The US President wanted to launch a larger investment package.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington There is movement in the ongoing tussle between Senate Democrats over investments in health and energy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and party colleague Joe Manchin announced on Wednesday an agreement on a $670 billion package. “The investments will be funded entirely by closing tax loopholes for wealthy individuals and businesses,” they said in a joint statement.
The package is only a fraction of what US President Joe Biden originally wanted to push through for climate and social affairs. However, Manchin had torpedoed Biden’s plans and shot up a social and climate package worth billions. Biden has now declared that he supports the agreement. If the law is passed, it will be of “historic importance”.
According to the agreement, around 370 billion dollars are to be invested in programs for energy security and climate change. The rest will go into debt reduction. In a statement on the agreement, Manchin clearly followed suit. “Contrary to popular belief, America cannot spend out of debt or out of inflation,” he wrote. The US must not undermine its “superpower status” by phasing out reliable and affordable fossil-fuel energy before new technologies are ready to reliably shoulder the load.”
Senator Manchin comes from the state of West Virginia, which is one of the largest coal producers in the country. He himself is connected to the coal sector and earns ancillary income through dividends from a coal company. Referring to Biden’s original plans, he declared, “Build Back Better is dead.” That was the name of Biden’s big investment package.
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Biden had tried to convince Manchin of the package in several personal rounds of negotiations. For this he also clearly reduced the scope. But Manchin remained skeptical. Because of their wafer-thin majority in the Senate, the Democrats depend on every vote in their own ranks.
Manchin’s behavior fueled infighting and a crisis of confidence within the Democratic Party. Biden also put the tugging in a bad light – after all, he hadn’t managed to keep his own party together. Manchin has now declared that “reasonable solutions” have been agreed.
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