Manchin told Schumer he would not support a bill this month with energy or climate provisions, nor would he consider raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, representing a huge blow to President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda ahead of of the November midterm. The change in tone of the latest negotiations was abrupt. Manchin had supported those provisions throughout negotiations with the majority leader, both at the staff and membership levels, one of the sources said. “I’m not going to plead my frustration here, especially since almost all of the climate and energy issues have been resolved,” said Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, whose committee had jurisdiction over the tax credits for clean energy and corporate tax provisions. he said in a statement. “This is our last chance to prevent the most devastating – and costly – effects of climate change. We cannot go back in another decade and prevent hundreds of billions – if not trillions – in economic damage and reverse the inevitable human death. ” added the Oregon Democrat. Similarly, climate advocates, many of whom expected to see the text of the climate and energy bill soon, reacted Thursday night with shock and outrage. “This is nothing short of a death sentence,” Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the youth climate group Sunrise Movement, said in a statement. “It’s clear that appealing to corporate obstructionists isn’t working and will cost us a generation of voters.” “There are really no words for how horrified, outraged and disappointed we are,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters. Manchin’s office pointed to rising inflation. “Political headlines mean nothing to the millions of Americans struggling to afford food and gas as inflation soars to 9.1 percent,” said Manchin spokeswoman Sam Runyon. “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.” Data released Wednesday showed inflation surged to a new pandemic-era peak in June, with U.S. consumer prices rising 9.1 percent year-on-year — the highest level in more than 40 years. But Evergreen Action co-founder Jamal Raad told CNN that Manchin’s argument for not spending more to avoid worsening inflation missed the mark when it came to energy and climate. “He’s not even dealing with solving inflation because the main driver of inflation has been natural gas prices and he’s decided we need to invest more in fossil fuels,” Raad said. Manchin is open to allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years, according to the source, who suggests only Democrats are likely to get the package he wants. they hope to move to a process that requires only Democratic votes. Democrats are now pushing to extend ACA subsidies before the August recess to avoid big rate hikes that will be announced just before the November midterm elections. The subsidies were expanded as part of the Democrats’ American Rescue Act and made coverage on the Obamacare exchanges more affordable, leading to record enrollment this year. If allowed to expire at the end of the year, nearly all 13 million subsidized enrollees would see their premiums rise for 2023, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. More than 3 million people could become uninsured, according to an Urban Institute analysis. Democrats hope to avoid the negative publicity of such premium increases. If Congress doesn’t act, consumers will find out in the fall how much more they could be paying. Open enrollment begins on November 1, one week before Election Day. This story has been updated with additional information. Tami Luhby contributed to this report.
