
Senate leaders announced Feb. 7 that they have reached a bipartisan agreement to lift congressionally mandated spending caps in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 and end a months-long budget impasse.The deal, outlined on the Senate floor by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), would prevent the return of across-the-board budget cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. If approved by the full House and Senate later this week, it also would…