Factbox: Douglas Elmendorf, Congress' budget watchdog

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf painted a bleak picture of the U.S. economy on Thursday, dealing a blow to recovery hopes.

Following are some facts about the head of the nonpartisan analysis service of Congress:

* Appointed by Democratic leaders in January 2009, Elmendorf is known for delivering sometimes unwelcome news to President Barack Obama's administration.

* Elmendorf played a prominent role in the healthcare reform, giving cost projections that shaped the often acrimonious debate.

* He heads an agency of 235 people that helps Congress set economic policy by analyzing the impact of legislation on the federal budget.

* As a CBO analyst in 1994, he was on a team that concluded President Bill Clinton's healthcare reform effort would cost more than previously thought and greatly expand the government's role. The effort died shortly thereafter.

* Elmendorf, a native of Poughkeepsie, New York, graduated from Princeton University in 1983 and received a PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1989. His advisers at Harvard included Larry Summers, now Obama's top economic adviser, and Martin Feldstein and Gregory Mankiw, who have advised Republican presidents.

* After his first stint at CBO, Elmendorf worked under Clinton on the Council of Economic Advisers and in the Treasury Department. He has held several positions at the Federal Reserve and most recently worked at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank.

(Editing by Alistair Bell)