This week's In The News looks at the 1998 budget surplus. The six resources discussed provide information about the budget surplus and suggestions on what to do with it from various quarters. The Fiscal Year 1999 budget proposal unveiled by President Clinton on February 2, 1998 showed a surplus of $9.5 billion, the first time the federal budget has been balanced in 30 years. Clinton plans to use...

Both the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the White House have posted copies of the President's budget plan for FY 2002. The 207-page plan is a summary and will be followed by the traditional and more detailed budget documents in April. At the OMB site, users may also download numerous other budget documents, including the final two official statements from the Clinton White House: The...

While it may not seem like the most enthralling piece of reading, the recently released proposed budget of the United States government for the fiscal year 2005 is an important document. As presented here, visitors may download the entire budget (but it should be noted that it is 63 MB), or elect to view specific sections dealing with various agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, the...

The US Office of Management and Budget has released the Fiscal Year 1999 Federal Budget (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] and .wk1 and .wk4 format only), which was presented to the Congress on February 2, 1998. The site provides "A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget." More detailed information can be found in the "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1999," which contains the "Budget Message...

Transmitted to Congress on February 1, 1999, the FY 2000 Budget covers the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1999. At the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) site, users can view the full text of the budget and related documents in .pdf format. The latter include A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget (also available in HTML), Analytical Perspectives, supplements, historical tables, and a...

Revised Baseline Budget Projections for Fiscal Years 1999-2008 updates the baseline budget projections for fiscal years 1999-2008 by taking into account new information from the President's budget and other sources. The revised figures show that CBO expects a budget surplus of almost $8 billion for this year.

Yesterday, the US Senate narrowly approved a $792 billion tax cut, 50-49. The bill, which was passed by the House with a vote of 221-206, would, among other things, cut all five income tax rates by one percentage point, lower capital gains rates, and eliminate death taxes on estates. The bill will not be sent to President Clinton -- who opposes the size of the cut and favors using the projected...

This week's In the News discusses the recent announcement that the US government has effectively balanced the budget for the first time in 30 years. The eleven resources discussed offer a variety of information on this topic. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently issued revised projections showing that the federal budget is effectively in the black and should remain that way in the coming...