“The federal budget deficit was $179 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2017, CBO estimates, $22 billion less than the one recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were higher than those in the same period last year, by 1 percent, and outlays decreased by 3 percent. But this year’s outlays were reduced by the shift of certain payments from October 2016 to September 2016 because October 1 fell on a weekend. Otherwise, outlays so far this year would have been $25 billion (or about 4 percent) larger than those in October and November last year, and the deficit would have risen by about $20 billion.”