EDITOR'S NOTE: Three Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District — Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine — visited the Univest Public Media Center for one-on-one policy interviews.
The conversations are the basis of a five-part "PA-7 Talks" series this week ahead of the May 19 primary election.
A fourth candidate, firefighter union boss Bob Brooks, initially agreed to participate but later canceled. His campaign did not respond to requests to reschedule.
The winner of the primary is expected to face U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, in November. Mackenzie is uncontested in the Republican primary.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Congress often is tasked with addressing major issues over civil rights, national security and steering the economy, but its core responsibility is to set a budget and control spending.
But America's budget deficit has been a growing problem for decades. The United States hasn't had a budget surplus since 2001, and the national debt spiked following the Great Recession in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
As of this month, the national debt totaled just under $39 trillion, about $4.5 trillion more than it was in 2024. Debt payments now account for 14% of all federal spending, more than transportation, education and veterans benefits combined.
The debt problem isn't helped by the increasing frequency of government shutdowns.
The two Trump terms have seen the two longest shutdowns in American history, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has gone without funding for months as the debate over funding ICE has led to extended gridlock.
Former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine took our questions on tackling the national debt and their willingness to engage in government shutdowns if elected.
Shutdowns
McClure and Crosswell acknowledged the pain and inconveniences that households endure during government shutdowns, but also agreed that they wouldn't let the threat of a shutdown prevent them from standing up for their values.
They pointed to the current funding standoff over ICE as an example of a policy issue where they would be willing to withhold their vote even if it shut down the government.
McClure drew a distinction between using the threat of a shutdown as a negotiation tactic and a shutdown occurring because of taking a principled stand.
"There may come a time where I find something morally objectionable that I don't cast a vote for, and that might cause a shutdown. But I'm not doing that as a tactic to leverage something."Lamont McClure, Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional District
He pointed to the funding cuts to Medicaid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as another example of something for which he would be go to the mat.
He said the cut in health care would lead to people dying because they couldn't afford medical care.
"There may come a time where I find something morally objectionable that I don't cast a vote for, and that might cause a shutdown," McClure said.
"But I'm not doing that as a tactic to leverage something."
Crosswell said Congress should create financial incentives to pressure lawmakers to pass a budget on time.
Countless dedicated federal employees, service members and contractors can go weeks without pay during the shutdowns.
"If there's a shutdown, whether it's the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, I think we should all be fined until it's resolved, because it's nonsense."Ryan Crosswell, Democratic candidate of the 7th Congressional District
While many of them will be repaid once funding is restored, many also still are left with interest payments after they had to borrow money to make ends meet.
Under the current system, members of Congress don't see any financial repercussions for when the government isn't open.
"If there's a shutdown, whether it's the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, I think we should all be fined until it's resolved, because it's nonsense," Crosswell said.
Obando-Derstine expressed no hesitancy about potentially shutting the government down if it was for what she considered a worthy cause.
She cited tax cuts for billionaires, Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid funding as issues on which she would not be willing to budge.
"These are life and death situations, and we have to stand up for them," she said.
Federal debt
There was consensus among the candidates that addressing the national debt would require restructuring the tax code and requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay more.
Obando-Derstine said she wouldn't rule out potential spending cuts, but homed in on the need to raise taxes on the nation's top earners.
"We saw trillions in tax cuts for billionaires this summer, so we do have the money."Carol Obando-Derstine, Democratic candidate for 7th Congressional District
She decried the tax cuts that billionaires gained through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying it served as proof that the country could address the deficit if elected leaders are willing to prioritize average Americans.
"We saw trillions in tax cuts for billionaires this summer, so we do have the money," Obando-Derstine said.
Similarly, Crosswell said that while he was open to cutting spending, it isn't realistic to cut the government's way out of the red.
About 70% of the federal budget goes toward programs guaranteed under U.S. law, such as Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and other benefits.
If elected, he said, he would look to tax billionaires' assets so they can't accumulate generational wealth while paying a lower tax rate than working-class Americans.
"I think it starts with passing balanced budgets," he said. "Stop the bleeding, and then we can start to whittle it down."
McClure blamed the growing deficit on President Donald Trump and U.S. Ryan Mackenzie, pointing to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as the primary spike in the deficit in recent years.
He accused Republicans of preaching fiscal prudence while out of power but then failing to practice those priorities when in the majority.
"I don't think the onus is on the Democrats to balance the budget that Trump and Mackenzie put out of whack," McClure said.
The 7th District represents Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties plus a sliver of Monroe County.
Political observers consider PA-7 to be among the few toss-up House districts in the country. Since the current map was adopted in 2022, the last three races have been decided by 3 percentage points or less.
Given the slim margins in the U.S. House, the two major parties have invested millions of dollars into wining the district in recent years.
Past episodes of the "PA-7 Talks" series can be found here:
