Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) may decide to delay President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better agenda until next year, according to a report by Axios released on Wednesday.
The increasing rate of inflation likely contributes to Manchin’s reported desire to push the massive spending bill onto 2022’s legislative calendar.
According to Axios, “Red-hot inflation data validates the instinct of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to punt President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda until next year — potentially killing a quick deal on the $1.75 trillion package, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported prices increased 0.9 percent in October, which brought the annual inflation rate to 6.2 percent.
By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not “transitory” and is instead getting worse. From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) November 10, 2021
“By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not “transitory” and is instead getting worse,” Manchin said Wednesday. “From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.
Manchin has consistently expressed hesitancy surrounding the president’s social spending package because of its potential impact on the economy and our national debt.
The Build Back Better Act was recently cut in size from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion, largely in part due to Manchin’s refusal to support the initial amount.
US President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi depart following a meeting with the Democratic caucus at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 28, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Progressive Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez worried that severing the social spending bill from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that passed Congress last week would give away leverage on dictating the social agenda to centrists like Manchin.
Manchin sits on the Senate Committee on Appropriations and is vice-chair of the Senate Democrat’s Policy and Communications Committee.
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