Congress Already Sees Need to Evade Spending Caps in a Debt Deal

Lawmakers pushing to cap spending as part of a debt-limit deal already acknowledge the funding limitations won’t be airtight, as members expect exemptions for emergency spending and maybe even wholesale cap increases.

Hurricanes, public health emergencies, and wars are among the most likely candidates for exemptions to any spending caps created under a debt-limit deal, said Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a longtime former Senate Republican aide. And if the 10-year spending cap regimen created under the 2011 debt-limit standoff is any indication, lawmakers may negotiate increases to the caps themselves, as lawmakers did ...