Manchin Wants Biden Social Spending Plan Cut to $1.5 Trillion
- Amount would be $2 trillion less than bill’s outline
- West Virginia senator’s vote is crucial to passage of bill
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Democratic Senator Joe Manchin wants the social spending package that would encompass the bulk of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda cut by more than half to $1.5 trillion.
Manchin’s position, reinforced by him on Thursday, leaves Democrats far from an agreement on the so-called reconciliation bill, which spans spending on health, education and climate initiatives. Progressive Democrats have argued that they already compromised down in reducing their demands from the $6 trillion that Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders had originally sought.