ABSTRACT
The Bureau of the Budget (BoB), created in 1921, was later renamed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1970. By examining the history, structure, and functions of this organization over time, this essay highlights the central role of this entity in the budget-making process from its inception through the contemporary era. The organization and functions of the president's budget agency have changed often throughout the years, and the scope of its purview has reflected not only the growth of the economy and federal budget, but also presidents’ political inclinations as well as the changing relations within the executive branch and with Congress. Certain controversies have been a perennial feature of OMB's existence. The most prominent controversy is the question of OMB's alleged politicization. Since 1970, OMB and its leaders have become much more politically visible. Critics contend this political visibility and advocacy weaken OMB's credibility as a nonpartisan, impartial source of information and analysis. They also worry that a concern to be responsive to a president's immediate political needs may fail to produce the full range of critical, though loyal, advice that a president should hear. In addition, critics argue that by becoming so identified with advocating a particular White House political agenda, OMB may become suspect to successor administrations, thus harming continuity and reducing institutional memory for the president over time.
