(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin threw a wrench in President Joe Biden’s plans over the weekend when he announced he would not be able to support the White House’s Build Back Better Act in its current form.
Manchin, a moderate Democrat, has long voiced concerns with the overall size of the massive social spending bill, as well as some of the progressive policies contained within.
Despite Manchin’s stated opposition to the bill, the White House still believes it can convince him to change his mind — or at least come up with a compromise that would work for everyone.
According to sources who spoke with Politico this week, Biden administration officials plan to reignite talks with Manchin in the new year regarding the BBB bill. As the source said:
“The conversation ended with a sense that negotiations would, in fact, resume around the Build Back Better Act in some form in the new year. The tone of conversation was cordial, and it was agreed that they would speak again on legislative priorities.”
Even though the weekend’s announcement by Manchin was cause for concern for many Democrats, it also appears that there’s a path for the BBB bill to still be passed. A report from The Washington Post, for example said that:
“[Manchin] made the White House a concrete counteroffer for its spending bill, saying he would accept a $1.8 trillion package that included universal prekindergarten for 10 years, an expansion of Obamacare and hundreds of billions of dollars to combat climate change, three people familiar with the matter said.”
That being said, Politico’s report detailed that following talks with aides at the White House on Sunday, the West Virginia senator indicated he wouldn’t negotiate any more. The report said:
“The West Wing interpreted that as meaning that current talks were done but could pick up again next year.”
There’s certainly going to be a lot of pressure on Manchin from inside the Democratic Party to change his mind, or to at least make some compromises. It also appears that there’s going to be pressure from outside of Democratic lawmakers, too.
On Monday, Cecil Roberts, the president of the United Mine Workers of America International, urged Manchin to reconsider saying no to the BBB bill. Roberts has long been seen as one of Manchin’s biggest allies.
Roberts cited projects in the BBB bill such as tax incentives to convince manufacturers to create new factories to hire ex-miners, protection for union workers and funding to help victims who suffer from black lung disease as reasons the bill should be passed.
Roberts explained:
“For those and other reasons, we are disappointed that the bill will not pass. We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working, and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families and their communities.”
