Overview on the United States Federal Budget Situation of the year 2001, with Emphasize on Federal Debt Over the Previous years, and with Reference to Historical Data, Budget Structure, Its Management, Economic Uses and Future Evolution.

             The summary provides an overview on federal budget situation of the year 2001, with emphasize on federal debt over the previous years, and with reference to historical data, budget structure, its management, economic uses and future evolution. The report deals with a temporary positive turn of situation over the time period 1998-2001 regarding the state of federal budget. Previously, U.S. economy had confronted with a severe recession. Government had run a budget deficit of $168.1 billion in the fiscal year 1988, $152.1 billion in the fiscal year 1989, $220.4 billion in 1990 and a $288 billion deficit in fiscal year 1991. The economic decline reached its lower limit in the fiscal year 1992, when US Government ran an alarming $293.2 billion deficit. However, the next years brought about the long awaited change. Thus, the economic situation set out to recovery as lower deficits started to be achieved: $254.9 billion in 1993, $233 billion in the fiscal year 1994, $164 billion in 1995, $107 billion in 1996 and $22 billion in the fiscal year 1997. After more than 30 years of repeated deficits (the last budget surplus had occurred in fiscal year 1969), the situation finally seemed to turn for the better as the U.S. Government ran a budget surplus of $69 billion in fiscal year 1998, $125 billion in 1999, and $236 billion in fiscal year 2000. For the fiscal year 2001 the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated a $281 budget surplus whereas estimations up to $5.6 trillion have been made regarding the cumulative budget surpluses over the next 10 years. Nevertheless, in spite of all optimistic anticipations, budget surpluses kept authorities waiting, as they stubbornly refused to measure up to CBO's expectations.