Local Congress members, residents nervously await debt deal

Like most rank-and-file members of Congress, Allyson Schwartz spent her day Wednesday waiting for a call to action on the debt-ceiling crisis.

The Philadelphia-area Democrat wasn't idle. She attended a caucus meeting. She held a session of her healthcare-innovation task force. She went to the House floor to vote on amendments to the Interior Department budget.

But until leaders in both chambers get their acts together on compromise plans to lift the debt limit, there was nothing major to vote on - only a sense of waiting for a size-12EEE shoe to drop.

Schwartz said she felt the pressure of Tuesday's deadline to raise the limit or see the United States default on its loans - which the Obama administration says would kill the recession recovery and raise interest rates on businesses and consumers.

"Every member of Congress should feel the weight of the potential for the United States' defaulting," Schwartz said. "The question is, how do they do it? Do they do it on the backs of the seniors and the middle class?"

Voters continued to press for a deal Wednesday, although members of Congress said the onslaught of phone calls and e-mails had ebbed from Tuesday's peak. The flood followed President Obama's contact-your-representatives speech Monday night.

David Smith, 39, of Northeast Philadelphia, who lives on Social Security disability payments, called The Inquirer to say he was afraid his $716-a-month benefit will be cut off if the government loses the ability to borrow.

A government official had assured him it would not, "but I'm really scared," Smith said. "If they don't agree to disagree - and raise the debt ceiling - they should all be charged with treason."

Bernice O'Neill, a retiree from Skippack, put it this way: "I don't get why they don't just raise the debt ceiling and stop all the squabbling, making us all look like idiots in this country. They're all drama queens."

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) noted that "much of the debate has occurred behind closed doors, instead of openly and transparently, so there is some frustration."

"We are hearing that people want a real solution to our debt problem, not just a last-minute deal," he said. "They are tired of the irresponsible overspending that got us into this mess, and they want a solution that makes sure we are never in the same mess again."

Maximum pressure may be on House Republicans, whose leaders have struggled to draft a plan with enough backing within their ranks to be brought up for a vote. Tea party supporters have held out for deeper spending cuts than many moderate members could support.

Among members of Congress under the gun are three Republicans from the Philadelphia suburbs - all in so-called "swing districts."

Jim Gerlach, Patrick Meehan, and Mike Fitzpatrick were all elected last year on conservative platforms. The planks included opposition to new taxes and pledges to cut the size of government.

But, like most in Congress, they have many constituents at or near retirement age who are counting on the current level of Social Security and Medicare benefits.

"More than anything, the constituents I hear from are frustrated, and rightly so," said Fitzpatrick, of Bucks County. "Our current situation was years in the making, and there is a perception that nothing was done until the last minute."

Meehan, of Delaware County, said: "We don't want to see the United States defaulting on our debt or plunging our economy into another deep crisis." He added that he was "confident this will end in a compromise that averts default and reins in spending."

Gerlach, whose Chester County-centered district sprawls over three counties, pledged: "I will work hard with my colleagues to support a bill that prevents our nation's default." But he said he would uphold "my constituents' collective desire to take important steps to finally cut spending and get our fiscal house in order."

Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a South Jersey Republican, said the solution may be in a blend of spending cuts and elimination of government subsidies for sugar, oil, and ethanol production.

"The nation cannot be allowed to default, nor can we continue to spend more than we take in," he said. "With a struggling economy and double-digit unemployment in South Jersey, raising taxes is not the solution to reining in our debt or creating jobs."

Robert E. Andrews, a South Jersey Democrat, agreed that "ethanol products and oil companies should make a reasonable contribution to solving this problem." But he said he also wouldn't mind seeing a surtax on millionaires.

"The time for drawing lines is behind us," Andrews said. "It's time for compromise."