    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [January 23, 1999]
    [Pages 96-97]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 23, 1999

        Good morning. Last Tuesday night in my State of the Union Address, I
    was honored to report to the American people that our families, our
    communities, and our country are stronger, healthier, and more
    prosperous than ever. But I warned that we cannot let the hum of our
    prosperity lull us into complacency. Instead, we must use this moment of
    promise to meet the long-term challenges we face as a nation, to meet
    our historic responsibility to the 21st century.
        Over the last 6 years, our hard-won fiscal discipline has given us
    the chance to meet those long-term challenges. Six years ago our budget
    deficit was $290 billion. Last year we had a budget surplus of $70
    billion. We expect another one a little larger than that this year, and
    we're on course for budget surpluses for the next 25 years.
        So now we face a new choice: what to do with the surplus. I believe
    we should use it to plan and save for retirement, to strengthen the
    readiness of our military, to get our children ready for the 21st
    century. Very simply, I believe we should use the first surplus in three
    decades and the projected ones in the future to meet America's great
    challenges. Above all, that means saving Social Security and Medicare.
        We all know that the baby boom will soon become a senior boom. The
    number of seniors will double by 2030; average life expectancy is rising
    rapidly, and that means rising costs for Social Security and Medicare.
        I propose to keep Social Security strong for 55 years by committing
    60 percent of the surplus for the next 15 years and investing a small
    portion in the private sector just as any private or State pension would
    do. We should make further tough choices to put Social Security on a
    sound footing for the next 75 years, to lift the limits on what seniors
    on Social Security can earn, and to provide support to reduce the
    poverty rate among elderly women, which is twice the poverty rate among
    seniors as a whole. We can do that with a good bipartisan effort.

    [[Page 97]]

        Once we've accomplished this, I propose we use one of every six
    dollars of the surplus over the next 15 years to double the life of the
    Medicare Trust Fund.
        Then I believe we should dedicate $500 billion of the surplus to
    give working families tax relief for retirement savings, by creating new
    Universal Savings Accounts--USA accounts--to help all Americans build a
    nest egg for their retirement. Under my plan, families will receive a
    tax credit to contribute to their USA account and an additional tax
    credit to match a portion of their savings, with a choice in how they
    invest the funds and more help for those who will have the hardest time
    saving.
        Let me give you an example of how USA accounts could work. With the
    help of USA account tax credits, working people who save and invest
    wisely from the time they enter the work force until the time they
    retire could have more than $100,000 in their USA account, and a more
    secure retirement. That's the kind of tax relief America needs. By
    providing this new tax credit for retirement savings, we can make it
    possible for all Americans to have a stake in the remarkable economic
    growth they have worked so hard to create.
        Social Security first, then saving Medicare and giving tax relief to
    help all Americans save in the new USA accounts, investing in defense
    and education--that's the right way to use America's surplus. If we
    squander the surplus, we'll waste a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
    build a stronger nation for our children and our grandchildren. Instead,
    let's work together to prepare our Nation for the great challenges and
    opportunities of the 21st century.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 3 p.m. on January 22 in the Roosevelt
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 23. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 22 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.