Eleven months into the fiscal year, the federal budget deficit stands at $71.3 billion, and a big surplus due to quarterly tax payments in September should leave the United States with its smallest shortfall in 23 years, the Treasury Department said. The Clinton administration had been predicting a 1997 deficit of $37 billion, but analysts now say it could be even smaller than that. The deficit has been declining steadily since it peaked at $290 billion during the Bush administration.
Shrinking Deficit
Eleven months into the fiscal year, the federal budget deficit stands at $71.3 billion, and a big surplus due to quarterly tax payments in September should leave the United States with its smallest shortfall in 23 years, the Treasury Department said. The Clinton administration had been predicting a 1997 deficit of $37 billion, but analysts now say it could be even smaller than that. The deficit has been declining steadily since it peaked at $290 billion during the Bush administration.
