And when the deficit did fall in the late 1980's, interest rates remained high.

The federal deficit fell to $22.6 billion, the lowest in 23 years.

By comparison, the deficit never fell below $13.2 billion in 1987.

You are aware that the deficit is actually falling despite weak growth.

The report showed that the deficit fell a sharp 25 percent.

In June the deficit fell to $5,070 million, the best figure for more than seven years.

After the September 11th terrorist attacks, however, the deficit in services fell 10.8 percent.

In July, the administration predicted that the deficit would fall to $331 billion.

Yet the deficit would fall by only $150 billion.

The deficit has never fallen so much in a single year, according to Government data.