Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter should prepare for the reality that Congress will not remove spending caps this year, House appropriators warned Wednesday.

The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Peter Visclosky of Indiana, told Carter that while he is sure lawmakers will try to find some spending relief for the Pentagon, he did not anticipate “a significant change” from current sentiment on Capitol Hill that the budget levels will be set at sequestration levels, “as there appears to be insurmountable obstacles blocking every path forward.”