“Are we still going to be competitive? Can we compete in a global market?” the Democratic senator asked.
Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, questioned the high $3.5 trillion proposed price tag of President Joe Biden ‘s and Democratic leaders’ “human infrastructure” proposal, doubling down on his concerns with the budget reconciliation legislation. Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rolled out the $3.5 trillion proposal in mid-July. The bill is part of the White House’s two-track strategy, with a smaller roughly $1 trillion bipartisan traditional infrastructure bill moving forward in the Senate. Republican lawmakers balked at the “care economy” proposals Biden wanted to include, leading Democrats to put forward a separate and larger budget reconciliation package in hopes of passing it without any GOP support. Moderate Democrats, such as Manchin, have expressed concerns about the larger package. Meanwhile, progressive Democrats have pushed back against any substantial compromises. The West Virginia lawmaker reiterated his qualms about the reconciliation package during a Sunday interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation.
