JANUARY 06, 11:08 EST
Clinton Projects $76B Surplus
WASHINGTON (AP) — The administration today projected a budget surplus of more than $76 billion for this year. ``We can say the era of big deficits is over,'' President Clinton said.
The president, convening a White House ceremony to tout the figure, immediately squelched any speculation that the extra revenue would be used to cut taxes.
``Like any family with long-term financial needs and a little more earnings than we expected, we can't go out and spend the surplus today. We have to plan for the future,'' said Clinton.
``Before we consider any new spending or tax cuts, first we must set this surplus aside until we save Social Security for the 21st century.'' He also cited ``investment needs'' in education and health research.
The administration's Office of Management and Budget released its latest forecast for fiscal 1999, bringing the projected size of the surplus — for the budget year ending Sept. 30 — closer to congressional estimates of about $80 billion.
The administration's newest estimate is significantly higher than its analysis last year, which estimated a fiscal 1999 surplus of $54.2 billion.
``We can say the era of big deficits is over. We are now entering the second year of an era of surpluses,'' Clinton said. He noted that when he took office in 1993, the fiscal 1999 projections were for a $404 billion deficit.
The Congressional Budget Office is due to release its own projections later this month, in advance of the president's annual budget submission to Congress. In its August update, CBO was even more optimistic than the president's budget analysts, projecting an $80 billion surplus for fiscal 1999.
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