Local lawmakers fear impact of debt limit crisis

Politicians from Seattle, King County, and the state of Washington are sounding an alarm that the ongoing debt crisis in Washington, D.C. could seriously impact local economies and could even send the nation back into recession.

King County was among several jurisdictions that received a letter from Moody’s Investor Services saying a review of its top credit rating is possible if the federal government doesn’t raise the debt ceiling.

County Executive Dow Constantine believes the county would survive any review without a downgrade.

“Clearly even just having our credit put on watch casts a cloud over our ability to borrow at the lowest rates and that’s our first concern,” said Constantine.

State Treasurer Jim McIntire says a lowered credit rating could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars and take years to restore. He delivered a message to Congress, saying “stop playing Russian roulette with our bond ratings, with our default, with our jobs, with our economy.”

McIntire calls default a huge risk, adding “it is highly irresponsible.”

The state treasurer says a continuing standoff could hurt the state’s credit rating and increase the cost of borrowing money as it’s preparing to finance big projects such as the 520 floating bridge.