text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Budget Office 
  Improvement Act of 1998''.
  
  SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CBO CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET BOARD AND ECONOMIC 
                ADVISORY COUNCIL.
  
      (a) Congressional Budget Board and Economic Advisory Council.--
  Title II of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
  is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sections:
  
                        ``congressional budget board
  
      ``Sec. 204. (a) Establishment and Functions.--There shall be a 
  Congressional Budget Office Board (referred to as the `Board'), which 
  shall--
              ``(1) provide general oversight of the operations of the 
          Office, including monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating the 
          performance of the Office;
              ``(2) approve in advance the undertaking by the Office of 
          any studies and the publication of any reports in addition to 
          those required by law that the Director may propose to 
          undertake or publish as an appropriate undertaking in 
          furtherance of the purposes for which the Office is 
          established; and
              ``(3) provide general guidance to the Director in the 
          formulation and implementation of procedures and policies for 
          the Office.
      ``(b) Membership.--The Board shall consist of 13 members as 
  follows:
              ``(1) 6 Members of the Senate, appointed by the President 
          pro tempore of the Senate, 3 from the majority party and 3 from 
          the minority party;
              ``(2) 6 Members of the House of Representatives appointed 
          by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 3 from the 
          majority party and 3 from the minority party; and
              ``(3) the Director, who shall not be a voting member.
      ``(c) Execution of Functions During Vacancies; Filling of 
  Vacancies.--Vacancies in the membership of the Board shall not affect 
  the power of the remaining members to execute the functions of the 
  Board and shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
  appointment.
      ``(d) Chairman and Vice Chairman; Selection Procedure.--(1) The 
  Board shall select a chairman and vice chairman from among its members 
  at the beginning of each Congress.
      ``(2) The vice chairman shall act in the place and stead of the 
  chairman in the absence of the chairman.
      ``(3) The chairmanship and vice chairmanship shall alternate 
  between the Senate and the House of Representatives with each Congress.
      ``(4) The chairman during each even-numbered Congress shall be 
  selected by the Members of the House of Representatives on the Board 
  from among their number.
      ``(5) The vice chairman during each Congress shall be chosen in the 
  same manner from that House of Congress other than the House of 
  Congress of which the chairman is a Member.
      ``(e) Meetings; Powers of Board.--(1) The Board may sit and act at 
  such places and times during the sessions, recesses, and adjournment 
  periods of Congress, and upon a vote of a majority of its members, 
  require by subpoena or otherwise the attendance of such witnesses and 
  the production of such books, papers, and documents, administer such 
  oaths and affirmations, take such testimony, procure such printing and 
  binding, and make such expenditures, as the Board deems advisable.
      ``(2) The Board may make such rules respecting its organization and 
  procedures as it deems necessary, except that no recommendation shall 
  be reported from the Board unless a majority of the Board assent.
      ``(3) The chairman of the Board or any voting member thereof may 
  administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses.
  
                             ``advisory council
  
      ``Sec. 205. (a) Establishment; Duties.--The Office shall establish 
  an Economic Advisory Council (referred to as the `Council') which 
  shall--
              ``(1) review and make recommendations to the Board on 
          activities undertaken by the Office;
              ``(2) evaluate the quality and objectivity of research 
          performed by the Office and the reports that result from that 
          research; and
              ``(3) undertake such additional related tasks as the Board 
          may direct.
      ``(b) Composition.--The Council shall be composed of 12 members of 
  the public, appointed by the Board, who shall be persons eminent in the 
  fields of--
              ``(1) public finance;
              ``(2) economics of taxation and microeconomics; and
              ``(3) macroeconomics.
      ``(c) Chairman and Vice Chairman; Terms and Conditions of 
  Service.--(1) The Council, by majority vote, shall elect from its 
  members a chairman and vice chairman, who shall serve for such time and 
  under such conditions as the Council may prescribe.
      ``(2) In the absence of the chairman, or in the event of the 
  chairman's incapacity, the vice chairman shall act as chairman.
      ``(d) Terms of Office; Reappointment.--(1) The term of office of 
  each member of the Council shall be 4 years, except that any such 
  member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of 
  the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall be 
  appointed for the remainder of that term.
      ``(2) No person shall be appointed a member of the Council more 
  than twice.
      ``(3) Terms of the members of the Council shall be staggered so as 
  to establish a rotating membership according to such method as the 
  Board may devise.
      ``(e) Compensation and Reimbursement for Travel, Subsistence, and 
  Other Necessary Expenses.--The members of the Council shall receive 
  compensation for each day engaged in the actual performance of duties 
  vested in the Council at rates of pay not in excess of the daily 
  equivalent of the highest rate of basic pay set forth in the General 
  Schedule of section 5332(a) of title 5, and shall be reimbursed for 
  travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in 
  the performance of duties vested in the Council, without regard to 
  subchapter 1 of chapter 57 and section 5731 of title 5.
  
                        ``disclosure of assumptions
  
      ``Sec. 205. Any report to Congress or to the public made by the 
  Office that contains an estimate of the effect that legislation will 
  have on revenues or expenditures shall be accompanied by a written 
  statement fully disclosing the economic, technical, and behavioral 
  assumptions that were made in producing the estimate.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
  become effective January 1, 1999.
target: Congressional Budget Office Improvement Act of 1998 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a Congressional Budget Office Board to:  (1) provide general oversight of Congressional Budget Office (CBO) operations; (2) approve in advance the undertaking of Office studies and publication of reports that the CBO Director may propose; and (3) provide general guidance to the Director in the formulation and implementation of CBO procedures and policies. 
  Directs CBO to establish an Economic Advisory Council to:  (1) review and make recommendations to the Board on CBO activities; (2) evaluate the quality and objectivity of CBO research and reports; and (3) undertake additional related tasks as the Board may direct. 
  Requires any CBO report to the Congress or the public that contains an estimate of the effect that legislation will have on revenues or expenditures to be accompanied by a written statement disclosing the economic, technical, and behavioral assumptions that were made in producing the estimate.
feat_title: Congressional Budget Office Improvement Act of 1998