Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., gave in to immense pressure on Tuesday and announced that he would vote in favor of a budget resolution that Majority Leading Senator Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., presented on Monday, which is due lay the groundwork for President Biden T’s $ 1.9 Covid relief package.
Manchin said he would vote in favor of the budget resolution, but that he would continue to fight for bipartisanship in the negotiation process.
Through the resolution, the House and Senate commissions would be able to draft parts of an obstruction-proof budget reconciliation bill. It is unclear whether Manchin will vote for the final bill that Democrats present, but if he does, the final bill could pass without any Republican support.
“The resolution I am going to support – this process. I only support it if it is an open process. But it is urgent. This is the only way to get a bipartisan package,” Manchin told reporters on Tuesday.
The West Virginia Democrat, often dubbed one of the most powerful legislators in the 117th Congress due to his moderate position in a 50-50 Senate, was torn between pressure from his party’s top to support comprehensive legislation and the appeals of Republicans moderates to join them in a $ 600 billion aid plan. Ten Senate Republicans met with the president on Monday night to try to control spending on his proposal and offer him more targeted legislation.
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“It is very encouraging to see the president entertaining this first meeting with 10 of my Republican colleagues and friends,” said Manchin. The White House said Biden is happy to hear the Republican Party’s opinion, but it will not “slow down” for Republicans in providing aid that they believe is urgently needed across the country. A $ 900 billion package was approved in December.
Manchin seemed optimistic that there would be a bipartisan contribution to the final version of the package, but said he did not have a first-rate cost number in mind.
“Nothing should be taken off the table – this is how negotiations start. They will negotiate,” he said.
Last week, the White House went to Manchin’s home state to tamper with the legislation.
Last Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris presented the White House “American Rescue Plan” directly to the West Virginians at WSAZ, a station in the Huntingdon / Charleston, W.Va .. market.
“The American people deserve their leaders to stand up and stand up for them,” Harris said in the interview.
But in a subsequent interview with WSAZ, Manchin said he was left out of the conversation.
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“I saw [the interview]. I couldn’t believe it. Nobody called me, “he said.” We will try to find a bipartisan way forward, but we need to work together. This is not a way of working together. “
Asked on Tuesday whether the White House had apologized for not including him in Harris’ plan to deal with his state, Manchin said, “There is no need for an apology. I mean, we’re all in it. We understand that. It was a mistake. , they made a mistake. And we understand, we move on. We can’t think about these things. “
Schumer and Mayor Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Filed their budget resolution on Monday and instructed the committees to provide $ 1,400 per person in stimulus checks, which combined with the December package would total $ 2,000, and direct payments to families for each child. Stimulus checks have been a central focus of the Biden administration.
Manchin is suspicious of the $ 2,000 figure. “I don’t know where the hell $ 2,000 came from. I swear to God I don’t know. It’s another $ 400 billion,” he said in a recent interview.
He said the first priority should be to vaccinate people, not to send checks.
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“If they can direct money and say, it will help stimulate the economy, what the hell, yes, I agree,” said Manchin. “But basically now, you better get them vaccinated.”