West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin announced he will not support President Biden’s roughly $2 trillion plan, dubbed Build Back Better Act.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated on Monday that despite Manchin’s opposition to the package, he will still have it voted in the Senate, CBS News reports.
Schumer plans to move forward with the vote on a revised version of the package, that passed the House in November, in early 2022. According to CBS, he wrote to his fellow Senate Democrats in a letter stating that he “will ensure that every senator votes” and “has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television.”
Manchin, a Democrat whose support for the bill is vital in the evenly divided Senate, revealed his opposition to the package in an appearance on Fox News. His decision to oppose the bill deals a defeating blow to President Biden’s domestic policy agenda. The West Virginia senator withdrew his support for the idea due to concerns about inflation, the national debt, and the COVID-19 outbreak.
After Manchin revealed his opposition to the sweeping bill in its current form, the White House issued a blistering statement suggesting his comments to Fox News were a sharp departure from private discussions with President Biden, White House aides, and Manchin’s own public statements.
Manchin has been at the center of discussions on the $1.75 trillion proposal, which is a cornerstone of Biden’s domestic policy agenda and would, among other things, change the country’s paid leave, healthcare, and child-care systems. The deal contained $555 billion in funding to tackle climate change.
“Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word,” Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, said.
President Biden first presented a $3.5 trillion plan focusing on the environment and expanding social safety net programs. Due to Manchin’s opposition to the price tag, the White House was compelled to lower the plan to $1.75 trillion.
However, after weeks of negotiations between President Biden and Manchin over the package’s contents, talks broke down last week over an enhanced child tax credit slated to expire at the end of the year and included in the measure as an extension.
Following the addition, Senate Democrats have stated that they will focus on voting rights legislation, even though prior attempts to reform the country’s election laws have failed due to Republican opposition.
Nonetheless, when the Senate reconvenes in early January, Schumer stated that members will discuss voting rights legislation. He further threatened that if Republicans continue to filibuster the bill, the Senate will consider amending its rules.
