Senate's top Republican says he would support permitting state's to declare bankruptcy

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that legislators should assess whether to supply more federal funds to financially struggling states and localities, noting that he would be open to allowing states to declare bankruptcy.

"We all have governors regardless of party who would love to have free money," the Kentucky Republican said during an interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. "And that’s why I said yesterday we’re going to push the pause button here, because I think this whole business of additional assistance for state and local governments need to be thoroughly evaluated."

"There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations," he also said.

While Hewitt pointed out that there is not a bankruptcy option for states, McConnell said the he would support permitting states to declare bankruptcy.

"Yeah, I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route. It saves some cities. And there’s no good reason for it not to be available," he said.

Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said that he would not support the passage of another spending package until the Senate is back in session.

"You’ve seen the talk from both sides about acting, but my goal from the beginning of this, given the extraordinary numbers that we’re racking up to the national debt, is that we need to be as cautious as we can be,” said the Senate's top Republican,  according to Politico.

"The best way to get the economy back and running is to begin to open it up again, rather than passing immediately another bill where we have to borrow," he said.