Скачать или смотреть USA: BUDGET SHOWS SURPLUS FOR SECOND YEAR RUNNING

(7 Jan 1999) English/Nat

U-S President Clinton addressed the nation on the state of the budget on Tuesday just hours before the Senate began discussing impeachment proceedings against him.

He said the budget has shown a surplus for the second year running, a surplus he intends to use to fund social security programs.

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The President said the country had undergone a significant fiscal turnaround since he took office in 1992.

At that time economists were projecting record budget deficits by 1999, not the surplus which he announced on Tuesday.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The era of big deficits is over. We are now entering the second year of an era of surpluses. Our economists project that in 1999, we will close out this century with a surplus of not less than 76 (b) billion dollars (U-S), the largest in the history of the United States."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President

The President said his administration and its economic team deserved credit for the strategy which led to the surplus.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The key was doing enough, figuring out enough to get interest rates down because high interest rates were keeping entrepreneurs from starting new businesses or expanding them, they were discouraging young people from buying homes. As has already been said, they were causing grave questions about the leadership of the United States in the rest of the world. Our deficit had become a symbol of the inability of government to play its essential role in American life.
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President

The President added that the surplus must be used to guarantee the future of social security for the 21st Century before any consideration could be given to tax cuts or additional spending.

When asked whether the impeachment proceedings would stop him pursuing his economic policies Clinton said there could be no excuses for not dealing with what he believes are the most important priorities in government.

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