Joe Says No! What’s Next?

In a move that some have called a negotiating tactic, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said that he cannot vote for President Biden’s Build Back Better program “in its current inflationary form”; his announcement, which was made on Fox News, was not given to the White House in advance, although he sent an aide over to inform them slightly ahead of his TV appearance. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, declaring in what has been called a scathing response, said:

“On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted — to the President, in person, directly — a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities,” Psaki said. “While that framework was missing key priorities, we believed it could lead to a compromise acceptable to all. Senator Manchin promised to continue conversations in the days ahead, and to work with us to reach that common ground. If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”

She added:

“Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone — we cannot,”

So where does this response leave the agenda touted by the President and approved following a great effort in the House when members were guaranteed that the program would pass in the Senate and adhere closely to the House Bill? If you remember, the House Progressives held off voting for passage until they had received these promises by the President and others in the Senate.

Manchin objected to several provisions which were integral to the President’s agenda in his social reform and climate initiatives. According to reporting by CNN, Manchin released a statement after his TV appearance, which said in part:

 “In the last two years, as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and with bipartisan support, we have invested billions of dollars into clean energy technologies so we can continue to lead the world in reducing emissions through innovation. But to do so at a rate that is faster than technology or the markets allow will have catastrophic consequences for the American people like we have seen in both Texas and California in the last two years.”

CNN also noted: Manchin also was concerned about what the legislation would do to the nation’s rising debt and soaring inflation that came after Congress passed a sweeping stimulus bill earlier this year, as well as the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

NPR reported that Manchin’s claims about the lack of readiness for energy transitions are just not true and noted that the Defense Department has indicated that climate changes are a national security issue.  The extremes that have been seen in recent storms were mentioned in that report. Both NPR and the Washington Post made note recently of the ties Senator has to the coal industry. Mother Jones reported Manchin has received more money from industries across the energy sector, including pipeline companies, than any other Senator. The Post reported that investments the Senator has paid him thousands of dollars, even though he claims his investments are in a blind trust; he knowingly collects money from a methane-producing coal reclaiming business he owns. The climate provisions in the BBB program would move thousands from coal production toward cleaner energies such as solar and wind.       

Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal released a statement about Machins’ declaration that he could not support the BBB:

“Senator Joe Manchin made a promise to President Biden to support a framework that would help lower health care costs, cap the price of insulin and other prescription drugs, lower child care costs for Americans, address the climate crisis, and give working people and poor people a shot in America. Today, Senator Manchin has betrayed his commitment not only to the President and Democrats in Congress but, most importantly, to the American people. He routinely touts that he is a man of his word, but he can no longer say that. West Virginians, and the country, see clearly who he is.

“The American people want and deserve to have their critically important daily needs addressed. That is why all the elements of the Build Back Better legislation are overwhelmingly supported by Americans across the political spectrum. We will never stop fighting to truly build back better for the American people. Too much is at stake.”     

As reported by the Daily Beast and shown on CNN, Senator Bernie Sanders, chair of the Budget Committee, called for a vote on the Bill in the Senate and demanded that Senator Machin explain to the American people and those in the State of West Virginia why he does not have the guts to stand up to powerful energy industries.

It is probably a good thing that the Congress is in recess for the Christmas holidays and will not return until the New Year. Perhaps by then, some mediators can step in and stop this internecine battle. This is not doing the Democratic Party any favors. It is also not good that a Senator would so disrespect the President of his own party who had thought, until recently, that bargaining was taking place. (Some Presidential aides had said that the President thought that an agreement might not happen, but still had hoped it would.) There should be a way to tailor this bill to address issues that Democrats and others have said are important to the American people. I think that a bill that would help with child care, elder care, climate change, drug costs, Medicare services, and union jobs is a bill that supports the interests of Main Street, not Wall Street, and is long overdue. Even the price tag Manchin suggested of 1.75 trillion was in the ballpark of recent amounts discussed, so I think his protestations are a ruse. Instead of tiptoeing around his moves, fearing that he might join the Republicans, Democrats need to make him understand he needs to be a team player and support the President.

Despite the protestations by Manchin, many senior economists (including those at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) have said that this bill is mostly paid for and does not trigger more inflation. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said that controlling the Coronavirus is critical for expansion and lowering inflation.

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The COVID news this week is not good at all. Delta cases continue to rise even as we are seeing Omicron cases surge. Although Omicron cases are said to usually be mild in vaccinated and boosted persons, those who are not vaccinated are not as lucky. Many cities are seeing lines for testing return to clinics that had been closed and requests for boosters are exceeding supplies. The US has now recorded more COVID deaths than any other country, over 800,000 with total cases exceeding 50 million. When predictions that this number might be reached were made in the early days, I did not believe that this was possible. Hospitals in the Midwest are again at capacity. The unvaccinated population is currently infected at a rate 5 times higher than the vaccinated group. The country of Denmark now is reporting a sudden rise in Omicron cases and has shut down the country until early January. South Africa is reporting that its recent Omicron spike is showing signs of easing, but it is early days yet. I hope that this is a swift passing variant.

Maryland has stopped elective hospital admissions as COVID cases are rising in our state. However, the State Department of Health has reported no COVID statistics for over two weeks now, as the computers continue to be compromised and the Governor is saying little. Thankfully, the state now reports 70% of the population is vaccinated. Many athletic teams across the country have postponed games since so many players have recently tested positive. More bad news for parents of young children has come from Pfizer, as the company reported that the reduced dose for children 2-5 who they tested did not provide adequate immunity, so they are revising their protocols and do not expect to have doses ready until late Spring.

COVID Stats – NY Times

US Totals: Total Cases:  50,811,522. New Cases:133,012.

                    Total Deaths: 804,916. New Deaths: 1,296.

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Recently I read Michael Lewis’ book on pandemics called Premonition. In this recounting of the race to get ahead of viral diseases, he shows how now that we are all interconnected across lanes of travel and commerce, viruses that might have been isolated, spread rapidly if not initially contained. Think of the extraordinary efforts to keep Ebola in the African countries where it was first identified a decade ago. Had China been more honest about the viral spread when it was first noticed, it might have been contained. But, once it left Wuhan, there was little chance of containment. However, as the author notes, there were scientists, epidemiologists, and public health physicians who knew how to reduce the spread, but their words were disregarded. If the US had only closed down earlier and acknowledged the seriousness of COVID, rather than comparing it to the flu, many millions of people could have been spared the torment of this disease and its cost to the country and its families. He shows how the CDC, as a bureaucracy, is cumbersome and unable to act with alacrity when necessary. Lewis shows how the best results were obtained by circumventing its processes and notes the politicization of the scientists in charge there who were not allowed to speak truth to power - in this case, the President - who always wanted to minimize the news about the virus. This President is listening to the science and the scientists on the vaccines and the boosters. We should heed his words.

“Til next week–Peace!