Pause spending plan, Senate Democrat says
WASHINGTON — A defining element of President Biden’s economic agenda appeared to be in new political jeopardy on Thursday, after Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., one of the chamber’s most pivotal swing votes, said the Senate needed to take a “strategic pause” on advancing its $3.5 trillion tax-andspending package.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Manchin raised alarms that the price tag is too high, the effects on the federal debt might be too great and the risks of inflation could create financial harms for Americans. He called on his fellow Democrats to slim down their spending ambitions — and slow down their plans to adopt the measure as soon as this month.
“While some have suggested this reconciliation legislation must be passed now, I believe that making budgetary decisions under artificial political deadlines never leads to good policy or sound decisions,” Manchin wrote.
Manchin’s comments immediately created headaches for Democrats, just as party lawmakers began work this week to craft what they hope to be a significant overhaul of the country’s education, health care and tax laws. If he ultimately withholds his vote, Democrats would not be able to proceed in the chamber since all 50 Republicans have vowed to oppose the bill.
Manchin’s op-ed came a day after he delivered a similar warning shot Wednesday at an event hosted by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The senator cited the uncertainty created by the combination of the coronavirus, the tumultuous withdrawal in Afghanistan and the economic threat posed by inflation, as he made the case for his colleagues to “step back” and “see what happens.”
“Everything has changed,” Manchin said, adding the spending envisioned by Democrats in the package is “not anything we need immediately.”
Manchin also sounded strong opposition against the package’s potential $3.5 trillion price tag. He recounted a story in which he told Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chief architect of Democrats’ budget, that he is a “hell no” on voting for a bill at that size.
Manchin’s office on Thursday did not respond to questions about his exact strategy, including whether he would vote against the package if Senate Democrats try to advance it this month.
For Democrats, Manchin’s fresh calls for delay still evinced the broader political conundrum they face in advancing a centerpiece of Biden’s economic vision. With only a narrow majority in both the House and Senate, the party has little room to spare — and significant schisms still to overcome — to transform that proposal into law.
To advance the package, Democrats plan to rely on a maneuver known as reconciliation. In the Senate, it allows party lawmakers to adopt spending legislation using only 51 votes, rather than the typical 60. That prevents Republicans from filibustering the bill, which they have described as wasteful, but only if skeptical lawmakers like Manchin are on board.
Democrats have articulated an ambitious time frame for moving their reconciliation package, aiming to craft legislation by mid-month and adopt it potentially before the end of September. The aggressive schedule is partly the result of the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has agreed to hold a vote on another element of Biden’s economic agenda — a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan — by September 27. Moderates demanded the vote in exchange for allowing the chamber to begin debate on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, adding to what is already a jampacked congressional calendar in the weeks ahead.