Final answer:
The federal budget of the 1990s experienced a decline in the relative size of the budget deficit, resulting in budget surpluses from 1998 to 2001, despite the national debt growing to over $5 trillion. Option C
Step-by-step explanation:
The federal budget during the 1990s is best described by the following statement: The relative size of the deficit fell, and the budget surpluses arrived from 1998 to 2001. During most of the 20th century, the U.S. government typically incurred debt during wartime and repaid it during peacetime. The 1980s and early 1990s saw a period of substantial peacetime debt accumulation.
However, a shift occurred in the late 1990s. The passage of legislation aimed at fiscal responsibility, combined with economic growth, led to a decline in the budget deficit during the mid-to-late 1990s, culminating in budget surpluses that allowed for a reduction in the national debt relative to GDP from 1998 to 2001.
Even though the absolute size of the national debt grew to over $5 trillion, the reduction in the budget deficit indicates an improvement in the annual budgetary position of the government. Thus, while the absolute size of the debt increased, the government's ability to manage its finances improved in the latter part of the decade, as reflected in the budget surpluses that emerged. Option c