Sen. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) ManchinBiden faces a crossroads in the Schumer virus relief bill promises that the Senate will accept the “bold” coronavirus bill, rejecting the Republican Party offer. The White House says it is in contact with Manchin MORE (DW.Va.) warned his party on Tuesday against seeking a coronavirus relief bill for Democrats only, promising that Republicans would make contributions while lawmakers drafted the legislation.
“I made it very clear … let’s make this work in a bipartisan way. My friends on the other side will give their opinion. And we will do something that we agree with. I’m not going to do this just on the lines, just saying the party line vote, “Manchin told Fox News’ Bret Baier, asked if he would vote for a $ 1.9 trillion bill just for Democrats.
Manchin added that the final coronavirus bill needs to “make sense” and warned that senators have spent a lot of time trying to make coronavirus relief bipartisan to move on alone now. Each of the previous five coronavirus projects has been approved on two-party lines.
“If it’s outside the realm that makes sense and we work together, we build too much trust in each other to allow it to fall apart. So they can count on me to make sure we do everything we can to make this bipartisan,” said Manchin.
Manchin is one of the most centrist members of the Democratic bench in the Senate and an important vote as the party leadership prepares itself using reconciliation to approve coronavirus relief. The budget tool allows Democrats to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote legislative obstruction and approve an aid package supported only by Democrats.
His warning against a party relief bill came after he signaled more indirectly on Tuesday that he wants the final product to be bipartisan.
“For the sake of the country, we must work together with a laser focus to defeat the COVID-19 crisis, support our neighbors and communities that continue to suffer and return to a more normal life as quickly as possible,” said Manchin in a statement in the afternoon Tuesday, characterizing Biden as “hopeful” that the coronavirus relief bill would be bipartisan.
Democrats and Biden say they want the final coronavirus aid package to be bipartisan, but they are also laying the groundwork for trying to pass it on to their own absent Republican support.
To pass a coronavirus aid bill without Republicans, the Democratic leadership will need the support of all members of the Democratic Senate bench. This means that Manchin, if he believes the process was partisan or that Republicans were excluded, could effectively cancel the bill or demand changes to gain his support.
Manchin is expected to vote in favor of the budget resolution this week, but said during the Fox News interview that he told Democratic leaders that “I will vote in a bipartisan way”.
Democrats are using Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion proposal as a framework for their legislation. Biden’s bill included a $ 1,400 stimulus check, an increase in the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, plus state and local assistance and $ 400 a week unemployment insurance.
Manchin told The Hill on Tuesday that he does not support raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour and told Fox News on Tuesday night that he did not think it would comply with the mysterious Senate rules that dictate which can be approved under reconciliation.
“I don’t think that’s going to come in because it doesn’t fit … Byrd’s rule,” said Manchin.
He also predicted that the final value of state and local assistance in the Congressional bill will end up being substantially less than the $ 350 billion requested by Biden. States and cities, which have seen their tax base dry up due to the coronavirus pandemic, have warned that, without help, they could have to cut essential services as more people are using them.
“I think it’s very high. From everything I’ve seen, this is extremely high. But with that, we want to make sure that the states that have really been hit the hardest have a shortage of revenue due to the type of economy they have, have some relief, “Manchin told Fox News.