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On ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin again declined to speculate about backing President Joe Biden in 2024 and said he was hopeful fellow Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will come on board with a deficit reduction, climate and energy bill he negotiated.
Manchin’s new spending deal, brokered with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, would close corporate tax loopholes and levy a 15% corporate minimum tax, invest billions in clean energy and reducing emissions, lower prescription drug costs via Medicare and expand health care subsidies.
In an interview with « This Week » co-anchor Jonathan Karl, Manchin touted the package’s provisions — which will need to earn the support of all 50 votes in the Democratic caucus given widespread Republican opposition.
A key vote will be Arizona’s Sinema, who has previously opposed closing the so-called carried interest tax loophole. Manchin and Schumer’s bill limits but doesn’t remove that exception.
« Sen. Sinema is my dear friend. I have all the respect for her, she’s extremely bright and works very, very hard. She has an awful lot in this piece of legislation, the way it’s been designed as far as the reduction of Medicare — letting Medicare go ahead and negotiate for lower drug prices, » Manchin said.
« She’s very involved in that and I appreciate that, » he told Karl. « Also, basically, when she said … ‘we’re not going to raise taxes,’ I agree with that.
