Biden Holds Office Hours As Manchin Takes Axe To Reconciliation Bill

October 20, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 07: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) leaves a Democratic luncheon at the U.S. Capitol October 7, 2021 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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October 20, 2021

President Joe Biden is calling in factions of primarily House members to the White House today. The progressives are at 2:00 p.m., followed by the moderates a couple hours later. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will reportedly have a one-on-one earlier on Tuesday.

Biden will likely have to hold some hands as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) takes a hatchet to major programs in his reconciliation package. Manchin has all but killed the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), once the crux of Democrats’ climate ambitions. That, in turn, has rekindled talks of a carbon tax to take its place, but Manchin appeared to indicate Tuesday that he opposed that, too. He’s reportedly demanding a cap of $60,000 in family income to receive the Child Tax Credit alongside work requirements, dramatically reducing the number of families who will be eligible.

For a while, the big question was whether Democrats would prefer fewer big programs, or more programs on shorter timelines. From today’s vantage point, it doesn’t seem that Manchin is giving them much say in the matter.

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President Joe Biden is calling in factions of primarily House members to the White House today. The progressives are at 2:00 p.m., followed by the moderates a couple hours later. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will reportedly have a one-on-one earlier on Tuesday.

Biden will likely have to hold some hands as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) takes a hatchet to major programs in his reconciliation package. Manchin has all but killed the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), once the crux of Democrats’ climate ambitions. That, in turn, has rekindled talks of a carbon tax to take its place, but Manchin appeared to indicate Tuesday that he opposed that, too. He’s reportedly demanding a cap of $60,000 in family income to receive the Child Tax Credit alongside work requirements, dramatically reducing the number of families who will be eligible.

For a while, the big question was whether Democrats would prefer fewer big programs, or more programs on shorter timelines. From today’s vantage point, it doesn’t seem that Manchin is giving them much say in the matter.

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