The fourth major policy has to do with the balancing of the budget. In a
prosperous period such as the present one, the budget of the Federal
Government should be balanced. Prudent management of public finance
requires that we begin the process of reducing the public debt. The budget
which I shall submit to you this week has a small margin of surplus. In the
Budget Message I am making recommendations which, if accepted, will result
in a substantially larger surplus which should be applied to debt
retirement. One of these recommendations is that the Congress take early
action to continue throughout the next fiscal year the war excise tax rates
which, under the present law, will expire on June 30, 1947.
Expenditures relating to the war are still high. Considerable sums are
required to alleviate world famine and suffering. Aid to veterans will
continue at peak level. The world situation is such that large military
expenditures are required. Interest on the public debt and certain other
costs are irreducible. For these reasons I have had to practice stringent
economy in preparing the budget; and I hope that the Congress will
cooperate in this program of economy.