Negotiations between President Joe Biden and holdout Sen. Joe Manchin over Democrats’ $2 trillion social and environment bill are said to be going poorly
By ALAN FRAM Associated Press
December 15, 2021, 6:30 PM
• 3 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleWASHINGTON -- Negotiations between President Joe Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin over the Democrats' huge social and environment bill are going poorly, a person familiar with the talks said Wednesday, the latest sign that leaders’ hopes of moving the bill through the Senate before Christmas were increasingly bleak.
Manchin, D-W.Va., has told the president he wants to eliminate the measure's extension of a more generous child tax credit, said the person, who would describe the situation only on condition of anonymity.
Manchin told reporters that assertions he opposes that tax credit were “a lot of bad rumors."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he wants the Senate to approve the 10-year, nearly $2 trillion legislation by Christmas in hopes of using the upcoming holiday to prod Manchin and others to resolve final disputes over the bill. Democrats need all their votes in the 50-50 Senate to advance the legislation, and unresolved disputes with Manchin and other time-consuming hurdles have made it seem increasingly unlikely that senators could even begin debating the bill before the holiday.
Democrats have spent nearly eight months working on the massive bill, a top priority for Biden and the party, and have already blown past earlier self-imposed deadlines. Letting work on it slip into next year, when congressional elections will be held, would be an ominous sign about its prospects and would deal a blow to a party bracing for November voting when Republicans have a real chance of winning control of the House and Senate.
Many Democrats consider the expanded child tax credit crucial for the millions of families it helps and for the legislation's prospects of moving through the narrowly divided Congress. The measure also has money for health care, universal prekindergarten and climate change programs.
“It would be a disaster for working families and parents in this country," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said of the consequences if the child tax credit fell from the bill.
According to senators and aides, Schumer has not said he is planning to delay work on the bill into next year. But many obstacles must be cleared before the bill can come to the floor, let alone be approved.
Schumer must reach agreements with Manchin over his demands to curb the legislation's price tag and remove provisions he opposes, such as required paid family leave and some tax credits for clean energy. There are other disputes as well, including how to increase federal tax deductions for state and local taxes.
The Senate's parliamentarian still has to consider whether many provisions abide by the chamber's rules and should remain in the legislation. These include a Democratic effort to help millions of immigrants stay temporarily in the United States.
Schumer has scheduled the Senate to be in session the week of Jan. 3, possibly suggesting he wants lawmakers to plunge quickly back into work on the bill. Congress is seldom in session in early January in election years.
Biden and Manchin have spoken by phone about the legislation at least twice this week.
Schumer sidestepped a question by reporters on Tuesday about whether he thinks Manchin wants the overall bill approved. “Sen. Manchin’s having good discussions with the president, as I said, and we’re doing all of the things we have to do to get it in play,” Schumer said.
The House approved its version of the legislation in November.
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
