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The U.S. Treasury Department will pay off $65 billion of the federal debt in the current fiscal quarter--only the second reduction in the outstanding debt since 1981 and the biggest ever. Many private analysts believe the deficit in fiscal 1997 could drop below $100 billion for the first time since 1981. The government, though, is still officially predicting red ink of $125.6 billion, up from a 15-year low of $107 billion in 1996.
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