South Hills Record - Murphy Receives Numerous Calls About Debt

The United States cannot afford to default on its debt, Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) said earlier this week.

"We have a responsibility to the American people to fix this," Murphy said. "I don't want our country in default."

Murphy said to keep from defaulting, Congress needs to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit by Tuesday, but also make greater cuts if the ceiling is raised.

Defaulting on the national debt would result in dollar inflation and rising interest rates, as well as other problems.

Murphy said he worries that default would affect job growth in the United States.

Murphy said he has received hundreds of calls from constituents with conflicting opinions about raising the debt ceiling, cutting spending, increasing taxes and other actions, he said.

"It is really a long range of responses," Murphy said.

Murphy said he looks forward to hearing more from his constituents as negotiations continue.

Also, appealing to Americans' fears that they will not receive their Social Security checks or Medicare are not true and will not help fix the situation, Murphy said.