Story at a glance:
- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is warning his colleagues that a $3.5 trillion spending bill would not pass if a bipartisan bill fails.
- Senate Democrats have changed the wording of the final draft of the original proposed infrastructure bill.
- The Democrats’ larger $3.5 trillion spending plan covers paid family leave, universal pre-K, climate change, expanded medicare and child tax credits.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who is considered to be the key swing vote on infrastructure, is warning colleagues that a $3.5 trillion spending bill would not pass if a bipartisan, newly worded $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill fails, according to The New York Post.
“I would say that if a bipartisan infrastructure bill falls apart, everything could fall apart,” Manchin told reporters. “Both of them are extremely important, but [if] one falls apart, how do you do the other one? How’s the other one become more important?”
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On Sunday, Senate Democrats, changed the wording of the final draft of the original proposed infrastructure bill, which was received negatively by Senate Republicans, who sided against the new details, Bloomberg reported.
Republicans have pushed back on a “global offer,” which included $579 billion in new spending, saying the proposal undermines aspects that have already been agreed upon, according to the New York Post.
This rejection was a setback as senators involved in negotiations had hoped a final bill would be completed early this week.
However, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) threatened he will make senators put a bill on the floor for a vote even if it means having lawmakers work on the weekend.
“We have reached a critical moment,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “The bipartisan group of Senators has had nearly five weeks of negotiations since they first announced an agreement with President Biden. It’s time for everyone to get to ‘yes’ and produce an outcome for the American people.”
Public transit, water systems, broadband and how to pay for the sweeping plan are all on the line in the infrastructure bill as it requires a budget to pay federal contractors and subcontractors, laborers and mechanics on accomplishing the nation’s projects.
“We’re trying to get the best infrastructure bill, with a bipartisan movement,” Manchin said. “And the president has been determined and been helping and been leading this, and we’re hoping to get that done. That’s the most important thing.”
Democrats are keenly interested in the $3.5 trillion budget resolution, which covers paid family leave, universal pre-K, climate change, expanded medicare and child tax credits, as well as language providing a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, the New York Post reported.
“I think there’s a lot of good things in the reconciliation [bill] I really want to work on,” Manchin said Monday. “But we haven’t spent the time on that. This [bipartisan] one’s ready to go. This one’s ready to go.”
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