Tag Archives: Joe Manchin

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Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent

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CNN
 — 

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview.

“I’ve registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema said in a Thursday interview with Tapper in her Senate office.

“I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to,” she added. “Removing myself from the partisan structure – not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country, who also are tired of the partisanship.”

Sinema’s move away from the Democratic Party is unlikely to change the power balance in the next Senate. Democrats will have a narrow 51-49 majority that includes two independents who caucus with them: Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.

While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She did note, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments – a signal that she doesn’t plan to upend the Senate composition, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats.

“When I come to work each day, it’ll be the same,” Sinema said. “I’m going to still come to work and hopefully serve on the same committees I’ve been serving on and continue to work well with my colleagues at both political parties.”

But Sinema’s decision to become a political independent makes official what’s long been an independent streak for the Arizona senator, who began her political career as a member of the Green Party before being elected as a Democrat to the US House in 2012 and US Senate in 2018. Sinema has prided herself on being a thorn in the side of Democratic leaders, and her new nonpartisan affiliation will further free her to embrace an against-the-grain status in the Senate, though it raises new questions about how she – and Senate Democrats – will approach her reelection in 2024 with liberals already mulling a challenge.

Sinema wrote an op-ed in the Arizona Republic released Friday explaining her decision, noting that her approach in the Senate has “upset partisans in both parties.”

“When politicians are more focused on denying the opposition party a victory than they are on improving Americans’ lives, the people who lose are everyday Americans,” Sinema wrote.

“That’s why I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”

Sinema is up for reelection in 2024 and liberals in Arizona are already floating potential challengers, including Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who said earlier this year that some Democratic senators have urged him to run against Sinema.

“Unfortunately, Senator Sinema is once again putting her own interests ahead of getting things done for Arizonans,” Gallego said in a statement following Sinema’s announcement.

Sinema declined to address questions about her reelection bid in the interview with Tapper, saying that simply isn’t her focus right now.

She also brushed aside criticism she may face for the decision to leave the Democratic Party.

“I’m just not worried about folks who may not like this approach,” Sinema said. “What I am worried about is continuing to do what’s right for my state. And there are folks who certainly don’t like my approach, we hear about it a lot. But the proof is in the pudding.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Sinema a “key partner” following her decision and said the White House has “every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her.”

Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that Sinema gave the White House a heads up that she was leaving the Democratic Party. Schumer said in a statement he also was aware of Sinema’s bombshell announcement ahead of Friday morning.

“She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed,” Schumer said. “Kyrsten is independent; that’s how she’s always been. I believe she’s a good and effective Senator and am looking forward to a productive session in the new Democratic majority Senate.”

Schumer also outlined how he did not expect Sinema’s decision to impact Democrats’ plans for next year, saying in his statement, “We will maintain our new majority on committees, exercise our subpoena power, and be able to clear nominees without discharge votes.”

The Biden White House is offering a muted reaction Friday morning and insisting that they expect to continue having a productive working relationship with the senator.

One White House official tells CNN that the move “doesn’t change much” other than Sinema’s own reelection calculations.

“We’ve worked with her effectively on a lot of major legislation from CHIPS to the bipartisan infrastructure law,” the official said. The White House, for now, has “every reason to expect that will continue,” they added.

Sinema has long been the source of a complex convergence of possibility, frustration and confusion inside the White House.

“Rubik’s cube, I guess?” was how one former senior White House official described the Arizona senator who has played a central role in President Joe Biden’s largest legislative wins and also some of his biggest agenda disappointments.

There was no major push to get Sinema to change her mind, a White House official said, noting that it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“Nothing about the last two years indicates a major effort would’ve made helped – the exact opposite actually,” a White House official said.

The most urgent near-term effort was to quietly find out what it meant for their newly expanded Senate majority, officials said.

While there were still clear details to figure out about process, “I think people exhaled when we had a better understanding of what she meant,” one source familiar with the discussion said.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota told “CNN This Morning” that “Senator Sinema has always had an independent streak,” adding that “I don’t believe this is going to shake things up quite like everyone thinks.”

