[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 33 (Monday, August 23, 1999)]
[Pages 1652-1653]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Budget Surplus

August 20, 1999

    Today I am pleased to announce that we are on track to reach the 
largest annual budget surplus ever. Thanks to solid fiscal discipline, 
the surplus at this point in the fiscal year is $69.1 billion, the 
largest in history over a comparable period and more than $20 billion 
over last year's level.
    When I came into office just over 6 years ago, our Nation was 
burdened by a staggering $290 billion deficit that was projected to 
reach over $400 billion by this fiscal year. The Vice President and I, 
working with Congress, set this country on a new course of fiscal 
discipline, enacting two strong budget packages in 1993 and 1997. As a 
result, we have begun to pay down the Nation's debt. By the end of this 
fiscal year we expect to have achieved a $142 billion reduction in 
publicly held debt over the last 2 years. The debt is now $1.7 trillion 
less than was projected in 1993 when President Clinton took office.
    Fiscal responsibility and resulting debt reduction lowers long-term 
interest rates for home mortgages, autos, and student loans. It also 
lowers borrowing costs for businesses,

[[Page 1653]]

fueling private sector investments for continued economic growth. 
Despite the continuing good news, this is not a time for complacency. 
The tax bill passed by Congress would reverse the achievement of fiscal 
discipline that has been so critical in making the American economy the 
strongest it has been in generations. We need to continue our progress 
and remain committed to our successful economic strategy of making 
responsible investments in our people and maintaining fiscal discipline. 
We now have an historic opportunity to work together in a responsible 
way to pay off the national debt and strengthen Social Security and 
Medicare.