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To: pallmer who wrote (5043)	1/22/2003 2:56:55 PM
From: pallmer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29601

-- Govt. Posts $4.37 Billion Budget Surplus -- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government posted its first monthly budget surplus of the new budget year in December, bringing in $4.37 billion more in revenues than it spent, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday. The as-expected surplus, the first in the three-month old 2003 budget year, was sharply down, however, from the $26.57 billion surplus in December 2001. Receipts dipped to $182.80 billion, down from $187.91 billion in December 2001. Spending, pushed up by defense and social programs, advanced to $178.43 billion in December 2002, up from $161.35 billion in the same month a year earlier. The December surplus figure was close to the $4.40 billion surplus projected by Wall Street analysts polled by Reuters, and also close to a $4 billion estimate from Capitol Hill's fiscal watchdog agency, the Congressional Budget Office. For the year-to-date, the budget deficit was $108.72 billion, up from $35.36 billion in the same period of last year and almost equaling the Bush administration's July forecast of $109 billion for the entire budget year. Wall Street forecasters have said the budget deficit could reach as high as $300 billion this year, depending on whether there's a war with Iraq and how it goes as well as the fate of President Bush's $674 billion economic package. Both the administration and the CBO are to unveil new budget forecasts soon. The White House is expected to unveil their estimates in early February, while the CBO is due to update its projections by the end of the month. Earlier this month, the CBO said it anticipates lower receipts, increased spending on jobless benefits and other factors to push the 2003 budget gap "well above" the previously forecast $145 billion. After being in surplus from 1998 to 2001, the budget dipped back into the red in 2002, showing a $157.79 billion deficit. Bush administration officials have sought to defuse criticism their policies have pushed the budget back into the deficits, instead blaming lower-than-expected receipts on a stagnant economy and higher spending in response to post-Sept. 11 anti-terror efforts. Last week, U.S. budget director Mitch Daniels said the government would run a budget gap for "foreseeable future." But he also said the deficits would only equal about 2 or 3 of the nation's annual economic output. "They're modest, they're manageable at this level," he said. Capitol Hill Democrats have seized on the return of deficits to highlight what they say is bad economic policy from the administration. Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, said on Tuesday the administration plan would push the government more into debt when it should be preparing for the fiscal impact of retiring baby boomers in coming years. "This is a window of opportunity to get ready for that challenge and for that time. And the president's answer is to dig the hole deeper," he said. (C) Reuters 2003. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. 22-Jan-2003 19:50:51 GMT Source RTRS - Reuters News