The Build Back Better plan is the Biden Administration’s push towards a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as further developments towards climate change, childcare support, and affordable healthcare. In a democratically led government, Biden’s proposal ought to have garnered enough support to pass through the senate.
Yet Joe Manchin, Democratic senator from West Virginia, stands in stark opposition against the Build Back Better plan. Despite being a staunch democrat from the start of his career, Joe Manchin maintains many platforms that go against what the broader democratic party is currently working on. In this article, we will look at Senator Joe Manchin, his career and voting tracks, as well as the current Build Back Better infrastructure plan and the possible paths forward.
Who is Senator Joe Manchin?
Senator Joe Manchin, born August 24, 1947, is the current incumbent senator for West Virginia, a position he’s had since 2010. Despite coming from what is now a largely republican state, Joe Manchin has held his position for more than a decade now. While it may seem difficult to see this happening to a lifelong democrat, Joe Manchin describes himself as a “moderate” and even a “conservative” democrat. Indeed, many of his votes and positions have leaned towards conservative, including his voting against many of the energy policies of Barack Obama and voting for the immigration policies that former president Trump had proposed back in 2015.
Despite the leaning towards conservative politics, Sen. Manchin has also voted to preserve funding for Planned Parenthood in 2017, convict former president Trump in both of his impeachment trials, as well as the call for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Since 2020 and the introduction of the Biden Administration, he’s become a pivotal swing vote to break the 50-50 tie that the senate has between Democrats and Republicans. Given his propensity to vote for different things across the aisle, getting his support for any national legislation is key to getting it to pass.
Recently, Sen. Manchin has also been pushing to pass a voting rights proposal that is poised to introduce Election Day as a national holiday as well as introduce other measures to make voting more accessible for Americans. But Sen. Manchin has also expressed his support of the filibuster and its ability to mediate difficult legislation by putting up the vote towards a supermajority. This very same support for the filibuster has caused his very own voting proposal bill to be halted in the same manner.
Why is He Pushing Back on Build Back Better?
Sen. Joe Manchin’s various positions, proposals, and overall disagreement with the Build Back Better program have been part of contentious debate on today’s Senate floor. His disagreement has been officially explained as his worry that the current $2 trillion package will exacerbate inflation over the next few years.
Yet his own colleagues in the democratic party doubt that’s the main reason he is turning down the bill, with the same group attributing the resistance towards his position as a Democratic senator in a largely Republican state. One of West Virginia’s largest industries remains on coal as part of its traditional electricity generation, and the Build Back Better’s provisions supporting more clean energy generation goes in stark opposition to the industry that Sen. Manchin effectively represents. He’s even had a tangent history in dealing in the very same industry through the Machin-family owned Enersystems, which deals in waste coals from abandoned mines. “I’ll take on anyone that messes with West Virginia”, Sen. Manchin is quoted saying, echoing his clear support of the West Virginian coal industry versus the clean energy focus of the Biden administration.
Another reason he moves against the Build Back Better program has to do with the provisions that cater towards childcare tax credits, which he has stated would be a clear issue regarding his ability to vote on the bill. Recent statements from Sen. Manchin have indicated that he is only willing to reopen negotiations if the entire tax credit provision is removed or if the income cap in which these are granted is significantly lowered. His stated worry: that these parents and recipients will improperly use these funds not for childcare but for other reasons.
How Can the Build Back Better Plan Still Push Through?
Sen. Manchin’s clear pushback on the Build Back Better Plan has shaken the Biden administration’s ability to pass key legislation that can help further their overall goals. Yet the Democrats have not given up on this key legislation, with or without Manchin.
1) Changing the Filibuster
A clear aspect that the democrats have been trying to push, beyond just this legislation, is the overall movement to make filibusters harder to start and easier to end. As the current filibuster that blocks legislation like the Build Back Better requires a simple declaration to start and a supermajority of 60 votes to end, it remains a strong tool for oppositions to use to block unfavorable legislation.
2) Smaller Bill
A phenomenon already occurring to get the bill to pass easier, would be through a resizing of the overall financial impact for the legislation. The original Build Back Better plan was planned to reach $6 trillion in size, negotiations have already brought the amount down to $1.75, with further progress on negotiations seeing that size diminish further to gain more traction with dissenters.
3) Splitting the Bill
Another way forward is for the different aspects of the bill to be split into separate legislation pushes. This may allow the larger bill to pass but may keep the difficult aspects, like climate change budgets and childcare tax credits, to be debated further down the line.
Final Words -
The Build Back Better project is a milestone project for the Biden administration. Despite Sen. Manchin’s current blockage, there does stand the chance a middle-ground will be reached by both aisles to pass something close to workable in the coming months.
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