Manchin said he won’t pass Biden’s next legislative proposal using reconciliation if Republicans aren’t included
Senator Joe Manchin, a democrat, has pledged to block Biden’s infrastructure bill if it does not gain any support from any Republicans.
In an interview with Axios that aired Sunday, Manchin said he’ll insure GOP lawmakers have more of a voice on Biden’s next package. The previous package they did notwas the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that Democrats are passing via budget reconciliation, which requires only a simple majority.
“I’m not going to do it through reconciliation,” Manchin, D-W.Va., said. “I am not going to get on a bill that cuts them out completely before we start.”
Manchin, one of the most powerful members of the 50-50 Senate, said he believed that it would be possible to get 10 Republicans to support an infrastructure bill and reach the 60-vote threshold needed to avoid a filibuster: “I sure do.”
President Biden is said to be laying the foundation down for another major economic relief package, with senior Democratic officials proposing as much as $3 trillion in new spending on a jobs and infrastructure bill that would become the foundation of Biden’s “Build Back Better” program, according to The Washington Post, citing three people familiar with the matter.
It’s uncertain what the measure would entail, but on the campaign trail, Biden emphasized the need for new infrastructure investments and measures to combat climate change, as well as ways to restore the manufacturing industry and revamp housing, education and health care.
The White House has refused to comment on what the next big legislative priority is.
The infrastructure proposal is sure to get a lot of criticism from Republicans, and possibly some moderate Democrats, who are worried about the excessive level of government spending.
The legislation would be in addition to the $1.9 trillion relief plan that congressional Democrats are set to pass by mid-March, as well as the nearly $4 trillion in stimulus measures under former President Donald Trump.
The nation’s deficit totaled a record $3.1 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year, and the national debt is on course to hit $28 trillion.
Manchin said the infrastructure bill can be big, as long as it’s paid for with tax increases, including raising the corporate tax rate to 25% from 21% “at least” and repealing portions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans.
He said he would start by demanding that the package be 100% paid for. Otherwise, he said, the nation’s soaring debt could trigger “a tremendous deep recession that could lead into a depression if we’re not careful.”