Capitol Times Media
Senator Manchin supports Senate Democrats' efforts to revive BBB programs

President Joe Biden recently called for the resurrection of numerous Build Back Better (BBB) policies, such as government-financed childcare, paid family leave, and in-home healthcare. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) is again opposing such a package proposed by some Senate Democrats.
Following months of negotiations with the White House and other Democrats, Manchin, in December 2021, announced that he would not support the $1.85 trillion draft of the BBB due to concerns about continually rising inflation. It was a death blow for the BBB in a Senate equally divided, where all 50 Republicans opposed it.
While Manchin has not committed to voting for a smaller bill, he has shown that he is open to and willing to consider smaller, more focused bills since rejecting the $1.85 trillion package.
Manchin suggested, in response to Biden's March 1 speech, that Democrats should create a tax reform bill that expands federal revenue and is more economically based. Manchin suggested that Democrats use the excess revenue for a single program of their choosing - like childcare, family leave, or in-home healthcare-and divert the remaining funds to prescription drug reform and fighting inflation.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) similarly opined that government spending would serve to lessen inflation. Democrats’ spending policies in BBB, Murray said, “are all part of dealing with inflation.”
5 March 2022