Manchin Says He Won T Support Climate And Tax Provisions In Sweeping Democrats Bill

Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and his staff told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D, N.Y., unequivocally Thursday that he is willing to support a reconciliation bill in August that includes a provision for lower prescription drug prices and A two-year extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, according to a Democrat briefed on the talks. Manchin has been clear that he won’t support a bill before the midterms with any provisions on energy and climate or closing tax loopholes exploited by the rich and big corporations, despite his support for those specific things over the course of months negotiations.
Democrats had hoped to pass a sweeping package to the public during the midterms. Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., questions HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Services on the FY2023 Funding Request and budget justification for the Department of Health and Human Services, at the Dirksen Building on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Schumer and Manchin have been negotiating the package for months, and the moderate West Virginia lawmaker previously said he would be amenable to climate language and tax increases for higher-income bills in a bill about half the size of the social and environmental Manchin’s $2 trillion bill alone. he was killed last December. WAPO JOURNALIST: BIDEN’S CLIMATE BILL DELAY COULD HAVE ‘DEADLY, PERMANENT AND GLOBAL’ IMPACTS, MANCHESTER SAYS Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, flanked by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), speaks to the media after the weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC (Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images) “Political headlines mean nothing to the millions of Americans struggling to afford food and gas as inflation soars to 9.1 percent,” Manchin spokesman Sam Runyon said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday. “Senator Manchin believes it is time for leaders to put aside political agendas, reassess and adapt to the economic realities facing the country to avoid taking actions that add fuel to the fire of inflation.” JOURNALIST’S DAILY: BETTER FIGHT BUDGET PERFORMANCE IS BACK, THIS TIME WITHIN MORE INFLATION Manchin’s demands mean Democrats could likely produce only a much smaller bill that dashes the hopes of many in the party to use it to fund clean energy incentives that could begin to help curb global warming. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks at a news conference outside his office on Capitol Hill on October 6, 2021 in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Democrats previously stripped other provisions, such as paid family leave, amid negotiations with Manchin. His vote is imperative for Democrats to be able to use the party-line bill’s budget reconciliation process, a process that requires only a majority, not the 60-vote threshold. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Democrats have a slim 50-50 majority in the Senate (including 2 Independents who caucus with Democrats) and Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jason Donner is a Capitol Hill producer at Fox News based in Washington, DC Follow him on Twitter: @jason_donner