On the recordMarch 7, 2001
There is no $5 trillion surplus. What we have in this Nation is a $5,735,859,380,573.98 debt. That is as of the end of last month. We hear from so many of our colleagues that the debt is being paid down; the debt is being paid down. I think the President even said it. But the truth of the matter is that the total debt outstanding, as of September 30 of the year 2000, just 5 months ago, the last day of the last fiscal year, was $5,674,178,209,886.86. That means that the debt, just since September 30 of last year, has increased by $61,681,170,680.12 cents. That is the reality that the President did not mention in his State of the Union address. That is the reality that my friends who talk about projected surpluses choose to ignore.
Source
govinfo.gov
