Lee Metcalf: “my top priority when I was elected to Congress was to balance the budget and rein in the skyrocketing national debt.…”

“my top priority when I was elected to Congress was to balance the budget and rein in the skyrocketing national debt. These two goals are vital to the economic well-being of the United States. Today's budget outlook is considerably more optimistic than when the phrase ``deficits as far as the eye can see'' was commonly used in conjunction with budget projections. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting enormous budget surpluses which provides Congress an immense opportunity to begin to pay down the $3.3 trillion of marketable debt. Today, the Treasury auctioned $10 billion worth of 30-year bonds, and they are expecting an additional small auction in August. After that, the Treasury is not expected to auction any additional bonds until February 2001. In fact, yesterday's Bloomberg article states that, ``Wall Street bond dealers have decided that probably this will be the last bond ever: a collector's item to be displayed on the shelf along with golf trophies in the recreation room.'' This poses an interesting dilemma for the Federal Reserve Board.”