I shall submit to the Congress on January 21 the first budget prepared by
this Administration, for the period July 1, 1954, through June 1955. This
budget is adequate to the current needs of the government. It recognizes
that a Federal budget should be a stabilizing factor in the economy. Its
tax and expenditure programs will foster individual initiative and economic
growth.
Pending the transmittal of my Budget Message, I shall mention here only a
few points about our budgetary situation.
First, one of our initial acts was to revise, with the cooperation of the
Congress, the Budget prepared before this Administration took office.
Requests for new appropriations were greatly reduced. In addition, the
spending level provided in that Budget for the current fiscal year has been
reduced by about $7,000,000,000. In the next fiscal year we estimate a
further reduction in expenditures of more than $5,000,000,000. This will
reduce the spending level over the two fiscal years by more than
$12,000,000,000. We are also reducing further our requests for new
appropriations.
Second, despite the substantial loss of revenue in the coming fiscal year,
resulting from tax reductions now in effect and tax adjustments which I
shall propose, our reduced spending will move the new budget closer to a
balance.
Third, by keeping new appropriation requests below estimated revenues, we
continue to reduce the tremendous accumulation of unfinanced obligations
incurred by the Government under past appropriations.
Fourth, until those claims on our Government's revenues are further
reduced, the growth in the public debt cannot be entirely stopped. Because
of this--because the government's bills have to be paid every month, while
the tax money to pay them comes in with great unevenness within the fiscal
year--and because of the need for flexibility to manage this enormous debt,
I find it necessary to renew my request for an increase in the statutory
debt limit.