Across the Nation Congress expects $1.9 trillion surplus WASHINGTON - Virtually doubling the size of the budget battlefield this election year, the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that it now expects federal surpluses over the next decade to total as much as $1.9 trillion. With the soaring economy pouring billions in unforeseen revenue into federal coffers, President Clinton said he will propose paying off the government's entire $3.6 trillion federally held debt by 2013. That would be two years earlier than he has previously aimed for and puts him a step ahead of House Republicans, who are working on a plan to pay off that portion of the debt by 2015. The surplus estimate by CBO, for the 10 years ending 2010, represents a near doubling of a $1 trillion forecast it issued only last July. The figures exclude Social Security funds. Both sides immediately claimed credit for the good news. "We got here by making hard choices and sticking to a strategy that works, that builds opportunity and reinforces responsibility," Clinton said at the White House. "I remain committed to that strategy. I ask the Republican majority in Congress to put politics aside and join me." In a written statement, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said, "We have this surplus because of the hard work of the American people, because of the healthy American economy and because of prudent fiscal policies championed by the Republican Congress." Gonzalez to meet with grandmothers MIAMI - Florida relatives of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez agreed yesterday night to bring the boy to a meeting with his Cuban grandmothers in a "neutral location" in Miami today, after the federal government threatened Elian's immigration status in this country. Justice Department officials said that grandmothers Raquel Rodriguez and Mariela Gonzalez, who spent yesterday in Washington, would return to Miami for the 4 p.m. meeting. Under the agreement, they will visit with Elian alone, with no time restriction, at the home of the president of Barry University, a local Catholic college. Relatives in Miami, who have refused to send Elian home to his Cuban father despite an Immigration and Naturalization Service ruling early this month, received reassurances that "no Cuban officials" would be present and that the grandmothers understood "it was only a visit and Elian would not be leaving with them," according to U.S. government officials. Officials also told the relatives that after the meeting Elian he would return to the house in Miami's Little Havana where he has been staying. Ice storm strikes southeastern states A surprisingly fast-moving storm blanketed the East Coast with up to 2 feet of wind-blown snow yesterday, closing airports and schools, paralyzing the nation's capital and leaving North Carolina looking more like North Dakota. At least three people have been killed in weather-related traffic accidents in the Carolinas, and two people were found dead outside from exposure in South Carolina. The storm even intruded on the presidential campaign. Most of the candidates flew to New Hampshire after the Iowa caucuses, but Republican Alan Keyes got stuck in Detroit, unable to fly into Boston. The storm - known as a nor'easter - drove northward along the coast, with moist air from the ocean colliding with cold air over the land. During the morning, snow fell from South Carolina all the way to Maine. The storm raced into the Northeast with a speed that surprised forecasters. ''We knew it was coming. It just decided to hit us a day earlier," said National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Morrin in New York. The storm system was to press toward Maine by this morning, bringing moderate to heavy snows from Pennsylvania through New England. The Southeast was to get a break from the heavy precipitation. Yesterday's storm the third snowfall in a week for some states, but for much of the region it was the first major storm in a season that has seen little snow. It was also the worst snowstorm to hit the area since the blizzard of January 1996. Most federal agencies shut down in Washington, and were scheduled to be closed again today. Legislative meetings were called off in Delaware, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, and Delaware Gov. Thomas Carper had to postpone his State of the State address for the second time in a week because of snow. Schools were closed from South Carolina to Maine, including nearly all schools in New Jersey and Maryland. Up to 17 inches of snow fell in parts of Virginia. The Baltimore-Washington International Airport got more than 7 inches. Ten inches had accumulated outside Philadelphia at King of Prussia, and New York City measured 6. Snow up to 18 inches deep was forecast by the end of the storm in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. The storm hit hardest in the Carolinas. North Carolina got a record 20.3 inches at the Raleigh-Durham airport. The North Carolina utility CP&L had 81,000 customers without power, Duke Power Co. reported 87,000 outages in North Carolina. More than 140,000 people were without power in South Carolina and Virginia Power reported fewer than a thousand customers in the dark. ''With wind gusts at 40 miles per hour, it's just not safe to have somebody up there working on a power line in a bucket truck," said CP&L spokeswoman Sally Ramey. North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt declared a state of emergency, activating the National Guard to help clear streets and rescue stranded motorists. Stalled cars and trucks shut down five miles of Interstate 85. Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening also declared a state of emergency. ''There may be other snowstorms like this in Alaska or something, but never in North Carolina," said Allen, the motorist whose car was buried in Raleigh, N.C. The storm closed major Eastern airports, including New York's LaGuardia and Washington Reagan National Airport, and others had delays and cancellations. US Airways canceled all of its afternoon East Coast service between North Carolina and New York. ''I think we didn't pick the best day for flying," Brazilian visitor Joao Nemeth said at LaGuardia as he comforted an 11-year-old daughter who had expected to fly to Walt Disney World. A memorial service scheduled Tuesday in New Jersey at Seton Hall University for three freshmen killed in a dormitory fire last week had to be rescheduled because of the snow. A few people appreciated the snow. ''It adds beauty to this place," Rudolph Williams said in New York City. ''It adds life. It's creative. This here is a winter's work of art!" Originally on page 2A in the 1-26-2000 issue of the Daily.