Casey P. Modlin; Economist Oversaw Federal Budget

Casey P. Modlin, 79, a longtime official of the Office of Management and Budget who oversaw the federal budget process, died of prostate cancer on June 30 at his home in Lancaster, Pa.

Born in Norfolk, Va., Modlin graduated from the College of William and Mary and earned a master’s degree in economics from Princeton. He started his career in Washington in 1951 as a staff member in the office of statistical standards in what was then the Bureau of the Budget.

He served as senior staff economist with the Council of Economic Advisers from 1966 to 1968 before returning to the Office of Management and Budget as chief of fiscal analysis in the budget review division. He was deputy assistant director for budget review from 1973 to 1981. He retired in 1988 as counselor to the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Known as “the president’s chief bean counter” or “the king of numbers,” Modlin once said his job was akin to being “production manager” for the budgetary process. That included the planning, preparation and execution of the president’s budget.