She added, “Senator Sinema has been an independent in all intents and purposes.”

Sinema and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin have infuriated liberals at various points over the past two years, standing in the way of Biden’s agenda at a time when Democrats controlled the House, Senate and White House.

Sinema and Manchin used their sway in the current 50-50 Senate – where any single Democrat could derail a bill – to influence a host of legislation, especially the massive $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill that Biden proposed last year. Sinema’s objections to increasing the corporate tax rate during the initial round of negotiations over the legislation last year particularly rankled liberals.

While Sinema was blindsided by the surprise deal that Manchin cut with Schumer in July on major health care and energy legislation, she ultimately backed the smaller spending package that Biden signed into law before the election.

Both Manchin and Sinema also opposed changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules despite pressure from their Senate colleagues and Biden to change them. After a vote against filibuster changes in January, the Arizona Democratic Party’s executive board censured Sinema.

Sinema has been in the middle of several significant bipartisan bills that were passed since Biden took office. She pointed to that record as evidence that her approach has been an effective one.

“I’ve been honored to lead historic efforts, from infrastructure, to gun violence prevention, to protecting religious liberty and helping LGBT families feel secure, to the CHIPs and science bill to the work we’ve done on veterans’ issues,” she told CNN. “The list is really long. And so I think that the results speak for themselves. It’s OK if some people aren’t comfortable with that approach.”

Sinema’s announcement comes just days after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won reelection in Georgia, securing Democrats a 51st Senate seat that frees them from reliance on Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.

Sinema declined to address questions about whether she would support Biden for president in 2024, and she also said she’s not thinking about whether a strong third party should emerge in the US.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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Joe Manchin erupts at Biden over coal comments

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Washington
CNN
 — 

Sen. Joe Manchin on Saturday slammed President Joe Biden after he called for coal plants across the US to be shuttered, saying Biden’s remarks are “outrageous and divorced from reality” and suggesting it’s “time he learn a lesson.”

Biden, while speaking at a stop in Carlsbad, California, on Friday about the CHIPS and Science Act, said, “We’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar also providing tax credit to help families buy energy-efficient appliances.”

Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who has longtime ties to the coal industry, seized on the comments in a statement on Saturday, calling them “not only outrageous and divorced from reality, they ignore the severe economic pain the American people are feeling because of rising energy costs.”

“Comments like these are the reason the American people are losing trust in President Biden and instead believes he does not understand the need to have an all in energy policy that would keep our nation totally energy independent and secure. It seems his positions change depending on the audience and the politics of the day. Politicizing our nation’s energy policies would only bring higher prices and more pain for the American people,” Manchin continued.

It’s not unusual for Manchin, a moderate Democrat who has refused to say whether he thinks Biden deserves a second term in office, to criticize Biden’s agenda, and his reluctance at times to support Democratic initiatives has prevented the President from achieving some legislative goals. But Saturday’s statement is an extraordinary rebuke by a sitting US senator of his party’s leader, and serves to illustrate the ongoing tension between the centrist and more progressive wings of the Democratic Party.

Manchin, a senator from a deep-red state who is up for reelection in 2024, further sought to distance himself from Biden in his statement when he said, “Let me be clear, this is something the President has never said to me.”

“Being cavalier about the loss of coal jobs for men and women in West Virginia and across the country who literally put their lives on the line to help build and power this country is offensive and disgusting. The President owes these incredible workers an immediate and public apology and it is time he learn a lesson that his words matter and have consequences,” Manchin concluded.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded in a statement Saturday saying Biden’s words have been “twisted.”

“The President’s remarks yesterday have been twisted to suggest a meaning that was not intended; he regrets it if anyone hearing these remarks took offense. The President was commenting on a fact of economics and technology: as it has been from its earliest days as an energy superpower, America is once again in the midst of an energy transition,” Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre’s statement only mentioned Manchin directly once, saying he is a “tireless advocate for his state and the hard-working men and women who live there.”

