As Democrats seek to back their congressional majorities this fall amid voter concerns over inflation, the bill’s title is seemingly designed to address these worries.
Manchin, a centrist Democrat who is recovering from COVID-19, said late last year he would not support the $2.4 trillion social welfare and green energy bill, arguing its price tag was too high. Manchin’s position hindered his Democratic colleagues, who had already cut the bill from a more expensive version to discuss with him, and sparked the wrath of liberals who believed the bill should have been bigger. Without his help, Democrats were left unable to pass the legislation in the Senate, where they could have otherwise passed the bill using a process called budget reconciliation, which would allow them to do so with only 51 votes.
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The Senate is currently split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tiebreaker.
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“Over the last year, leaders in Washington have ignored repeated warnings about the severe threat of inflation and the consequences of unprecedented domestic spending,” Manchin argued in a lengthy statement.
“Despite these concerns and my calls to give the country time to fully realize the impacts of such historic levels of spending and our inflation crisis, many Democrats have continued to push for trillions more in spending to meet a political deadline,” he said. “As difficult as it is for some to hear, political calls to action that ignore the severity of the crises we face and will continue to face are a recipe for national disaster.”
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The purpose of a reconciliation bill, Manchin said, should be “to get our economic and financial house in order.”
“Contrary to foolish talk otherwise, America cannot spend its way out of debt or out of inflation,” Manchin said. “With respect to my position, I have never and will never walk away from solving the problems facing the nation we all love. I strongly support the passage of commonsense policies that reduce inflation and focus on the major challenges confronting America today and in the future.”
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Manchin said he sought input from colleagues on both sides of the aisle on “a path forward that removes inflationary policies so that Congress can respond to Americans’ suffering from high prices.”