The federal government's budget deficit was cut in half during (1)..........................................

2022, a record
$1.4 trillion decline driven by the winding down of (2)..........................................and an increase in revenues
for the (3)..........................................

as employment and incomes increased amid the economic recovery.

The Treasury Department's final estimates issued Friday show that (4)..........................................reduced to
$1.38 trillion during the fiscal year that ended September 30, marking the second year in a row that the
deficit has fallen. The deficit reached $2.78 trillion in 2021, a (5)..........................................level. Prior to the
Covid-19 epidemic, the fiscal year 2019 deficit was $980 billion.

According to the Treasury Department, the current figures would have been considerably lower if not for
President Joe Biden's student (6)..........................................for borrowers earning less than a particular
(7).........................................., and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. This program, which has
(8).......................................... from Republicans for its expense and scope, had a $430 billion impact on the
deficit in September, (9)..........................................it to the fourth-largest monthly budget gap on record.

Biden is slated to speak at Delaware State University later Friday to (10).........................................., which
formally debuted this week. Officials at the White House have acknowledged the entire cost, but believe that
the advantages to borrowers and (11).......................................... well exceed the risks, especially given the
anticipation that the deficit figures would (12)..........................................as they did.

Friday morning, the President praised the (13).........................................., stating, "We're going from a
historically robust economic rebound to steady and sustained growth while lowering the deficit."

The Committee for a Responsible Budget, a (14)..........................................organization, warned Friday that

the 2018 budget is a "reminder of how (15).......................................... budgetary situation is."