Democrats ‘Not Giving Up’ on Biden Bill, Talks With Manchin

December 22, 2021by Lisa Mascaro and Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press
Democrats ‘Not Giving Up’ on Biden Bill, Talks With Manchin
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a centrist Democrat vital to the fate of President Joe Biden's $3.5 government overhaul, updates reporters about his position on the bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden appears determined to return to the negotiating table with Sen. Joe Manchin, the holdout Democrat who effectively tanked the party’s signature $2 trillion domestic policy initiative with his own jarring year-end announcement.

Biden, responding to reporters’ questions Tuesday at the White House, joked that he holds no grudges against the conservative West Virginia senator whose rejection of the social services and climate change bill stunned Washington just days ago.

Instead, the president spoke passionately about the families that would benefit from the Democrats’ ambitious, if now highly uncertain, plan to pour billions of dollars into child care, health care and other services.

“Sen. Manchin and I are going to get something done,” Biden said.

The president’s off-the-cuff remarks constitute his first public statement as Democrats struggle to pick up the pieces from Manchin’s announcement over the weekend that he would not support the bill, as is. Manchin essentially crushed Biden’s sweeping policy measure in the 50-50 Senate, siding with all Republicans who oppose the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also struck a determined tone later Tuesday, telling Senate Democrats on 90-minute video call to expect a vote in January on the package as they push toward a deal.

Schumer acknowledged the frustration among Democrats but he told senators the party was “not giving up” on the proposal, according to a Democrat on the private call who provided details on the condition of anonymity.

But the Democrats face serious questions over whether the $2 trillion initiative can be refashioned to win his crucial vote or the party will be saddled with a devastating defeat.

Manchin and his party are so far apart, his relationships so bruised after months of failed talks, it’s unclear how they even get back to the negotiating table, let alone revive the sprawling more than 2,100-page social services and climate change bill.

Biden spoke forcefully of the economic pressures that strip away the “dignity of a parent” trying to pay the bills, and the assistance millions could receive from the federal government with the legislation. He also said his package would help ease inflationary pressures and pointed to analyses suggesting it would boost the economy.

“I want to get things done,” Biden said. “I still think there’s a possibility of getting Build Back Better done.”

The setback has thrown Biden’s signature legislative effort into deep doubt at a critical time, closing out the end of the president’s first year and ahead of congressional midterm elections when the Democrats’ slim hold on Congress is at risk.

Coupled with solid Republican opposition, Manchin’s vote is vital on this and other initiatives, including the Democrats’ priority voting rights legislation that Schumer also said would come to an early vote.

On Tuesday, Schumer said that if Republicans continued to block voting rights legislation in January, the Senate would bring forward proposals for changing the Senate rules, the Democrat on the call said. That’s a nod to long-running efforts to adjust or end the filibuster, which typically requires 60-vote threshold for measures to advance.

While Manchin has said he cannot explain the bill to constituents in West Virginia, a union representing coal miners, including some of the nearly 12,000 from his home state, put out a statement urging the lawmaker to “revisit his opposition” to the package.

Cecil Roberts, the president of the United Mine Workers of America, outlined the ways the package would benefit union members, including those in West Virginia, which is the most coal-dependent state in the country.

Some of those provisions include language that would extend the current fee paid by coal companies to fund benefits received by victims of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or black lung. The bill would also provide tax incentives to encourage manufacturers to build facilities in the coalfields, potentially employing miners who have lost their jobs, according to the union.

The next steps remain highly uncertain for the president and his party, with Congress on recess for the holiday break.

The White House appeared to take interest in Manchin’s preference for a reimagined bill that would tackle a few top priorities, for longer duration, rather than the multifaceted and far-reaching House-passed version.

But it will be extraordinarily difficult for progressive and centrist Democrats to rebuild trust to launch a fresh round of negotiations having devoted much of Biden’s first year in office to what is now essentially a collapsed effort.

The sweeping package was among the biggest of its kind ever considered in Congress, unleashing billions of dollars to help American families nationwide — nearly all paid for with higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

For families with children, it would provide free pre-school and child care aid. There are subsidies for health insurance premiums, lower prescription drug costs and expanded Medicaid access in states that do not yet provide it. The bill would start a new hearing aid program for seniors. And it includes more than $500 billion to curb carbon emissions, a figure considered the largest federal expenditure ever to combat climate change.

A potential new deadline for Biden and his party comes with the expiration of an expanded child tax credit that has been sending up to $300 monthly directly to millions of families’ bank accounts. If Congress fails to act, the money won’t arrive in January.

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Colleen Long contributed to this report.

A+
a-
  • Build Back Better
  • Congress
  • Joe Biden
  • Joe Manchin
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Congress

    Ex-US Rep. George Santos Faces Sentencing for Fraud After Duping Donors and Voters

    CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who lied about his life story and defrauded donors, faces... Read More

    CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who lied about his life story and defrauded donors, faces sentencing in federal court on Friday. The New York Republican, who served in Congress for barely a year before being ousted in 2023 by his House... Read More

    April 22, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Senate Bills Seek to Block Offshore Drilling Off East and West Coasts

    WASHINGTON — A pair of bills introduced in the Senate aim to permanently block oil and gas drilling in the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A pair of bills introduced in the Senate aim to permanently block oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The combo package of legislations includes the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and the Clean Ocean... Read More

    April 18, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Democrats in Congress Demand Retraction of Trump’s Order on Smithsonian Museums

    WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats asked in a letter Thursday that the Trump administration abandon the president’s order that would... Read More

    WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats asked in a letter Thursday that the Trump administration abandon the president’s order that would rewrite the way the Smithsonian Institution portrays American history. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March telling the Smithsonian Institution to eliminate the negative... Read More

    April 10, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Stefanik Resumes GOP House Leadership Role

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is back in House leadership, a month after President Donald Trump withdrew her nomination... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is back in House leadership, a month after President Donald Trump withdrew her nomination to be his United Nations ambassador due to concerns over the Republicans’ narrow margin in the chamber. On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appointed Stefanik... Read More

    April 10, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Speaker Johnson Victorious After Conservative Revolt on Budget Resolution

    WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was able to quell a rebellion by several of his conservative conference members... Read More

    WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was able to quell a rebellion by several of his conservative conference members and pass a budget resolution that will fund several key parts of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. The revolt by nearly a dozen members of the... Read More

    April 10, 2025
    by Beth McCue
    California Lawmakers Lead Push to Preserve Hydrogen Hub Funding

    WASHINGTON — California’s Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, along with Reps. George Whitesides and Mike Levin, led a... Read More

    WASHINGTON — California’s Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, along with Reps. George Whitesides and Mike Levin, led a bipartisan, bicameral delegation of 45 lawmakers in a letter asking the Department of Energy to preserve funding for hydrogen production hubs. The delegation specifically targeted California’s... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top