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1 1 (August 10, 2000)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaaaca0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS20302 Updated August 10, 2000 Paying Down the Federal Debt: A Discussion of Methods James M. Bickley Specialist in Public Finance Government and Finance Division Summary The federal government has been running budget surpluses; that is, the flow of revenue into the Treasury has exceeded the outflow of expenditures. Consequently, the U.S. Treasury has been reducing the amount of outstanding publicly held debt.1 This report examines methods of paying down the publicly held debt. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the budget surplus was $124 billion in fiscal year 1999. CBO's baseline estimates of the budget, under the assumption that discretionary spending grows at the rate of inflation after fiscal year 2000, shows rising budget surpluses through fiscal year 2005; consequently, the publicly held debt will decline at an increasing rate in nominal dollars.2 In July 2000, CBO's baseline projections, under the 1The sum of publicly held federal debt and federal debt held in government accounts equals total federal debt. For an explanation of the relationship between budget surpluses (and deficits) and different concepts of federal debt, see: U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, Surpluses and Federal Debt, by Philip D. Winters, CRS Report RS20065 (Washington: March 1, 1999), 6 p. 2These forecasts are based on positive assumptions about control of discretionary spending and are examined in the following source: U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, (continued...) Congressional Research Service The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web

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