Democratic Senator Joe Manchin commended House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for putting forward a plan to cut federal spending tied to a boost in the nation’s debt limit, and said President Joe Biden is engaging in a “deficiency of leadership” by refusing to negotiate with House Republicans on a compromise.
(Bloomberg) — Democratic Senator Joe Manchin commended House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for putting forward a plan to cut federal spending tied to a boost in the nation’s debt limit, and said President Joe Biden is engaging in a “deficiency of leadership” by refusing to negotiate with House Republicans on a compromise.
“I applaud Speaker McCarthy for putting forward a proposal that would prevent default and rein-in federal spending,” Manchin said in a statement. “While I do not agree with everything proposed, the fact of the matter is that it is the only bill actually moving through Congress that would prevent default.”
The senator, who is up for reelection next year in heavily Republican West Virginia, issued his statement just moments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sharply denounced the plan that McCarthy unveiled on Wednesday. Manchin is the only Democrat in the chamber who isn’t calling for Congress to pass a debt ceiling hike with no strings attached to it, depriving Schumer of Democratic unity in that call as the debate heats up.
“This MAGA wish list has no chance of moving forward in the Senate, and it doesn’t move us any closer to where we were yesterday to avoiding default,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. He denounced its plan to make deep cuts to some domestic programs and impose tougher work requirements for anti-poverty programs.
McCarthy is still struggling to round up enough GOP backing to clear his plan, which would boost the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, enough to prevent a US payments default until March 31, 2024 at the latest. It would also roll back discretionary spending to 2022 levels — a $130 billion cut. Future increases would be capped at a 1% annual rate for the following decade.
The plan would also rescind unspent Covid-19 funds, ease regulations on energy projects and end some tax breaks for clean-energy projects including electric vehicles. McCarthy says he intends to put the plan before the full House next week.
Manchin in his statement chastised Biden for last meeting with McCarthy on the matter 78 days ago. “This signals a deficiency of leadership, and it must change,” he said.
“America is facing a historic economic crisis brought on by an abject failure to address our exploding national debt, chronic inflation, a looming recession, and the more immediate need to raise the debt ceiling,” he said. “Our elected leaders must stop with the political games, work together and negotiate a compromise.”
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