In 2000 the congress passed a bill to keep surpluses off budget so they could be used to buy back part of our debt. Fiscal years 1998, 1999 and 2000 used the excess revenues to buy back about $450 billion of debt and the course was set to completely pay down the national debt by 2012.
Here's the summary of that bill:
Latest Title: Debt Reduction Reconciliation Act of 2000
Sponsor: Rep Fletcher, Ernie [KY-6] (introduced 6/8/2000)
Cosponsors (24)
Related Bills: H.R.4866
Latest Major Action: 6/22/2000 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 626.
House Reports: 106-673 Part 1
SUMMARY AS OF:
6/20/2000--Passed House amended. (There are 2
other summaries) Debt Reduction Reconciliation Act of 2000 - Establishes the Public Debt Reduction Payment Account in the Treasury. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to use amounts in the Account to pay at maturity, or redeem or buy before maturity, any Government obligation held by the public and included in the public debt. Provides that any obligation which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts from the Account shall be canceled and retired and prohibits its reissuance.
Provides that if the Congressional Budget Office estimates an on-budget surplus for FY 2000 in a report submitted to the congressional budget committees pursuant to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that exceeds the amount of the surplus for such fiscal year set forth in the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 2001 (H. Con. Res. 290, 106th Congress), then an amount equal to that excess is appropriated into the Account for FY 2000. Prohibits such appropriation from being considered as direct spending for purposes of pay-as-you-go provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
Reduces the public debt limit by the amount appropriated into the Account.
Bars Account receipts and disbursements from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of : (1) the Federal budget as submitted by the President; (2) the congressional budget; or (3) the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the Account.
George W. Bush assumed this budget which was in line to completely settle the national debt by 2012 and reduced taxes, twice, on corporations and the wealthy by a trillion and a half dollars while using reconciliation to block possible Democratic filibusters.
The national debt doubled from $5.7 trillion to more than $11 trillion during his two terms.