Congressional Budget Office Expects Larger Surplus
John King/CNN
WASHINGTON (April 23) -- The Congressional Budget Office [CBO] has significantly increased its projected federal budget surplus for the current fiscal year to between $45 billion and $55 billion, CNN learned Thursday.
The new estimate was provided to House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, who was meeting with the Republican leadership behind closed doors Thursday to outline his budget proposal. The CBO director also was scheduled to brief congressional budget leaders and top staff members later Thursday.
Two sources familiar with the plan said Kasich was scaling back plans to propose more than $100 billion in tax cuts, but said the final details depended on a series of internal GOP meetings over the week or so, beginning with a Thursday afternoon meeting at the office of House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The last CBO estimate was in March, when the agency projected an $8 billion surplus for the current fiscal year. Since then, the administration's Office of Management and Budget has projected an $18 billion surplus this year.
A new OMB estimate is likely at the end of the month, after the government analyzes April tax receipts. But administration officials familiar with internal discussion on the issues said the CBO's estimate sounded consistent with the administration's calculations.
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