Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist playing a pivotal role in developing the Biden administration’s economic agenda, said on Monday he plans to provide “clarity” on where he stands with a new accord on a $1.75 trillion social welfare package that party lawmakers say they reached last week.
The West Virginia Democrat told CNN he plans to offer a statement on his position regarding the measure, which will require his support if it has any chance of passing Congress.
“I think I will clear up a lot of things sometime today,” Manchin said. “I think there needs to be clarity on where everybody stands.”
Manchin has been one of two Senate Democratic holdouts on the spending deal, which has stalled for weeks and has blocked the passage of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that makes up the second half of President Joe Biden’s economic plan.
Manchin and centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona refused to back the initial social welfare spending plan authored by Democrats because they said the $3.5 trillion price tag was far too high and the plan to raise taxes would threaten jobs and the economy.
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Manchin and Sinema separately oppose certain policy provisions in the bill, including language aimed at eliminating fossil fuels and allowing the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices.
The latest version not only lowers the cost to $1.75 trillion, but it also curbs the green energy language and eliminates the Medicare negotiating provision.
It’s not clear what provisions Manchin might oppose in the bill.
Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with Manchin and Sinema, who they complain are blocking the party from passing transformative legislation that would provide a new array of government programs and subsidies.
The plan so far includes free universal preschool, a one-year extension of a child tax credit, healthcare subsidies, and more, but Democrats had to drop paid family and medical leave, free community college, and more stringent green energy rules.
