, the abbreviation “Stat.,” and the number of the page on which the law begins);
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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

and the year of enactment (if not part of the short title or if different from the year in the
short title, as sometimes happens).
America’s Cup Act of 2011, P.L. 112-61, 125 Stat. 753.
Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to
Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act,
2006, P.L. 109-148, 119 Stat. 2680 (2005).
When referring to a specific provision in the law, give the section number first and, in the
Statutes at Large citation, include the page number on which the provision begins (after
the first page number, separated by a comma).
Sec. 6 of the America’s Cup Act of 2011, P.L. 112-61, 125 Stat. 753, 754.
Laws not recently enacted (other than appropriation acts): Cite older laws that are not
appropriation acts by giving the short title as enacted (if any) and the U.S. Code citation
(which consists of the title number of the code, the abbreviation “U.S.C.,” the section
symbol §, the section number, and the code edition). The main edition of the U.S. Code
is published roughly every six years—most recently in 2006—with annual supplements
thereafter. For laws that were enacted in 2006 or earlier, use “(2006)”; for laws that were
enacted after 2006, or that were enacted earlier and amended after 2006, use “(2006 &
Supp.).” (Those years will change when the next main edition of the U.S. Code is
published.)
If a statute is codified over 10 or fewer consecutive sections of the U.S. Code, give the first
and last section numbers, connected by an en dash. (Use §§ to denote more than one
section.)
Newspaper Preservation Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1801–1804 (2006).
If a statute is codified over more than 10 consecutive sections of the U.S. Code, give the
first section (with a single §), followed by “et seq.”
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. §4321 et seq.
(2006).
When referring to a specific provision, give the section number of the law first and
include the public law number.
Sec. 102(d)(3) of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, P.L. 101-336
(codified at 42 U.S.C. §12112(d)(3) (2006)).
Sec. 101 of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008,
P.L. 110-245 (codified at 42 U.S.C. §6428 (2006 & Supp.)).

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

If a footnote that includes a U.S. Code citation is for a law that amended the Internal
Revenue Code, it should cite volume 26 of the U.S. Code. For instance, the footnote
reference for the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of charitable contributions would
be as follows:
26 U.S.C. §170(c) (2006).
If an older statute is too widely scattered throughout the U.S. Code to be cited easily,
use the format described above for recently enacted laws (which includes the public law
number and the Statutes at Large citation).
Tax Reduction Act of 1975, P.L. 94-12, 89 Stat. 26.
Regulations and Administrative Actions
In most cases, cite a federal regulation by giving its commonly used name (if one exists)
and a citation to the Code of Federal Regulations (which consists of the title number of the
code, the abbreviation “C.F.R.,” the section symbol §, the section or part number, and
the code edition).
FTC Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.F.R. §444 (1995).
If a regulation has not been codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, cite its location in
the Federal Register (“Fed. Reg.”), including the volume number, the page on which the
regulation begins, and the full date of publication. When referring to a specific provision
in the regulation, include the page on which the provision appears (following the first
page number, separated by a comma).
Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees, 78 Fed. Reg. 4212 (January 18, 2013).
For all other agency actions and executive materials that appear in the Federal Register, cite
the title of the document, the volume number, the page on which the document begins,
and the full date of publication.
Locomotive Safety Standards, 76 Fed. Reg. 2200, 2230 (proposed
January 12, 2011).
Court Cases
Footnote citations for court cases follow the style set forth in the Harvard Law Review
Association’s Bluebook; they consist of the name of the case, the volume number and
abbreviation of the reporter (the official recording publication) in which the case is
printed, the page on which the case begins, and the court and year of decision. Consult
the Office of the General Counsel for more information.
John McGann v. H&H Music Company, 946 F.2d 401 (5th Cir. 1991).

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

When referring to a specific page of a case, include that page number after the number of
the page on which the case begins.
Sullivan v. Zebley, 493 U.S. 521, 541 (1990).

Websites
The examples below cover sources that are available only online—not in printed form,
such as a PDF—and that do not fall into one of the document categories shown elsewhere
(such as a journal, news service, press release, or fact sheet).
Web Page
References to material that appears only on a web page should include the author’s or
organization’s name; the name of the page (in quotation marks); the date shown on the
page, such as the “last updated” date (or the author’s “accessed” date if there is no date on
the page); and the URL. Providing all of that information may help readers locate the
page if the URL changes later.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic Oceanographic
and Meteorological Laboratory, “Frequently Asked Questions About the
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)” (January 13, 2006),
www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/d2m_shift/amo_faq.php.
Congressional Budget Office, “Our Processes” (accessed October 25, 2012),
www.cbo.gov/about/our-processes.
Blog Entry
Titles of blog posts should appear in quotation marks, as titles of articles do. If the blog
has a name, it should appear in italics, as names of periodicals do. (If the name contains
the word “blog,” as in CBO Blog, there is no need to include “blog entry” in the
reference.)
Donald Marron, “The Economics of Al-Qaeda in Iraq” (blog entry,
December 21, 2010), http://dmarron.com/2010/12/21/.
Susan Woodward and Robert Hall, “What to Do About Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac?” Financial Crisis and Recession (blog entry, January 28, 2009),
woodwardhall.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/what-to-do-about-fannie-mae
-and-freddie-mac.

