Presidential Signing Statements

Today, I have signed into law H.R. 7032, the “Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act” (the “Act”).  The Act amends the current provision authorizing the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to secure information from the Executive Branch to provide that agencies shall furnish necessary information to the Director “(with or without written agreement) provided that the Director maintains the level of confidentiality required by law of the department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or commission from which it is obtained.”  I understand that this amendment to the statutory framework governing the provision of information to the CBO does not alter the established and constitutionally grounded accommodation process between the Congress and the Executive Branch, whereby the Executive Branch seeks to comply with laws that require the disclosure of information to agents of the Congress in a manner that both satisfies congressional needs and is also consistent with the need to safeguard classified, potentially privileged, and other sensitive information implicating Executive Branch interests.  Moreover, this amendment does not alter agencies’ ability to negotiate written agreements with the CBO governing disclosures of information as part of that accommodation process.  It is on this understanding, which I believe that the Congress shares, that I have signed this bill into law.