Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who has been a thorn for United States President Joe Biden's climate plan due to his continued opposition of the bill, lays out his demands for the Democratic president to meet.
Democrats require support from each and every single party member in the evenly divided Senate to push the package through. Due to Manchin's opposition to the bill, he has kept the legislation from being passed.
Manchin's Demands for Biden
Manchin's demands for him to give his support for the bill include a much cheaper, less generous, more targeted, and less environmentally friendly measure. The official's desires and concerns are driving negotiations among Democrats and what the final package would look like.
On Monday, Manchin spoke with President Biden, a person familiar with the call revealed. Manchin also met privately with Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who is the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The senator also told reporters that he previously met with Sen. Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Budget Committee, the New York Times reported.
Manchin wants the fund of the bill to not go above $1.5 trillion, which is less than half of what the package initially includes. He also demanded more tax increase than many Democrats wanted, which he said would be used to generate money to pay for the plan. Additionally, the senator said the bill should include weaker climate change provisions.
The situation also comes as Manchin and Sanders are having an increasingly tense relationship over discussions of a reconciliation package. On Monday evening, the two lawmakers were pictured standing shoulder-to-shoulder outside the Capitol.
In a statement, Manchin said that he and Sanders were talking, a comment that the latter repeated. When the two were asked whether or not they would finally reach an agreement on the final form of the bill by the weekend, Sanders simply replied by saying, "We're talking," the New York Post reported.
Sanders Against Manchin
However, tensions between the two Democrats have been on the rise, especially after Friday, where Vermont Sen. Sanders said that polls have continued to reveal overwhelming support for Biden's agenda. The official criticized Manchin for being one of only two lawmakers who were in the opposition stand, the other being Kyrsten Sinema.
Immediately, Manchin argued back, saying it was not the first time that an "out-of-stater" had tried to tell West Virginians what was best for them. He added that Congress should take care to not spend too much, arguing that he would not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs.
During a previous interview earlier this month, Sanders said he could not speak for Manchin regarding the latter's continued opposition of the $3.5 trillion price tag for the safety net legislation. On the other hand, Manchin defended his opposition by saying that the United States should not turn society into an entitlement society.
"Manchin has a right to fight for his point of view, has not only a right to be hard, he has a right to get some compromises. He's a member of the Senate. But two people do not have the right to sabotage what 48 want, and what the President of the United States wants. That to me is wrong," Sanders said, CNN reported.
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