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

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Congress again races to avoid shutdown as key vote at risk of failing

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CNN
 — 

The Senate is slated to take a key vote Tuesday to take up government funding that is at risk of failing over a deal cut by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin that has come under sharp criticism from Republicans and liberals – pushback that could be enough to sink the vote and push Congress to the brink of a shutdown.

Lawmakers are still expected to pass a short-term funding extension by week’s end, averting a shutdown, but they will likely run right up against the deadline of Friday at midnight when funding expires.

The timing of the fight continues a pattern by Capitol Hill leaders in recent years of negotiating until the last minute to fund the federal government, leaving virtually no room for error in a series of events where any one senator could slow the process down beyond the deadline.

Neither party wants to be blamed for a shutdown – especially so close to the high-stakes November midterm elections where control of Congress is at stake and as Democrats and Republicans are both trying to make their case to voters that they should be in the majority. Many lawmakers are also eager to finish up work on Capitol Hill so they can return to their home states to campaign.

The Senate is on track for a vote Tuesday evening on whether to start debate on a measure to extend funding, but an effort to attach a permitting reform proposal from Manchin has put the vote in jeopardy.

Senators released the legislative text of the stop-gap funding bill overnight – a measure that would fund the government through December 16.

In addition to money to keep government agencies afloat, it provides around $12 billion for Ukraine as it continues to face Russian military attack, and would require the Pentagon to report on how US dollars have been spent there. The aid to Ukraine is a bipartisan priority.

The continuing resolution also would extend an expiring FDA user fee program for five years.

The permitting proposal would expedite the permitting and environmental review process for energy projects – including a major pipeline that would cross through Manchin’s home state of West Virginia. Senate Democratic leaders are pushing to pass it along with government funding as a result of a deal cut to secure Manchin’s support for Democrats’ controversial Inflation Reduction Act – a key priority for the party – which passed over the summer.

But Republicans are warning they will vote against the effort to tie permitting reform to the funding extension, in part because they don’t want to reward Manchin over his support for the Inflation Reduction Act.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took issue with the permitting reform proposal in his Senate floor remarks on Tuesday, describing it as a “poison pill,” and saying he would oppose the vote as a result.

“Both sides of the aisle want to prevent a government shutdown that no one wants,” he said. “Unfortunately our Democratic colleagues decided to put in extraneous, partisan language – in fact, a poison pill.” He went on to say, “The poison pill is a phony attempt to address an important topic — permitting reform.”

“I’ll be voting no and I would urge all my colleagues to vote no as well,” he said.

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he will vote against the measure because of its inclusion of the Manchin plan.

“We have made significant progress toward a continuing resolution that is as clean as possible. But, if the Democrats insist on including permitting reform, I will oppose it,” he said in a statement.

On Tuesday morning, Manchin continued to call for his colleagues to support his energy permitting text in an interview with CNN, but acknowledged he may not have the votes for it to pass with McConnell urging his colleagues against the measure.

“I’m not going to second guess what Mitch would do and what his motives are,” he told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day.” “I think there’ll be a time when he looks back, if he really evaluates this well, that we never had this opportunity to take a major step forward, that we’re all in sync with – permitting reforms need to be done for the United States to meet the energy challenges.”

At the same time, some liberal members of the Senate Democratic caucus have expressed concern over environmental impacts. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is urging colleagues to oppose what he describes as a “big oil side deal.”

If Tuesday’s Senate vote fails to clear the necessary 60-vote threshold to succeed, Senate Democrats could then be forced to strip out the permitting proposal and advance a funding extension without it.

Manchin released legislative text last week for his permitting reform proposal that he wants to see included as part of the continuing resolution – and now the West Virginia senator is working to try to get 60 votes to advance both permitting reform and the government funding extension together.

A Manchin aide told CNN that the senator has been “working the phones all weekend” and has secured several more Republican votes.

“He’s still confident there is a path to 60. This moment won’t come again, and he continues to remind his colleagues of that,” the aide said.

