Kentucky congressmen stick to party lines in debt ceiling debate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Congressman Morgan McGarvey delivered a mixed message of hope and concern Friday over the debt ceiling crisis.

“This keeps me up at night,” McGarvey said. “There should be an easy solution, but we’re seeing a lot of political posturing around something that is really serious.”

McGarvey, Kentucky’s only Democrat in Congress, spoke to business leaders in Louisville about the impasse and consequences of Democrats and Republicans failing to reach a deal.

”We’ve got to make sure that we do what this country has done time and time again, including three times when Donald Trump was President,” McGarvey said, “Which is raise the debt ceiling and make sure our country does not default on its obligations.”

In a statement to WAVE News, District 1 Republican Congressman James Comer said, “After years of unchecked spending by Democrats, House Republicans are prioritizing fiscal responsibility.”

District 6 Republican Andy Barr also blamed, “President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ out-of-control spending.”

“It is well past time for the President to stop playing games with the full faith and credit of the United States,” Barr said.

Senator Rand Paul also called for a curb in government spending.

”It’s a worrisome time, but the way you fix that is simply live within your means,” Paul told WLEX Thursday. “Government should spend what comes in. We’ve gotten nearly $5 trillion in taxes. Certainly government ought to be able to live with $5 trillion instead of $1 trillion that it doesn’t have every year.”

Both sides agree a deal needs to be reached because the consequences could affect everyone regardless of party.

”If you have a car loan, it could go up. If you have a house, your mortgage could go up,” McGarvey said. “It could impact Social Security for 100,000 Louisvillians. This is a really significant thing that could happen if we default.”