President Clinton, citing new economic forecasts, Wednesday announced a "smaller than expected" budget deficit that will fall to $37 billion this year -- and that the budget will not only reach balance in fiscal 2002, but show a $20 billion surplus that should be maintained "for several years" beyond that.
Clinton, at a news conference, also defended the budget agreement against critics who have said the package is long on new spending and tax breaks but short on actual reforms in federal spending policies -- and that the budget was headed for balance even without a deal. "If we hadn't done anything ... our estimates are we'd have a deficit that would rise over the next five years" and linger at about $100 billion well into the future, he said.
On the issue of making use of his new line item veto authority, the president said, "I expect there will be some exercise of that," but declined to be more specific. Clinton said his advisers were reviewing the tax and spending packages and would soon brief him on potentially objectionable items.
Under the law, Clinton would have to exercise the veto by Monday. But first, he said, the White House wants to "make sure [the potential targets of a veto] weren't part of the agreement" with congressional Republicans. Clinton said he would "have a session between now and Saturday" with advisers to decide on possible uses of the line item veto.
Clinton also listed a number of goals for the remainder of the year and the longer term, including new initiatives on education and job training, long-term entitlement reform, expanded free trade agreements, a new international treaty on climate change that includes "realistic and binding" limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and -- in "one of the most critical pieces of unfinished business" -- campaign finance reform.
Clinton said he would give his "strong support" to the efforts by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis., to pass a reform bill this fall. And the president defended his active fundraising for the Democratic Party even as he advocates campaign reform. "I don't believe in unilateral disarmament," he said. "We live in a competitive world."
Asked about his plans for Medicare reform, Clinton -- citing the commission created in the budget reconciliation bill -- said: "It was the decision of the Congress to have the commission report back in 1999. I would gladly have accepted a 1998 reporting date." But he noted "this commission may decide to make interim recommendations. ... We may take a series of steps."
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