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US to Post Higher Budget Surplus Over 10 Years
US President Bill Clinton on Thursday announced higher federal budget surplus forecasts and hoped the increased surplus to be used to pay down the federal debt.
The White House budget office projected that the surplus for fiscal years 2001 through 2010 would reach 4.42 trillion dollars under current tax and spending policies, up by more than 200 billion dollars from the 4.2 trillion dollars projected in June.
"If we took that budget and committed the entire surplus to reducing the debt, we can make America debt-free by 2009," Clinton told reporters at the White House.
The forecast for fiscal 2001 was projected at 256 billion dollars, up from 239 billion dollars projected in June.
This would be the first time the country has had four straight budget surpluses since 1930, officials said.
Clinton said the government will pay down the debt by an unprecedented 237 billion dollars in the fiscal year of 2001, which began on October 1, bringing the total payments to 600 billion dollars since fiscal 1998.
Clinton declined to comment in detail on president-elect George W. Bush's proposed 1.3-trillion-dollar tax cut plan, which Bush aides say may be needed to stave off an economic slowdown.
"Obviously, it is for the incoming administration and the new Congress to decide exactly which priorities to address and in what manner," he said.
But he said that there are "huge economic benefits" of following "a long-term responsible budget policy."
Clinton also cautioned that unexpected economic "bad years" could throw off surplus projections.
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