US Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is considered key to the approval of the social and environmental investment package proposed by the government of Joe Biden, said on Sunday (19) that he will not support the bill, valued at $1. 85 trillion (BRL 10.30 trillion).
“I did everything that was humanly possible,” said Manchin of West Virginia, speaking to US broadcaster Fox News about efforts to get down to the size of the package. “I can’t vote to go through with this. I just can’t.”
Along with fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, Manchin has been an obstacle to the dubbed BBB (Build Back Better) plan, a main part of Biden’s agenda to increase public spending and thus generate jobs, lower the cost of living and make the USA more competitive.
The package was approved by the US House in November, 220 votes in favor and 213 against — the Republicans, by weight, rejected it.
Now, the Senate must approve the content, and Manchin’s vote is considered decisive because the Democratic majority in the House is narrow: 50% of the senators plus the tiebreaker of Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the sessions. If a single party member were to object, the package’s progress would be halted.
Biden said last week, after talking to Manchin, that the senator had declared his support for BBB funding and promised to pressure the legislature to finalize the deal in the coming weeks. Manchin did not deny the content of the conversation, but he uttered opinions quite different from those presented by the American president.
He told Fox News that with rising inflation — the highest in 31 years — the national debt, “geopolitical unrest” and the Covid pandemic, the bill supported by his fellow Democrats would be harmful to the country.
“When you have these things coming to you the way they are now… I can’t vote to continue with this project,” he said. “This is a no. I’ve tried everything I know how to do,” he added.
While talks with Manchin have proved fruitless, Biden’s advisers have expressed confidence over the past few days that the package will pass. Many Democrats consider the BBB essential to the party’s chances of retaining control of Congress in next year’s elections.
The Senate this week began its year-end recess without completing work on the vast package, vowing to continue the review once lawmakers meet again in early January.
Among other things, the BBB would raise taxes on high-income Americans and lead companies to fund programs to mitigate the climate emergency, increase health subsidies and provide free day care for children.
Biden argued that reducing these costs is essential at a time of rising inflation and as the economy recovers from the consequences of the health crisis, which has seen a spike in the US in recent days. Republicans say the proposed legislation would fuel inflation and hurt the economy.
Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Budget Committee, criticized Manchin for withdrawing his support for the package. “I think he will have a lot to explain to the people of West Virginia,” he said in an interview with CNN.
Sanders is among those pushing the Democratic Party so that the party only submits the bill to the House floor when it is certain that both Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema will support it.
Entenda o BBB (Build Back Better)
Status: approved by the Chamber; awaits analysis by the Senate
Proposal foresees:
- $555 billion to combat climate change, such as incentives for less polluting energy sources and funds for reforestation
- $400 billion to universalize access to school for children aged three and four; the measure should serve more than 6 million children and guarantee resources for the first six years of the program
- $200 billion in rebate or tax credits for families with children; valid for one year
- $165 billion to reduce health care spending and expand access to free, low-cost plans (Medicaid and Medicare)
- $150 billion to expand access to care for the elderly
- $150 billion to expand access to affordable housing
- $100 billion for immigration services, to be used to speed up the analysis of visas and asylum applications, among other measures
- $40 billion for worker training and higher education grants
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