Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of two key moderate Democrats who have prevented the passage of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act, has again voiced his concern that America’s inflation issues will only worsen if a massive social spending bill is added into the economic atmosphere.
On Wednesday – the same day that a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that in October U.S. inflation hit a 31-year high and consumers faced a 6.2% price jump – Manchin went on Twitter to repeat his long-held concern that the effects of inflation might be felt long-term:
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
Manchin’s use of the term transitory was in reaction to the word Federal Reserve leaders have used in their assessment of how long the nation’s inflation woes will last.
While the senator did not mention Build Back Better in his tweet, he has repeatedly listed the cost of the social spending bill and its effects on the economy as reasons for his opposition. Earlier this month, he called President Biden’s new framework a “shell game” that hid the true cost of the bill. He’s also frequently urged, beginning in September, that Congress not vote on the bill until 2022.
Progressive Democrats have criticized Manchin’s stance, saying the social budget bill would be a net positive for working families as it would ease the cost of such services as childcare and elder care.
On Thursday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that her view was that the solution to inflation was to “help families cut costs.”
“And that is why it is so important to pass the Build Back Better Act,” she said, “which I think is … actually going to help people survive through this time of recovery.”
WATCH: @RepJayapal says the immediate solution to inflation is to “help families cut their costs.” #MTPDaily
Jayapal: “And that is why it is so important to pass the Build Back Better Act, which I think is … actually going to help people survive through this time of recovery.” pic.twitter.com/17ulLiucmm
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 11, 2021
At a press conference in Paris, Vice President Kamala Harris made a similar statement.
“[Build Back Better] is designed to make it less expensive for working people to live,” Harris said. She later added “the bill is not [going to] cost anything” and that “when we can get Build Back Better passed … the American people will see costs actually reduced around some of the most essential services that they need to take care of their basic responsibilities.”
Inflation is but one of several concerns Manchin has raised about Build Back Better.
On Thursday, Automotive News reported the senator also opposed a provision in the plan that would grant a $4,500 tax credit for purchasing domestic, union-built electric cars.
Manchin’s opposition has already led to large-scale reductions in costs and programs in “Build Back Better.” Democrats have dropped free community college and paid family leave, among other concessions, to get Manchin’s support.
During her Friday press conference, Harris said of the paid family leave’s removal from the bill, “Yes, it’s frustrating. It’s something I’ve been advocating for, for years, as has the president, and it was in our initial proposal.”
Democrats need Manchin’s vote, and that of fellow moderate Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, to pass any legislation in the Senate, where a 50-person blockade of Republicans has pledged to vote no on any spending bill presented by the Democrats.