Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) has said he wants Democrats to pause on the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. NPR. Manchin criticized his own party saying the bill was short sighted and hypocritical with the bill. Manchin said the massive spending would cause issues saying the supply of money is not unlimited. He also cited major inflation and the unpredictable nature of the Coronavirus pandemic as reasons to hold off on spending. Manchin is also not a fan of the reconciliation process, which only requires 50 votes to pass legislation, saying he was opposed to it when the Republicans used it to pass tax cuts and opposes it now. The Democrats claim the bill is necessary and will be paid for by new taxes. With Manchin out (and Krystin Sinema iffy) Democrats would need Republican support to pass their bill.
Joe Manchin made the comments in a commentary in Wall Street Journal (Paywalled).
My Comment:
Joe Manchin is right. This is hardly the time to add to the deficit. Inflation is utterly destroying any wage increases we got under President Trump and is making everything worse. It is starting to effect the economy with people unwilling to buy products and keeping their money close.
Of course he doesn't mention that the "infrastructure bill" has very little to do with infrastructure. It's really a laundry list of things that Democrats want, like climate change nonsense, fair housing and childcare, none of which would actually help our crumbling infrastructure.
With Manchin not on board I don't think this bill has much of a chance of passing. I doubt any Republican worth his or her salt will risk being primaried to pass this bill. I could see a few defections for a smaller bill but with this $3.5 trillion monstrosity? I think it's done.
I have long said that in a Presidents first term with control of both the House and Senate, the party in charge has time for only one piece of signature legislation. For Barack Obama it was Obamacare. For President Trump it was the tax cuts. For Biden it was the Coronavirus relief package. I don't see him or his party accomplishing much else.
Joe Manchin is, of course, being attacked by his own party for this. They are not happen as they realize they have run out of time. With Biden now being all but a lame duck President and his popularity cratering they know that they blew their chances here. This means that someone is going to be scapegoated and that person is Joe Manchin.
Of course this is one of the reasons that Manchin is still in the Senate. West Virginia is far from a blue state and they only vote for Manchin because he is more moderate. He's representing his constituents here and I have to admire his bravery. I probably still wouldn't vote for him if I was in his state but if he got reelected I wouldn't be too upset.
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