Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC, shares his analysis on US politics.

How is Congress planning on raising your taxes to pay for their new spending bill?

The short answer is they aren't. The new spending deal being negotiated by Senate leaders relies on several provisions that raise revenue for the federal government, by allowing lawmakers to claim they aren't raising taxes at all. How's that? By closing what policymakers consider loopholes in the tax code.