The Congressional Budget Office

"The Congressional Budget Office is important reading for those who care about government institutions and their ability to serve the public faithfully."—Jason Juffras, The Public Manager

"Essential of those studying public administration and congressional politics and worth a read by all others in political science."—Choice

"Public administration scholars will be especially drawn to Joyce's perspective on the CBO story, which emphasizes its leaders, organizational culture, and the complex role of expertise in a representative democracy....Whether or not one teaches and researches the federal budget, it is a citizenship imperative to be literate in budget politics, policies, and processes. Joyce's book is an excellent one-stop resource on all of these issues, which together form the core of governance."—Congress & the Presidency

"Joyce's book is more than an institutional history; it is an analysis of the Congressional Budget Office in the context of two critical issues that have broad applicability. The first is the role of nonpartisan, objective information and analysis in passing legislation, and the second is how an agency manages to develop and maintain a culture to support nonpartisan analysis in a highly partisan environment. Though now an academic, Joyce was an employee of CBO for years, and thus has been able to combine an insider's contacts and knowledge with the critical distance of an academic. The book is well written, touching on many of the key legislative debates over the years. The image of CBO that emerges from this book is the 'little agency that could.'"—Irene Rubin, Northern Illinois University