Senate Democrats and the White House appear to have shelved plans to reformulate a massive social welfare and green energy spending agenda that stalled late last year.
“There are no organized conversations going on,” Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, told reporters Tuesday.
Manchin is among a small group of key players who are instrumental in rewriting Build Back Better, which stalled in December after Manchin announced he would not vote for it, citing the high cost and concerns about inflation, among other criticisms.
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But despite pledges by President Joe Biden to salvage the measure by reviving talks with Manchin and other Democrats to come up with a plan that can win 51 votes in the Senate, not much is happening.
Manchin told reporters he couldn’t remember the last time he’s spoken to the president.
“I talk to him from time to time,” Manchin said.
The Senate is now focused on several big agenda items and has no immediate plans to revisit Build Back Better.
In fact, Manchin reminded reporters he wants to start over completely and that the original $1.85 trillion measure that passed the House last year is “gone.”
Anything that replaces it, he said, must reflect the current state of the pandemic, inflation, and other factors that have continued to change.
“Everything is different than it was before,” Manchin said.
Democratic leaders in the Senate are focused on other agenda items.
Congress must pass a new government funding bill by the middle of February to avert a shutdown, and lawmakers are eager to approve a sanctions bill meant to deter a threatening Russia from invading Ukraine.
Democrats are also preparing to consider Biden’s pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. The confirmation process takes weeks in the Senate, and Biden said he plans to announce a nominee by the end of February.
Manchin told reporters he’s “anxious” to confirm Breyer’s replacement and called the pending government spending bill “the highest priority we have right now.”
Manchin said that in order to fund a new version of Build Back Better, the Senate would first have to agree to rewrite the tax code.
The money saved by altering the tax code would be used to pay for the new programs in the revived spending bill.
“You can’t do a thing unless you have a tax code change,” Manchin said, adding that the spending legislation would also have to tackle the high price of prescription drugs.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has been working on a proposal that includes elements of the original Build Back Better legislation that he believes Manchin would support, including expanded healthcare benefits and universal preschool.
But Manchin refused to discuss anything he might support when reporters asked him about those programs on Tuesday.
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“You’re trying to go somewhere I’m not going,” Manchin said. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters the Senate hasn’t abandoned Biden’s signature economic proposal.
“We’re continuing to have discussions, and we will be moving forward on Build Back Better,” the New York Democrat said. “You will see how we do that as we move forward.”
