Rep. Lloyd Smucker, who represents Pennsylvania’s 11th district in the U.S. Congress, discussed the national debt and fiscal policy on the ‘Keep Faith America’ podcast hosted by former Ohio Governor John Kasich. The conversation focused on the rising national debt, which reached $37 trillion in August and $38 trillion in October 2025.
Smucker spoke about his personal background, saying, “I was born old order Amish, number 10 of 12 kids. I was the first in my family to attend high school…I had to pay my own tuition…so I hung dry wall at night to pay my way through high school…I [became] a business owner at 17 years old operating out of a spare bedroom in my parent’s home… I went to college at night while operating a business during the day…I was learning and putting it into practice every day.”
He added, “America had provided me with the opportunity to live the American dream, so I want to be sure that opportunity continues to exist for my kids, my grandkids….for future generations.”
Discussing Republican efforts on economic issues, Smucker said, “We’re making some great progress. I think there is a real debate in the country about what America should look like. It had been for years going in a direction that I didn’t think would have a good outcome… we’re changing that over the past year.”
Addressing concerns about government spending and deficits, Smucker noted: “This fiscal year… we took in $5 trillion in taxes. We spent $7 trillion…a $2 trillion deficit and of course those deficits have accumulated overtime…and ever since…and now they’re $38 trillion. It’s projected to continue to grow.” He emphasized the need for public dialogue: “We need to have a real discussion…about what Americans expect from their government and then what they’re willing to pay for that.”
On his role as Vice Chair of the House Budget Committee, Smucker explained: “As Vice Chair of the Budget Committee…we led a group of about 30 Republicans in the House who insisted that we find savings to offset some of the lost revenue that we would be getting by extending the current tax rates… we were able to find about $1.6 trillion [in savings]. That would not have happened had you not had a group of about 30 of us pushing for this… that’s a nucleus of folks who are very, very concerned [about the debt].”
Regarding how national debt affects Americans directly, he stated: “[American people] need to understand more about how the debt is currently impacting their daily lives and how that is going to get worse if we don’t solve it.” He called on citizens: “I want the American people to start to call their Congressperson and say: why aren’t you doing something about the debt.”
Smucker warned about broader risks tied to increasing federal debt: “…a real threat, not only to the standard of living for Americans but to the country itself…history is full of countries and empires that have dominated—sometimes for centuries—and then had fallen off, had declined over a period of time or perhaps collapsed suddenly…a common thread is poor fiscal policy—taking on too much debt.” He continued: “[The debt has] already impacted us. You see inflation, interest rates are higher because of the debt we’re taking on, it is already impacting every American….and will continue to impact if we don’t change course.”
Looking ahead, Smucker said: “I’m really hoping we’re on the cusp of really making some positive strides here to get this moving in the right direction.” He also reflected on his priorities as a legislator: “This is an issue that I spend a lot of time thinking about, trying to solve. And in fact, it’s my mission. If one day I leave Congress and I will have done something to help change the fiscal trajectory and put the country in a better spot as a result of that then I’d feel like job accomplished.”
Lloyd Smucker has served as U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania’s 11th District since replacing Joe Pitts in 2017 https://smucker.house.gov/about. Before joining Congress he served as State Senator from 2009 until 2016 https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S001199. Born in Lancaster County in 1964, Smucker continues residing there today.
Smucker currently serves as Vice Chairman of the House Budget Committee and is also senior member on House Ways and Means Committee.
