Congress's phones still melting over debt ceiling

A spokeswoman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) said the phones in his Capitol Hill office were “ringing off the hook” at midmorning. Calls included a lot of “scared seniors,” the spokeswoman said, adding that Rohrabacher believes the administration has misled seniors into believing their Social Security checks are at risk.

The calls, mostly from outside the congressman’s district, favored the president’s position, “but not by much,” she said.

Calls and emails to Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) tended to support a compromise, spokeswoman Angela Sachitano said.

“The calls today were civil, along the same theme of compromise and ‘Let’s get something done, we’re frustrated,’ ” she said. West supports Boehner’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling in two steps, both tied to cuts in spending.