Virtual Hill Briefing 

# The $15 Trillion Emergency Spending Loophole 

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Date and Time 

October 7, 2025 2 - 3 PM EDT 

Location 

Live Online via Zoom 

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##### Featuring 

[![Dominik Lee cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-03/dominik-lett%20Cropped.jpg?itok=45gTbBqN)](/people/dominik-lett) 

[Dominik Lett](/people/dominik-lett)

Former Policy Analyst, Cato Institute

![Steve Ellis_cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-09/Steve%20Ellis_cropped.jpg?itok=WnHCVcag) 

Steve Ellis 

President of Taxpayers of Common Sense

![Rachel Snyderman](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-09/rachel-snyderman-circle.jpeg?itok=Ts5OPeQJ) 

Rachel Snyderman 

Managing Director, Economic Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center

[![Romina-Boccia-cropped2.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-09/Romina-Boccia-cropped2.jpg?itok=7drYb2ok)](/people/romina-boccia) 

[Romina Boccia](/people/romina-boccia)

Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/RominaBoccia) 

Congress has spent $15 trillion through emergency designations since 1991, which is equivalent to half the entire publicly held debt of the United States. Emergency designations have enabled more than $12.5 trillion in spending since 1991—comparable to the entire amount spent on Medicaid and veterans’ programs combined—and added an estimated $2.5 trillion in associated interest costs.

Join the Cato Institute on Tuesday, October 7, at 2 p.m. EDT for an online discussion with other congressional staffers on how Congress can rein in similar fiscal abuses. We’ll highlight bills that are now before Congress that would curb emergency spending loopholes, and we’ll explore opportunities for lawmakers to lead or join promising reform efforts. A live Q&A will follow.

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