    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 18, 2000]
    [Page 966]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Budget Surplus and Debt Reduction
    May 18, 2000

        The American economy and our strategy of fiscal discipline continue
    to break records. Today the Department of the Treasury is announcing
    that in April the United States had the largest monthly budget surplus
    ever. In the first 7 months of this year, the surplus stands at a record
    $124 billion, matching the surplus for all of last year. This dramatic
    news is yet more evidence that our strategy of fiscal discipline,
    investing in people, and opening markets abroad is working.
        These unprecedented surpluses call for new tools to manage our
    finances in the best interest of the American economy. Today the
    Department of the Treasury is once again buying back some of our
    Nation's debt. In total, we are on track to pay off a record $355
    billion of debt over 3 years.
        It is essential that we stay on the fiscal course that has brought
    us the longest economic expansion in history. Risky tax cuts that
    threaten this prosperity are the wrong approach. We should invest in our
    future by strengthening Social Security and Medicare, making investments
    in key priorities like education, and paying off the entire debt by
    2013, making America debt-free for the first time since Andrew Jackson
    was President.