Go Slow on Tax Cuts, Clinton Warns GOP

Responding to a call this week from GOP lawmakers for huge tax cuts, President Clinton told House Republicans to shelve major tax cut plans until budget surpluses materialize and a long-term plan is developed to shore up Social Security. Citing new estimates for budget surpluses over the next decade, key House Republicans called for tax cuts above those lawmakers agreed on in June. The Congressional Budget Office has forecast a $520-billion five-year surplus from fiscal 1999 to 2003, and a $1.55-trillion surplus over the next decade. A group of conservative House Republicans are proposing that $300 billion of the estimated five-year $520-billion surplus go toward shoring up Social Security and the rest be used for tax cuts.