Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., reiterated Sunday that he opposed the Democrats‘ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package as the party pushes to pass …
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., reiterated Sunday that he opposed the Democrats‘ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package as the party pushes to pass it and a bipartisan infrastructure bill amid packed September negotiations. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., „will not have my vote on the 3.5,“ Manchin said during a Sunday interview with CNN’s „State of the Union.“ Manchin confirmed he is a „hard no“ on supporting the package during an interview with NBC News‘ „Meet the Press.“ While he declined to outline his upper limit for potential spending, the senator said, „it’s not going to be at three and a half, I can assure you“ told CNN. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called Manchin’s position unacceptable, arguing that many progressives and the White House had already compromised on provisions seen as priorities. „No, it’s absolutely not acceptable to me,“ Sanders said on CNN. „I don’t think it’s acceptable for the president, to the American people, with the overwhelming majority of the people in the Democratic caucus.“ Manchin explained his position by saying there was not a need to move so quickly. „The urgency — I can’t understand why we can’t take time to deliberate on this and work,“ Manchin told ABC News‘ „This Week.“ He called several of the policies in the package „social reform“ that didn’t merit the same immediate action as did the stimulus package Democrats passed the spring. „I’m just saying that we should be looking at everything, and we’re not.
