Federal Government Debt Held by the Public, 1960-2005. Chart of federal government debt held by the public, 1960 to 2005. For details, refer to the text immediately preceding this chart. Note: The final observation is for 2005:Q3. For previous years, the data for debt are as of year-end, and the corresponding values for GDP are for Q4 at an annual rate. Excludes securities held as investments of federal government accounts. Source: Federal Reserve Board, flow of funds data.