Barry B. Anderson was today named the third recipient of an annual award from George Mason University recognizing those who over a career have made important and lasting contributions to the federal government’s budget process and institutions and have demonstrated high personal integrity and dedication to public service.
Mr. Anderson served as Assistant Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Budget Review from 1988 to 1998. Prior to that he headed OMB’s Fiscal Analysis and Commerce Branches and serving as a a budget examiner for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other housing functions from 1980 to 1988. He was Deputy Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from 1999 to 2003. Later, Mr. Anderson served as an expert on budget issues for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), headed the Budgeting and Public Expenditures Branch at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, and was Deputy Director of the National Governors Association. He still consults on budget issues around the world.
Presenting the Federal Budgeting Career Legacy Award to Mr. Anderson at today’s luncheon of OMB alumni in Arlington, Virginia, another former OMB staff member, Joe Minarik, expressed admiration on behalf of his former colleagues for Barry’s unremitting commitment to excellence in service to the Presidency and his leadership during a time of extraordinary changes in the budget process. Minarik noted Anderson’s key role as an advisor to Director Richard Darman during the 1990 budget summit that led to the Budget Enforcement Act’s multi-year agreement on budget caps and new procedures to enhance budget discipline.
Members of the selecting board include Paul Posner, director of GMU’s Center on the Public Service in the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs; Joe Minarik, former chief economist at OMB; Steve Redburn, an affiliated faculty member of the Center and former OMB career executive; and two other former OMB career executives, Jonathan Breul and Kenneth Schwartz.
The award is made annually. It is made possible by a grant to George Mason from alumni of the former Bureau of the Budget, a group now merged with the OMB alumni association.