As Democrats seek a way to push President Biden's social spending and climate plan through the Senate with Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) backing, momentum is building for lowering the measure's scope.
On Sunday, Manchin essentially buried a far broader bill known as the Build Back Better Act by expressing his opposition, upsetting and angering the White House and Democratic colleagues in Congress.
Democrats look to scale back Biden bill
Days later, the sting remains, but Democrats are working hard to find solutions that would pass the test with the conservative West Virginia senator, whose vote is critical in the Senate's 50-50 split between the two parties. According to Democratic politicians, lobbyists, and think tank experts, Manchin might be swayed if the package is rewritten to contain fewer programs for a longer period of time.
Some Democrats believe that going too big in the first place was a mistake. Progressives campaigned for a $6 trillion budget before settling on $3.5 trillion, ostensibly to demonstrate that the decrease was a compromise on their side, The Hill reported.
However, the lower amount was too high for Manchin and fellow moderate Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). The House finally enacted a nearly $2 trillion version of Biden's spending proposal in November, which included a number of significant temporary measures. The plan, for example, includes measures to prolong the higher Child Tax Credit amount for one year and establish a six-year universal preschool program.
The White House, on the other hand, was significantly less openly hostile by Monday, with Vice President Kamala Harris denying that she felt deceived by his reversal on the bill in an exclusive network interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan. "I believe the stakes are much too high for this to be about any one person," she stated.
Per CBS News, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, too, reminded Democrats that the Build Back Better bill's components are too crucial and necessary to be sacrificed. He stated that he would push for a vote on the measure in January to increase pressure for a solution.
President Biden and Senator Schumer both cited recent studies from Goldman Sachs and Moody's that said failing to enact the social spending plan would jeopardize the country's fragile economic recovery. The Democrats on the call agreed that a vote on Build Back Better should be held, and Schumer told the caucus that they would take up the measure that had just passed the House and begin debating it.
Child Tax Credit extension also in jeopardy
Republicans have also thwarted attempts by Democrats to enact a voting rights law. If they oppose it again in January, Schumer said, the Senate would discuss and vote on a change to Senate procedures to allow the voting rights law to pass.
Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, on the other hand, are opposed to modifying the filibuster rules that would preclude Republicans from obstructing the bill, assuring that it would almost surely fail.
Democrats have promoted the extended Child Tax Credit as the crown jewel of President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" legislation for months, but the subsidy is in jeopardy following Sen. Joe Manchin's revelation that he will not support the plan.
President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill included a higher Child Tax Credit, which Democrats wanted to prolong for one year in the Build Back Better Act, a $1.75 trillion social welfare and green energy measure.
Each month, the credit gave up to $300 per child. Proponents claim the funds provided a financial lifeline to parents throughout the epidemic and dramatically reduced children poverty. The policy was due to expire at the end of the year, and the final wave of checks was sent out in December.
Democrats intended to renew the payments under Build Back Better before the end of the year and approve the bill before the end of the year, avoiding a large payment gap. However, without Manchin's backing, the bill will be stuck indefinitely.
Despite Manchin's reservations, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, indicated the Senate would vote on the bill as soon as legislators returned in January. The Child Tax Credit supporters hope that public pressure will persuade Manchin to reconsider his position, as per Washington Examiner.