Biden tells Dems to pass pared-down economic bill
President Joe Biden seemed to bow Friday to Sen. Joe Manchin's demand for a slimmed-down economic package, telling Democrats to quickly push the election-year measure through Congress so families could “sleep easier” and enjoy the health care savings it proposes.
Biden's statement came hours after Manchin, the West Virginian who is one of Congress' more conservative Democrats, said that if party leaders wanted to pass a measure before next month's recess, it should be limited to provisions curbing prescription drug prices, extending subsidies for people buying health insurance and reducing the federal deficit.
Even so, Biden's directive would mean postponing congressional action on easing climate change and raising taxes on higher earners and large companies, components he and Democrats have long wanted in the economic package. That would represent a jarring setback for goals that rank among the party's most deeply held aspirations and would delay a risky showdown over the plan until the cusp of November's elections.
The president's remarks underscored a growing sentiment among Democrats that after months of bargaining with Manchin that only made the president's top-tier domestic priority ever smaller, it was time to declare victory. Reducing pharmaceutical costs, helping consumers purchase health coverage and trimming federal red ink are Democratic priorities and passage would let them flash achievements before voters that Republicans are on track to solidly oppose.
“Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action. The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk so I can sign it,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
He thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has spent months negotiating with Manchin, for “his dogged and determined effort to produce the strongest possible bill” and “even offering significant compromises to try to reach an agreement.”
That seemed like an unspoken dig at Manchin, whom Biden's statement did not mention and who in December sunk a much broader, $2 trillion, 10year version of the package. Though its final size and scope remained unclear, a slimmed-down measure contoured to Manchin's demands could cost around $288 billion, according to early estimates, a fraction of what Biden has wanted.
In a sign of movement, Democrats planned to begin vetting the prescription drug language next week with the Senate parliamentarian, said a Democratic aide, to make sure there are no provisions that violate the chamber's rules and must be dropped. The aide was not authorized to discuss the plans publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.