Office of Management and Budget facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Office of Management and Budget

Agency overview
Formed	July 1, 1970; 55 years ago (1970-07-01)
Preceding agency	Bureau of the Budget
Headquarters	Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Employees	448
Annual budget	$141 million (FY 2022)
Agency executives	Russell Vought, Director Dan Bishop, Deputy Director Eric Ueland, Deputy Director for Management
Parent agency	Executive Office of the President of the United States
Child agencies	Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Office of E-Government & Information Technology Office of Federal Financial Management Office of Federal Procurement Policy

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a very important office that helps the President manage the U.S. government. It is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP).

OMB's main job is to create the President's yearly budget plan for Congress. It also checks how government agencies are doing. This includes looking at their programs and rules to make sure they follow the President's plans. OMB helps different agencies work together on important projects.

Russell Vought is the current Director of the OMB. He started this role in February 2025.

History of the OMB

From Bureau to Office

The OMB started out as the Bureau of the Budget in 1921. It was first part of the Department of the Treasury. President Warren G. Harding signed the law that created it.

In 1939, the Bureau of the Budget moved to the Executive Office of the President. This happened during World War II, when the government was spending a lot more money. Harold D. Smith led the Bureau during this time. People who worked there said the Bureau and the President were very close.

Becoming the OMB

The Bureau of the Budget changed its name and structure in 1970. This happened during the time Richard Nixon was President. It became the Office of Management and Budget. The first leaders of the new OMB included Roy Ash and Paul O'Neill.

In the 1990s, OMB changed again. It combined the jobs of managing and budgeting into one role for its staff. This helped them work more efficiently.

What the OMB Does

Managing the Nation's Money

The OMB helps the President create the budget plan that is sent to Congress. It also watches over how the different parts of the government spend their money. OMB checks if government programs are working well. It helps decide which programs need money the most.

OMB makes sure that all government reports, rules, and new laws fit with the President's budget and plans. This helps keep the government running smoothly.

Improving Government Operations

The OMB also helps improve how the government buys things, manages its money, handles information, and creates rules. In these areas, OMB works to make government management better. It tries to find ways to measure success and reduce unnecessary work for the public.

OMB has two main goals:

• Budgeting: It creates and manages the government's budget. This is how the President puts their plans into action. It affects everything from the Department of Defense to NASA.
• Overseeing Agencies: It helps manage the money, paperwork, and computer systems of other government agencies.

How the OMB is Organized

Who Works at OMB?

Most people who work at OMB are career staff. This means they stay in their jobs even when new Presidents are elected. This helps keep things consistent.

Six top positions at OMB are chosen by the President and approved by the Senate. These include the Director and Deputy Directors.

Resource Management Offices

The biggest parts of OMB are the five Resource Management Offices. These offices are set up to match different parts of the federal government. Each office is led by an Associate Director.

About half of all OMB staff work in these offices. They are called program examiners. These experts watch over one or more federal agencies. They might also focus on specific topics, like U.S. Navy ships. They give advice on both management and budget issues.

Every year, program examiners review budget requests from federal agencies. They help decide what money requests will be sent to Congress. They also check how well programs are performing. They review new rules and laws. They help the President's team with important information.

Support Offices

Other parts of OMB help support the whole office. These include:

• The Office of General Counsel (legal advice).
• The Office of Legislative Affairs (works with Congress).
• The Budget Review Division (BRD) (handles budget details).
• The Legislative Reference Division (reviews proposed laws).

The BRD helps put together the President's budget each February. It makes sure all the numbers are correct.

The Legislative Reference Division checks all proposed laws and official statements from federal officials. It gathers opinions from different government departments. It also writes a memo to the President when a bill is ready to be signed into law. This memo explains the bill and suggests if the President should sign or veto it.

OMB's Role in the Budget Process

Creating the President's Budget

The OMB helps the President create the yearly budget plan. It sends out instructions and guidelines to all government agencies. The OMB works closely with these agencies to make sure the budget process goes smoothly.

Creating the budget takes almost a year. Here are the main steps:

1. The OMB first tells the President about the country's economic situation.
2. OMB gives agencies instructions on what policies to follow for their budget requests. They also set deadlines.
3. OMB works with agencies to discuss any issues with their upcoming budgets.
4. In July, OMB sends out detailed instructions (called Circular A-11) for submitting budget proposals. Agencies send these by September.
5. The government's fiscal year starts on October 1. OMB staff meet with agency leaders to check if their proposals match the President's plans.
6. The OMB Director meets with the President to discuss the budget proposals. They recommend a final federal budget plan. Agencies are told about the decisions.
7. Agencies can ask OMB and the President to reconsider decisions they don't like in December.
8. After issues are resolved, agencies and OMB prepare a document to explain the budget to Congress.
9. By the first Monday in February, the President must send the final budget to Congress for approval.

Keeping the Government Running

OMB also helps create "Statements of Administrative Policy" (SAPs). These statements tell Congress the White House's official position on proposed laws.

