Manchin continues being a thorn in the side of Democrats as they negotiate for Bidens craptastic $3.5 trillion social spending bill.
Here’s the latest from from Axios yesterday:
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has told the White House the child tax credit must include a firm work requirement and family income cap in the $60,000 range, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
While Manchin’s demands would dramatically weaken one of President Biden’s signature programs to help working families, they also would reduce the package’s overall costs.
That would make it easier for the pivotal senator to support a final package, potentially higher than Manchin’s previous $1.5 trillion top line.
At the same time, progressives would have a hard time accepting the changes Manchin is demanding.
They’d also fundamentally alter a program the president funded for one year in the $1.9 COVID-19 relief package passed in March.
Axios also reports that neither Manchin nor Sinema accepted Biden’s compromise around $2 trillion dollars:
They also discussed the White House’s decision to link the package to approval of the separate $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill — a demand of House progressives.
Sinema told lawmakers she will not vote for the social spending plan until the House passes the infrastructure bill, according to Reuters.
Neither Manchin nor Sinema endorsed Biden’s compromise price for the social spending plan in the $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion range.
Manchin also won’t go for Biden’s “clean electricity” program:
Manchin also continues to privately tell colleagues the president’s Clean Electricity Performance Program, a cornerstone of Democrats’ plan to achieve zero-carbon electricity, is a non-starter.
There’s more at Axios so check it out if you want to know more. But it sounds to me like these negotiations are headed in the right direction, if you know what I mean.