Demonstrators in Pottsville speak out on national debt ceiling issue

May 26—POTTSVILLE — Residents gathered in the city Friday to lead a demonstration on the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations.

Members of Schuylkill Indivisible organized the meeting outside the Pottsville office of U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, Jackson Twp., calling on the congressman and his Republican colleagues to conclude negotiations and raise the nation's debt ceiling.

Lisa Von Ahn, co-chair of Schuylkill Indivisible, said the issue is primarily a "political game" by House Republicans to undermine President Joe Biden and to keep House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in office.

"Anything bad, they'll blame it on Biden, whether it's his fault or not," she said. "This is something that the GOP could pass right now. They could pass a clean debt ceiling bill and keep our country credit-worthy. But as they have done in the past, they're manufacturing another problem. The debt ceiling has nothing to do with the budget."

About a dozen people turned out for the demonstration, including Amanda Waldman, of Lycoming County, who ran against Meuser for U.S. representative last year.

While negotiators appear to be moving toward an agreement to raise the country's $31.4 trillion debt limit, there is no certainty a deal will be made before June 5, the earliest that the U.S. Treasury estimates it will exhaust the "extraordinary measures" it has been using to pay the government's bills since the limit was reached Jan. 19.

Von Ahn said the talks have caused a lot of "undue stress" as lawmakers have seemingly prolonged and failed to resolve an issue that was brought up months ago.

"They're basically swinging a wrecking ball on the economy so that Kevin McCarthy can keep his job and please the MAGAs," she said. "And they could have either severely cut government spending, or a recession, or, God forbid, a default, to blame on Biden. ... There shouldn't even be deal-making at all."

Waldman said that while she supports lowering government spending, the debt ceiling talks have "nothing to do" with the budget and that the issue must be addressed immediately.

"(Meuser) may have been elected by Republicans in a Republican district, but this job is to serve all of the people," she added. "Him continuing to support holding the debt limit hostage and threatening a default is not serving a single person who voted for him."

Contacted Thursday, Meuser said that Schuylkill Indivisible's stance on the issue is "extremely misinformed" and that Congressional leaders are working to reach an agreement.

"Seventy percent of America agrees that we cannot give the Biden administration and this neo-Democratic Party a blank check," he said. "We must have responsible spending moving forward, because it's been very irresponsible over the last two and a half years."

Meuser said the government has wasted "trillions" of taxpayer dollars over the past three years, putting future generations in an unfavorable position.

"We're wasting a lot, and we need to pay our bills and put us on a more responsible path," he said. "I think the people in Indivisible would understand that."

In response to Schuylkill Indivisible's claim that "MAGA Republicans" are exacerbating the issue, Meuser said that around 50 to 100 Democrats in Congress are in support of a debt ceiling negotiation, including those in the Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Meuser is a member.

"This isn't about 'MAGA Republicans,' " he said. "This is about the responsible people in Congress doing the right thing. ... I'm for a reasonable approach."

Meuser added that he had a "very good" meeting with members of Schuylkill Indivisible a few years ago and had discussed important issues with them.

"I don't think they felt that I agreed with them on everything, but I think they left with the impression that it was a very reasonable, civil discussion," he said.

Contact the writer: hlee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6085