U.S. Senator Manchin wants a pause in Democrats' push for $3.5 trillion
spending bill
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[September 03, 2021]
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Joe Manchin
on Thursday urged fellow Democrats to pause in their push to enact a
$3.5 trillion spending bill encompassing much of President Joe Biden's
domestic agenda, casting doubt on whether and when they will be able to
advance the package.
"Instead of rushing to spend trillions on new government programs and
additional stimulus funding, Congress should hit a strategic pause on
the budget-reconciliation legislation," Manchin, a moderate West
Virginia lawmaker, wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.
Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate are currently
crafting legislation to fill in the details of a $3.5 trillion spending
outline that both chambers approved last month.
The package, which Democratic leaders hope to pass in the coming weeks
along with a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, would advance
progressives' ambitious plans to fight climate change and expand
childcare, healthcare and other social programs. But Democrats need to
keep the party unified to get both plans through.
"I for one, won't support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that
level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress
chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on
existing government programs," Manchin wrote in the Journal.
It was not the first time he has said the spending plan's price tag was
too high. He also did so shortly after voting to advance the $3.5
trillion budget blueprint last month, saying he was worried about the
"grave consequences" of such spending on the nation's debt as well as
the country's ability to respond to other potential crises.
Biden's Democrats have literally no votes to spare if
they are to push the spending legislation through Congress this autumn.
They are seeking to advance it in the 50-50 Senate through a special
budget reconciliation process that would allow it to pass with a simple
majority in the chamber, where legislation usually requires 60 votes to
advance. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tie-breaking
vote.
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Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Joe
Manchin (D-WV) speaks during a hearing on a budget request for the
Department of the Interior for 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington,
U.S., July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Democrats hold a razor-thin majority in the House as well, and with
no Republican support expected for the $3.5 trillion plan, Manchin's
opinion - or that of any single Democratic lawmaker - matters.
Another moderate Democrat, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, has also said she
will not support $3.5 trillion in spending.
Manchin's opinion piece appeared a day after he made similar
comments to the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Progressive
Democrats - many of whom have threatened not to back the $1 trillion
infrastructure plan if the $3.5 trillion spending package does not
pass the Senate - responded forcefully.
"Pause on finally delivering child care, paid leave, education,
health care, affordable housing, climate action, and dental, vision,
and hearing to millions of families across America? Absolutely not,"
Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus, wrote on Twitter.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by Eric Beech;
Editing by Peter Cooney)
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