Senator Joe Manchin confirmed he will vote no on Biden’s Build Back Better plan. His “no” is the final nail in the coffin for the massive spending package. The Democrats hoped they would be able to pass the package before the new year using the reconciliation process.
Manchin said that he “tried everything” he could to get to a place where he would feel comfortable voting for the legislation. He noted he had reservations from the beginning, and he still has concerns.
The voters in his state of West Virginia are feeling the effects of the steep rise in inflation. He acknowledged that his constituents are struggling to put gas in their cars to get to work, struggling to pay higher grocery bills and deal with higher utility bills.
Manchin added:
“You have the debt that we are carrying at $29 trillion, you have also the geopolitical unrest that we have. You have the COVID, the COVID variant, and that is wreaking havoc again, people are concerned.”
He continued:
“With my family, I know everyone is concerned, so when you have these things coming at you the way they are right now, I’ve always said this: if I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it, and I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible, I can’t get there.”
Manchin feels like the government should direct their attention to the Covid variants and the rising inflation. He also noted that he’d spent the last five months trying to make this bill work while expressing his concerns.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to revive the bill and push it forward after the New Year. Jen Psaki said the developments were disappointing, but “she is hopeful” to “soon reach an agreement so that this vital legislation can pass as soon as possible next year.”
On Sunday, Pelosi said there was party agreement with the framework for the plan, including “the most critical provisions.” These include The Child Tax Credit, expanding home health, and strengthening the Affordable Care Act.
Byron Donalds, a Republican congressman, shared, “I think this is actually great news for the country. It was a bad bill. Everybody knows it’s a bad bill, especially where our economy is.”
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