Federal deficit totals $164.4B in November

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government registered a record budget deficit for the month of November, reflecting the impact of a recession on tax receipts and the mounting costs of the $700 billion financial rescue program.

The Treasury Department says the gap between the government's revenue collections and what it paid out last month totaled $164.4 billion, the largest deficit ever recorded for the month of November.

In just the first two months of this budget year, the deficit now totals more than $401 billion, putting the country on track to hit a record $1 trillion deficit for the entire year, more than double the previous all-time high.

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