[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.