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FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS May 5, 1999RR-3133 Good morning. Each quarter, I have the opportunity to discuss the government's refunding needs with you in this forum. In the past year, these refunding announcements have reflected our nation's ever-strengthening financial condition. Today, I am pleased to read to you a statement from Secretary Rubin: The Clinton Administration's policy of fiscal discipline has dramatically improved our fiscal situation, and has changed our task from financing a deficit, to managing a surplus. Now, we have reached a new milestone in our nation's financial history: We are paying down $116 billion of federal debt -- the largest debt pay-down that has ever been achieved in a single quarter, or even in a single year. It is a great accomplishment for this Administration that we are now reducing the debt. Less government debt outstanding means lower interest rates, higher national savings, more investment, and a stronger economy. We have reduced privately held marketable debt from approximately $3.1 trillion in March of 1997, to less than $2.8 trillion -- a pay-down of $320 billion in just over two years. This is, indeed, a remarkable accomplishment. Terms of the May Refunding I will now turn to the terms of the quarterly refunding. We are offering $27 billion of notes to refund $28.8 billion of privately held notes maturing on May 15, and to pay down approximately $1.8 billion. The securities are: 1. A 5-year note in the amount of $15.0 billion, maturing on May15, 2004, will be auctioned on Tuesday, May 11. 2. A 10-year note in the amount of $12.0 billion, maturing on May 15, 2009 will be auctioned on Wednesday, May 12. Both of these notes will be auctioned on a yield basis, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. As Secretary Rubin has said, we estimate that the Treasury will pay down $116 billion of marketable securities during the April-June quarter. This estimate assumes a $55 billion cash balance at the end of June. Including the securities we are announcing today, we have paid down $ 114-1/2 billion of marketable securities so far this quarter. (See the attachment for details.) We estimate that a cash management bill will be needed to bridge the cash low point from early June until after the June 15 tax payment date. Looking forward to the July-September quarter, we estimate that the Treasury will pay down approximately $10 billion of marketable securities, assuming a $45 billion cash balance on September 30. The next quarterly refunding will be announced on August 4, 1999. Attachment Market Borrowing April-June 1999 (Billions of Dollars) TOTAL -116.3 DONE* -114.4 BILLS Regular weekly bills -5.4 52- week bill -0.9 Cash management bills -70.1 Total -76.4 COUPONS 7- year note -10.2 2- year notes 0.3 5- year notes - end of month -33.7 30- year inflation-indexed bond 7.4 May refunding -1.8 -38.0 TO BE DONE -1.9 *Issued or announced through May 5, 1999.
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