[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 31 (Monday, August 9, 1999)]
[Page 1540]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Action To Reduce the National Debt

August 2, 1999

    Today my administration announced that the U.S. Government will pay 
down more than $87 billion in the public debt this year--the largest 
debt reduction in America's history and a total reduction of $142 
billion over the last 2 years. This is an important result of the fiscal 
discipline which is helping keep our Nation on its path to economic 
prosperity. Six and a half years ago we made the decision to set a new 
course for our economy, to abandon the large deficits to pursue a new 
economic strategy of fiscal discipline, investment in our people, and 
expanded trade abroad. One of the results of this economic strategy has 
been a public debt that is $1.7 trillion lower than it was projected to 
be when I came into office.
    Debt reduction brings tangible benefits to America's working 
families through lower interest rates. These lower interest costs 
effectively represent a real and significant tax cut for America's 
families. Debt reduction lowers long-term interest rates for home 
mortgages and autos and lowers borrowing costs for businesses, fueling 
private sector investments for continued economic growth. A typical 
American family with a home mortgage of $100,000 could expect to have an 
estimated savings over the long run of more than $2,000 a year because 
of these lower interests rates.
    Despite the continued progress, now is not the time to rest on this 
achievement. We must continue this commitment to debt reduction and 
maintaining fiscal discipline. Under my framework to pay down the debt, 
save Social Security, and strengthen Medicare and invest in our 
children, the publicly held debt will be eliminated by 2015. This would 
represent the first time the Nation would be debt-free since the 
administration of President Andrew Jackson in 1835. We must maintain our 
commitment to reducing our debt and investing in our future.