WASHINGTON – Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., a decisive vote in the small majority of Senate Democrats, said on Sunday that he will not budge in support of obstruction, a Senate rule that requires most legislation to demand support bipartisanship to pass.
But he added that he would be open to Democrats passing more important laws, such as voting for party-line reforms – if senators have ample room for bipartisan negotiation first.
“I will not change my mind about the obstruction,” said Manchin in an interview with “Meet the Press”.
“You need to listen to the minority to make sure that the majority is understanding well.”
The obstruction effectively sets the barrier for most legislations with 60 votes in the Senate, meaning that Democrats currently need the support of 10 Republican senators to get many of their legislative items to the finish line.
Progressives have been lobbying Senate Democrats to abolish the obstruction, arguing that lowering that limit is the only way to get President Joe Biden’s agenda approved, but Manchin’s vote would be necessary to get rid of the procedural rule.
Manchin has repeatedly resisted those calls, although he said on Sunday’s program that he was “willing to look at” ideas for making the obstruction “a little more painful”, such as requiring lawmakers to go down to the floor for marathon speeches, if they want to use the procedure.
There is another option, reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass a limited number of budget-related bills each year with a simple majority.
It is a process that Senate Democrats used to pass their $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief bill with just 50 votes on Saturday, and one that Manchin said could be on the table again if bipartisan negotiations fail in the future.
“There is no need to go to reconciliation until the other process has failed. That means the normal process of a committee, a hearing, amendments, ”he said when asked whether reconciliation could be used to approve voting reforms in the future.
House Democrats just passed a major bill on ethics reform and voting last week, but this legislation is unlikely to get much bipartisan support. There are strict rules on what types of provisions may qualify for approval in reconciliation, so it is unclear how much of that account could survive the reconciliation process.
“I will change my mind if we need to go to reconciliation” if “we have to do something”, said Manchin, but only after “my Republican friends also have the opportunity to express themselves”.
Manchin, one of the more moderate members of the small majority of Democrats in the Senate, has exercised significant power, considering that his party cannot allow itself a single defection when it tries to pass legislation or nominations by party vote.
That power helped Manchin secure changes in unemployment insurance provisions in Covid’s relief bill, a requirement that briefly delayed the final vote.
The bill includes $ 1,400 stimulus checks sent directly to qualifying Americans, as well as other provisions such as the temporary expansion of the Children’s Tax Credit and an extension of additional unemployment, as well as health care assistance, state governments and distribution of vaccines.
The House is expected to pass the legislation earlier this week, sending it to Biden to become law.