Treasury Secretary James Baker saidthat the current expansion, which he noted was in its fifth
year, will continue in the period ahead.
    He told the House Appropriations Committee that "there is
every prospect that the current expansion will continue
unabated through 1987 and the years beyond."
    Baker said interest rates over the period have continued to
decline and that "policies of the Federal Reserve assure that
ample credit was available.
    He said that the administration's longer term forecast
envisioned that "we will maintain and improve upon our progress
in bringing down the rate of inflation."
 Reuter
