Does Manchin Play Ball?

lobotero

Jul 29

For a couple of years Manchin has been a thorn in the Dems butt.....he works for big coal and seldom will vote for anything that will hurt his masters pocketbook......

But times change (interesting thought but not change at all)......Manchin is playing ball with Dems on a bill......an expansive bill that covers drug prices, tax loopholes, etc.....

Sen. Joe Manchin reached agreement with Senate Democratic leaders to support President Biden's domestic spending plan, legislation addressing health care costs, climate change, and other priorities. The deal reverses Manchin's position of two weeks ago, when he said he couldn't commit to the bill before economic data is released next month, the New York Times reports. His statement Wednesday didn't specify which provisions he backs and which he doesn't, but it indicated general support for the climate and energy programs, as well as some tax proposals. Until now, Manchin has been the holdup on Democrats getting the president's economic package through Congress.

Manchin had cited inflation as the main reason he was holding up the plan. Saying "Build Back Better is dead," Manchin recast the legislation as the Inflation Reduction Act, contrasting it with last year's spending plan. This bill will "cut the inflation taxes Americans are paying, lower the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs, and ensure our country invests in the energy security and climate change solutions we need to remain a global superpower," he said. Manchin also agreed to measures to reduce health care costs, including allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of certain prescription drugs for seniors. Corporations and the very wealthiest would see tax loopholes closed, per the Hill.

Some Democrats feared the unpleasant intraparty fighting on the legislation, which has been going on for months, would damage their chances in the November midterm elections, per the Washington Post. Now that the West Virginia Democrat and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have settled, Democrats could get the bill moving as early as next week. Biden added his endorsement of the agreement on the $670 billion package in a statement Wednesday. "This is the action the American people have been waiting for," the president said.

Will Manchin stay true to his word?

Then there is the other Dem that is a thorn in the ass, Sinema......

Will she play ball or will she continue to be a stumbling block for progress?

Joe Manchin stunned DC Wednesday by announcing that he had reversed himself and would back Democrats' sweeping spending plan after all. The surprise deal the West Virginia senator struck with Sen. Chuck Schumer has provided Democrats with their "best news" in weeks, notes Politico, because it means the party should be able to push through President Biden's agenda on climate change and health care. "Should" is the operative word there, however. Because as Axios points out, it's still unclear whether Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema—who with Manchin has bucked her party on tax issues previously—will go along. Democrats cannot afford even one defection because all Republicans oppose the plan.

We do not have a comment, as she will need to review the text," a Sinema spokesperson says. On Thursday, Manchin confirmed to CNN that she was not part of the deal he struck with Schumer. "I have not spoken to her about this. ... I would hope that she would be receptive," he said, per a tweet from CNN's Manu Raju. The Wall Street Journal reports that Sinema did not attend a party caucus meeting on Thursday led by Schumer. One potential sticking point: Manchin agreed to close a tax loophole known as "carried interest," which concerns how investments are taxed, but Sinema has long opposed such a move, per Hot Air. In general, she has resisted any moves that would result in higher taxes.

Assuming Democrats can get Sinema on board and pass the legislation, it would represent a "massive victory" for them, per Axios. At the New York Times, David Leonhardt writes that the resulting climate legislation in particular would "probably have more lasting importance than anything else President Biden signs in his first two years in office." The Republican view on all this? The deal's 15% corporate minimum tax and increased spending are "reckless" in the current economic climate, says Sen. John Barrasso, per Reuters. And Sen. Joni Ernst called for more production of domestic oil and natural gas as a way to lower gasoline prices, rather than adding new tax incentives for electric vehicles, as Biden's climate plan does.