WASHINGTON — The Concord Coalition welcomed today’s news that the federal
government’s budget deficit shrank to just $1 billion in fiscal year 1999 without
counting the Social Security surplus. However,
the Coalition reminded Congress and the Administration that the surplus over and above
Social Security projected for fiscal year 2000 and beyond will vanish if fiscal discipline
continues to collapse.
WASHINGTON — The Concord Coalition welcomed today’s news that the federal
government’s budget deficit shrank to just $1 billion in fiscal year 1999 without
counting the Social Security surplus. However,
the Coalition reminded Congress and the Administration that the surplus over and above
Social Security projected for fiscal year 2000 and beyond will vanish if fiscal discipline
continues to collapse.
“The numbers provided today by the U.S. Treasury Department show that the
federal government’s on-budget accounts were $1 billion in the red for fiscal year
1999, while the off-budget Social Security program had a $124 billion surplus over that
same period. Only by combining the on-budget
and off-budget numbers into a ‘unified’ budget figure can it be claimed that the
federal government ran a surplus for fiscal year 1999,” said Executive Director
Robert Bixby.
“The anticipation of huge budget surpluses has caused a breakdown in fiscal
discipline. But right now, with all the
accounting gimmicks lawmakers are using to mask spending, next year’s on-budget
surplus is in peril. The real test is to enact sustainable fiscal policies
that will lead to honestly balanced budgets for as far as the eye can see.
“Although the Social Security program is legally and officially off-budget,
politicians on both sides of the aisle continue to use its surplus to make the budget
appear balanced. Even in this time of
prosperity, the government’s on-budget accounts are still in deficit and the
long-term fiscal problems facing Social Security and Medicare have yet to be solved,”
Bixby said.
The Concord Coalition was founded in 1992 by former Senator Warren Rudman (R-N.H.),
the late Paul Tsongas, former Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, and former Secretary
of Commerce Peter Peterson. Former Senator
Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) joined Rudman as co-chair of the organization in 1997. The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan, grass
roots organization dedicated to balanced federal budgets and generationally responsible
fiscal policy.
