1.   And he may well do so, deeming that spending is preferable to letting the surplus grow.

2.   As the federal budget surplus has grown in recent years, Greenspan has repeatedly stressed that the first priority should be to pay down the national debt.

3.   A Finance Ministry official said the trade surplus would not grow significantly for the rest of the year.

4.   But as the surplus has grown, Republicans have begun asserting that it will be big enough to accommodate tax cuts and a Social Security fix.

5.   But those surpluses have grown only because Washington has been deadlocked by divided government, unable to agree on what to do with the windfall.

6.   Did you see how fast our projected budget surplus grew the closer the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee got to San Antonio?

7.   Economists contend the largest expansions of the surplus are over, and the surplus will grow only gradually the rest of the year as the domestic economy strengthens.

8.   Meanwhile, top U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, have told Japan not to let its trade surplus grow to buoy its fragile economy.

9.   Moreover, support for the plan could blossom if the projected budget surplus grows, said Clyburn.

10.   Over the last few years, budget surpluses have grown with each calculation, like a pot of gold that replenishes itself faster than anyone can empty it.