[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 142 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 142

   To express the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment of any 
                    future unified budget surpluses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 3, 1997

Mr. Moynihan submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                        the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   To express the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment of any 
                    future unified budget surpluses.

Whereas the current economic expansion is now in its seventh year and shows no 
        signs of ending;
Whereas the unemployment rate is below 5 percent for the first time in 24 years;
Whereas the current official inflation rate, which may be overstated, is about 2 
        percent;
Whereas the deficit has been reduced from $290,000,000,000 in fiscal year 1992 
        to $23,000,000,000 in fiscal year 1997, or just three-tenths of 1 
        percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office projects that, under present law, the 
        unified budget will have a surplus of $86,000,000,000 in 2007;
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office also projects that, under present law, 
        the debt held by the public will fall from about 50 percent of GDP this 
        year to about 30 percent by 2007;
Whereas this extraordinary combination of good budget and economic news is 
        largely the result of budget policies included in the Omnibus Budget and 
        Reconciliation Act of 1993;
Whereas the budget is not yet in surplus;
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office also projects that the deficit is likely 
        to reappear after 2007, and that the debt held by the public as a 
        percentage of GDP is also likely to increase as the baby boom generation 
        begins to retire;
Whereas, without the on-budget surpluses of the social security trust funds, the 
        Congressional Budget Office still projects annual deficits of about 
        $100,000,000,000 even after the budget is ``balanced'' in 2002; and
Whereas projected unified budget surpluses in the short-run would rapidly 
        disappear if the current expansion ends, and the economy would enter a 
        recession: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) any unified budget surpluses that might arise in the 
        current expansion should be used to reduce the Federal debt 
        held by the public; and
            (2) to achieve this goal during this economic expansion 
        that there be no net tax cut or new spending that is not offset 
        by reductions in spending on other programs or tax increases.
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