[20020201]RS20302_偿还联邦债务：方法探讨.pdf

1 The sum of publicly held federal debt and federal debt held in government accounts equals totalfederal debt. For an explanation of the relationship between budget surpluses (and deficits) anddifferent concepts of federal debt, see CRS Report RS20767, How Budget Surpluses ChangeFederal Debt, by Philip D. Winters.2 For an examination of some economic consequences of eliminating the publicly held debt, seeCRS Report RL30614, What If the National Debt Were Eliminated? Some EconomicConsequences, by Marc Labonte.Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS20302Updated February 1, 2002Paying Down the Federal Debt:A Discussion of MethodsJames M. BickleySpecialist in Public FinanceGovernment and Finance DivisionSummaryBeginning with fiscal year 1998, the federal government began running budgetsurpluses; that is, the flow of revenue into the U.S. Treasury exceeded the outflow ofexpenditures. The Treasury lowered the amount of outstanding publicly held debt byreducing new debt issuance as existing federal debt issues matured. In addition, onMarch 9, 2000, the Treasury conducted its first buyback operation of outstandi