A Democrat with some Sense?

Joe Manchin Demands Clarity On Biden Agenda Bill, Potentially Imperiling Multitrillion-Dollar Package

"Manchin said that he wouldn’t support the Build back Better Act if it increased social programs significantly and added to the nation’s $29 trillion national debt. The senator stated that he wouldn’t support the bill if it hurt American families suffering from historical inflation.

The cost of the package has been whittled down from its original $3.5 trillion price tag to $1.75 trillion over a decade. Despite the drop in cost, it is opposed by Republicans, so Democrats are trying to enact the plan through a budgetary process called reconciliation, which would allow it to clear the Senate solely with Democratic support.

Manchin warned Democrats that Biden’s spending packages would be rejected and that his vote in opposition to the bill would cause it to be blocked in Congress’s upper chamber, as Democrats have only a 50-50 majority of the Senate. He said he would vote for any spending package that moves America forward but would reject anything that hurts the country more."

Read more...