![]() As Bob Greenstein, a veteran budget expert, explained to me in August, the plan was “probably the most far-reaching in the area of social provision, in improving the lives of tens of millions of people, of any since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in the nineteen-sixties.” Just one of its original planks-making permanent the expanded child tax credit, which was introduced as part of February’s pandemic relief bill-would reduce child poverty by nearly half, according to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. But the grand ambitions of the Build Back Better plan are now shattered, and the country will be worse off for it. This seemed to leave open the possibility of the Senate passing a smaller bill, with a few fully funded programs, sometime in the New Year. finding and said that Democrats should pick their top priorities and fund them for a full ten years. (The White House, in fact, had always acknowledged that further offsets would be needed in future years.) On Sunday, Manchin cited the C.B.O. Manchin claimed vindication when the Congressional Budget Office, in response to Republican requests, released a letter earlier this month estimating that the programs in the bill, if they were continued for ten years, would raise the deficit by about $3 trillion without further revenue offsets. On November 19th, the House passed a $2.2-trillion version of Biden’s plan, but Manchin continued to withhold his support and dismissed many of its cost reductions as gimmicks. In October, at Biden’s instigation, this figure was reduced to $1.75 trillion by cutting some programs and limiting the duration of others. At the time, Democratic leaders were working on a $3.5-trillion package. During his interview with Baier, Manchin claimed that he had told Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, this summer that he wouldn’t support a spending bill bigger than $1.5 trillion over ten years. The fact is, however, that the Build Back Better legislation has always been hostage to Manchin’s de-facto veto power in an evenly divided Senate. Later on Sunday, Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, issued a lengthy statement, in which she said that Manchin’s comments on Fox “represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.” Psaki added, “Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word.”Įxchanges of this nature are catnip to the White House press corps and will likely dominate coverage for days. According to Politico, his office informed the White House about his appearance on “Fox News Sunday” less than thirty minutes before it took place, and Manchin himself then refused to take a call from an aide to the President. ![]() ![]() On Thursday, after Biden spoke with Manchin by phone, the President issued a statement that said, “I believe that we will bridge our differences and advance the Build Back Better plan.” The White House also said that discussions with Manchin would continue this week. ![]() ![]() The White House expressed shock and outrage at Manchin’s declaration, which he attributed to concerns about rising inflation, the national debt, and the need to fight COVID. After the show, the Democrat from West Virginia put out a statement confirming his position. “This is a no on this legislation,” Manchin replied. I can’t get there.” Bret Baier, the Fox News anchor, asked Manchin if this was a definitive no. I just can’t,” Manchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’ve tried everything humanly possible. On Sunday, Senator Joe Manchin appeared to kill it.“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which would provide universal pre-K, expand health-care access, and supply generous tax incentives for green energy, has been in serious peril for weeks. ![]()
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