OMB plays a key role in solving disagreements about policies. It makes sure that new laws and agency actions fit with the President's plans. OMB is very powerful and important. It helps make sure the government's daily work gets done. Without a budget, federal workers might not get paid. Government buildings could close, and programs would stop. This can lead to a government shutdown. Shutdowns happen when Congress does not approve a budget.

OMB Circulars

Circulars are instructions or information that OMB sends to federal agencies. They cover different topics like:

• Budgeting
• Working with state and local governments
• Rules for schools and non-profit groups
• Government buying rules
• Managing federal money
• Handling government information

Circular A-119

Circular A-119 tells federal agencies to use "voluntary consensus standards." These are standards created by experts from different groups, not just the government. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency uses ISO 14001 standards for environmental management. The Food and Drug Administration uses ISO 13485 for medical devices. This helps make sure government work follows widely accepted best practices.

Current Leaders

• Director: Russell Vought
• Deputy Director: Dan Bishop
• Deputy Director for Management: Eric Ueland

List of Directors

Here is a list of people who have led the OMB (or its earlier form, the Bureau of the Budget):

Image	Name	Start	End	President
	Charles G. Dawes	June 23, 1921	June 30, 1922		Warren G. Harding
	Herbert M. Lord	July 1, 1922	May 31, 1929
					Calvin Coolidge
					Herbert Hoover
	Clawson Roop	August 15, 1929	March 3, 1933
	Lewis Williams Douglas	March 7, 1933	August 31, 1934		Franklin D. Roosevelt
	Daniel W. Bell	September 1, 1934	April 14, 1939
	Harold D. Smith	April 15, 1939	June 19, 1946
					Harry S. Truman
	James E. Webb	July 13, 1946	January 27, 1949
	Frank Pace Jr.	February 1, 1949	April 12, 1950
	Frederick Lawton	April 13, 1950	January 21, 1953
	Joseph Dodge	January 22, 1953	April 15, 1954		Dwight D. Eisenhower
	Rowland Hughes	April 16, 1954	April 1, 1956
	Percival Brundage	April 2, 1956	March 17, 1958
	Maurice Stans	March 18, 1958	January 21, 1961
	David E. Bell	January 22, 1961	December 20, 1962		John F. Kennedy
	Kermit Gordon	December 28, 1962	June 1, 1965
					Lyndon B. Johnson
	Charles Schultze	June 1, 1965	January 28, 1968
	Charles Zwick	January 29, 1968	January 21, 1969
	Robert P. Mayo	January 22, 1969	June 30, 1970		Richard Nixon
	George Shultz	July 1, 1970	June 11, 1972
	Caspar Weinberger	June 12, 1972	February 1, 1973
	Roy Ash	February 2, 1973	February 3, 1975
					Gerald Ford
	James Thomas Lynn	February 10, 1975	January 20, 1977
	Bert Lance	January 21, 1977	September 23, 1977		Jimmy Carter
	James T. McIntyre	September 24, 1977	January 20, 1981
	David Stockman	January 21, 1981	August 1, 1985		Ronald Reagan
	James C. Miller III	October 8, 1985	October 15, 1988
	Joe Wright	October 16, 1988	January 20, 1989
	Richard Darman	January 25, 1989	January 20, 1993		George H. W. Bush
	Leon Panetta	January 21, 1993	July 17, 1994		Bill Clinton
	Alice Rivlin	October 17, 1994	April 26, 1996
	Franklin Raines	September 13, 1996	May 21, 1998
	Jack Lew	May 21, 1998	January 19, 2001
	Mitch Daniels	January 23, 2001	June 6, 2003		George W. Bush
	Joshua Bolten	June 6, 2003	April 15, 2006
	Rob Portman	May 26, 2006	June 19, 2007
	Jim Nussle	September 4, 2007	January 20, 2009
	Peter R. Orszag	January 20, 2009	July 30, 2010		Barack Obama
	Jeff Zients Acting	July 30, 2010	November 18, 2010
	Jack Lew	November 18, 2010	January 27, 2012
	Jeff Zients Acting	January 27, 2012	April 24, 2013
	Sylvia Mathews Burwell	April 24, 2013	June 9, 2014
	Brian Deese Acting	June 9, 2014	July 28, 2014
	Shaun Donovan	July 28, 2014	January 20, 2017
	Mark Sandy Acting	January 20, 2017	February 16, 2017		Donald Trump
	Mick Mulvaney	February 16, 2017	March 31, 2020
	Russell Vought	January 2, 2019	July 22, 2020
		July 22, 2020	January 20, 2021
	Rob Fairweather Acting	January 20, 2021	March 24, 2021		Joe Biden
	Shalanda Young	March 24, 2021	March 17, 2022
		March 17, 2022	January 20, 2025
	Matthew Vaeth Acting	January 20, 2025	February 7, 2025		Donald Trump
	Russell Vought	February 7, 2025	present

Images for kids

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  The official seal of the Office of Management and Budget.

See also

In Spanish: Oficina de Administración y Presupuesto para niños