July 18,2000

Roth: Ever-Growing Surplus Estimates Mandate Real Tax Relief

WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) today pointed to the new, huge surplus estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office as a clear sign that Americans are overtaxed.

The Congressional Budget Office released new estimates today showing that the combined on- and off-budget surplus over the next ten years will be $4.56 trillion, up from $3.15 trillion estimated by CBO in January of this year. The non-Social Security portion of the 10-year surplus estimate is $2.17 trillion, up from $838 billion in January.

"These massive surplus numbers show that Americans are overpaying their taxes by literally trillions of dollars. However, in spite of the fact that taxpayers' money is overflowing in Washington at a record pace, the Clinton-Gore White House still refuses to give significant tax relief to the American taxpayers.

"What is it going to take for the Clinton-Gore White House to release some tax dollars from Washington back to America's families? Just how big will America's budget surplus have to get? If not now, when? How long do taxpayers have to wait? How hard do they have to work? How large an overpayment do they have to make?

"There is more than enough room in the surplus for real tax relief, prescription drug coverage for the elderly, paying down the debt and other priorities. Let's give taxpayers the relief they deserve today."