Word: surplus
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When White House budget director Mitchell Daniels testified before the Senate Budget Committee this spring, he brought along a plump apple pie--an apt symbol for the government's bountiful budget surplus, then estimated at some $275 billion. But when Daniels appeared before the panel last week, his estimate of the spare cash fell as low as $160 billion. The committee's new Democratic chairman, Kent Conrad, served some baked goods too. He gave Daniels a modest pear tart with the words "shrinking surplus" inscribed in frosting...
...incredible shrinking surplus is suddenly at the center of Washington debate. Just last fall, the Capitol seemed awash in money--and plans to spend it. Candidate George W. Bush wanted major tax cuts, missile defense and other big ticket items. Al Gore talked up a hefty new prescription-drug entitlement and more money for education. As recently as a few weeks ago, there seemed to be enough funds for Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill to say he hoped that the corporate income tax could be abolished in the not too distant future. But such hopes have been dashed. Bush...
...infuriate G.O.P. conservatives. Bush officials have also hinted at unspecified spending cuts later this year--something guaranteed to annoy politicians of all stripes. Just last week Bush's 2002 defense request for $328.9 billion came under fire as potentially budget busting. Said an Administration official, referring to the the surplus: "We have to be very careful with this...
...Trust us, Mr. Bush. Look at California. With some prodding from state-induced conservation measures - and some big rate hikes - usage is down 12 percent since last June and the state is running a surplus. Three new power plants have added 1,400 megawatts to the grid, but conservation has added 5,570 more to the balance sheet. And nobody's starving of economic sluggishness...
...Then, in an ironic twist, House Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee said they reluctantly will oppose a ten-year, $40 billion package of energy tax breaks that includes tax credits for hybrid-fuel cars, residential solar systems and alternative fuels - because they were worried about the budget surplus...