Other Sources
This category covers material that in pre-Internet days was considered unpublished, such
as draft reports, dissertations, papers presented at conferences, press releases, fact sheets,
briefings, and information provided through personal communications. Titles of such

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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

sources should appear in quotation marks, not italics. Those sources can be difficult for
readers to locate, so include a URL whenever possible, even if it goes to a large PDF.
Unpublished Draft
A paper is considered an unpublished draft if it was written by someone affiliated with an
organization but was not officially released by that organization or published by a journal.
(If the paper was presented at a conference, use the format for conference papers below.)
Christopher Mayer and R. Glenn Hubbard, “House Prices, Interest Rates,
and the Mortgage Market Meltdown” (draft, Columbia Business School,
October 2008), www4.gsb.columbia.edu/null?&exclusive=filemgr.download
&file_id=3549.
Dissertation
Lisa Kimmel, “The Effect of Tort Reform on Economic Growth” (Ph.D.
dissertation, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley,
2001), http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/ER/detail/hkul/2762138.
Conference Paper or Lecture
Lance Sherry, Guillermo Calderon-Meza, and Ashwin Samant, “Trends in
Airline Passenger Trip Delays, 2007–2009” (paper presented at the 2010
Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance Conference,
Herndon, Va., May 11–13, 2010), http://catsr.ite.gmu.edu/pubs/
2010-ICNS-PaxTripDelay[1].pdf (462 KB).
Randall S. Kroszner, “Improving the Infrastructure for Non-Agency
Mortgage-Backed Securities” (speech given at the Federal Reserve System
Conference on Housing and Mortgage Markets, Washington, D.C.,
December 4, 2008), www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/
kroszner20081204a.htm.
Alfred A. DelliBovi, “Subprime: Where Is the Security?” (Frank M. Engle
lecture, American College of Financial Services, Bryn Mawr, Pa., October 3,
2007), www.theamericancollege.edu/lecture-series/frank-m-engle.
Note: A conference paper published in a proceedings volume is treated as a chapter in a
book. A conference paper published in a journal is treated as a journal article.
Press Release
Federal Housing Finance Agency, “FHFA Sends GSE Housing Goals to
Federal Register: Proposed Rule Adjusts Certain Goals for Market Conditions; Provides Credit for Loan Modifications” (press release, April 28,
2009), www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/2139/HousingGoalsFedReg42809Final.pdf
(141 KB).
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FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

Fact Sheet, Table, or Other Miscellaneous Document
Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Directorate of Public Affairs,
“RQ-170 Sentinel” (December 2, 2010), www.af.mil/information/
factsheets/factsheet.asp?ID=16001.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “National Health Expenditure
Projections 2009–2019” (accessed January 13, 2013), Table 1,
www.cms.hhs.gov/nationalhealthexpenddata/downloads/proj2009.pdf
(414 KB).
Energy Information Administration, “2016 Levelized Cost of New
Generation Resources From the Annual Energy Outlook 2010” (accessed
November 11, 2012), www.eia.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/2016levelized
_costs_aeo2010.pdf (18 KB).
Titled Briefing
Terry Little, “Kinetic Energy Interceptors Overview” (briefing by the Missile
Defense Agency to CBO staff, November 13, 2003).
Jeffrey S. Passel, “Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics”
(briefing prepared for the Independent Task Force on Immigration and
America’s Future by the Pew Hispanic Center, June 14, 2005), http://
pewhispanic.org/files/reports/46.pdf (767 KB).
Untitled Briefing or Personal Communication
Staff of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, briefing to CBO staff
(November 3, 2003).
John Doe, Association of State Floodplain Managers, personal
communication (October 24, 2007).
Letter or Memorandum
Thomas J. McGuire, Moody’s Investors Service, letter to the Honorable
Henry B. Gonzalez, Chairman, House Committee on Banking, Finance,
and Urban Affairs (August 30, 1990).
Minutes of a Meeting
Meeting minutes, Federal Open Market Committee, Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System (December 11, 2007), www.federalreserve.gov/
monetarypolicy/fomcminutes20071211.htm.

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