In another sign, however, of the headwinds facing the plan, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine released a statement explaining that he would vote against proceeding to the bill for government funding as a result of the permitting measure.

“I strongly oppose the Mountain Valley Pipeline provision of this legislation, which would greenlight this pipeline without normal administrative and judicial review and ignore the voices of Virginians,” Kaine said in a statement.

“I will vote against the motion to proceed to this deal and urge my colleagues to do the same. We should pass a continuing resolution that is free of the unprecedented and dangerous MVP deal,” he said.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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Sen Joe Manchin energy reform bill could snarl government funding

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to tee up a vote this week on a short-term funding ​bill to avert a government shutdown — but the process could hit a roadblock in the form of a proposal from Sen. Joe Manchin to speed up energy projects permits.

​Schumer (D-NY) ​is likely to call for a vote on the stopgap funding bill — known as a continuing resolution — as soon as the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday to prevent a government shutdown by Friday when the fiscal year ends. He advanced a House bill last week that would fund the government until Dec. 16.

Along with $13.7 billion in military aid for Ukraine as it battles Russian forces, as well as Schumer’s request for $290 million to fight “rainbow fentanyl” being smuggled into the country, Schumer is also adamant about including Manchin’s permit reforms in the must-pass package.

But in a 50-50 divided chamber, where the majority leader will need 60 votes to get around an expected filibuster, Republicans and some progressive Democrats have balked at supporting Manchin’s bill.

Progressives believe it gives too much away to energy companies, and Republicans aren’t in a rush to reward the moderate West Virginia Democrat for backing President Biden’s $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act that passed last month.

​Schumer (D-NY) ​is likely to call for a vote on the stopgap funding bill – known as a continuing resolution – as soon as the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File
Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said his bill would speed up the permitting process for the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Further complicating the situation is that Manchin’s West Virginia colleague, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, has introduced a separate proposal for the permitting process, one that Republicans have rallied around. 

Manchin said “this is not about me” when asked in an interview on Sunday why Republicans should vote for his legislation.

“My Republican friends, I’ve been working for 12 years with them, and I know their No. 1 item that they’ve had, the No. 1 priority they’ve had is permitting reform​,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he opposes the ​reform ​plan even though part of it runs through his state, fearing that “it could open the door to serious abuse and even corruption.”
Brad Vest/Getty Images
Further complicating the situation is that Manchin’s West Virginia colleague, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, has introduced a separate proposal for the permitting process.
Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Republicans have since rallied behind Capito’s bill.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

“​We can’t build anything in America. It takes five to 10 years. The developed world takes one to three years. And why should we so behind the developed world to bringing products to market, to be able to have the infrastructure to move energy around? And we’re asking people around the world to do things for us, we won’t do for ourself?​” he continued. ​

Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said his bill would speed up the permitting process for the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline that carries natural gas through West Virginia to Virginia.

“With the high energy costs that we have, the high gas and natural gas prices, the high gasoline prices, the only way you can get those prices down is by manufacturing and competing more, producing more. And that’s what this is about,” Manchin​ said in an interview with a West Virginia radio station last month, defending the pipeline and his deal to support the Inflation Reduction Act. 

“My Republican friends, I’ve been working for 12 years with them, and I know their No. 1 item that they’ve had, the No. 1 priority they’ve had is permitting reform​.”
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he opposes the ​reform ​plan even though part of it runs through his state, fearing that “it could open the door to serious abuse and even corruption.”

“If they demonstrate on the merits that they should be entitled to build a pipeline … then build it by all means,” Kaine ​in a speech on the Senate floor​ last week​.

“But don’t embrace the need for permitting reform and then choose one project in the entire United States affecting my state and pull it out of permitting reform, insulating it from the normal processes.” 

With Post Wires

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Democrats complicate the private equity tax loophole

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Private equity investors were stunned last week when Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer agreed to a giant reconciliation bill. Not only that Manchin got to yes on anything, but that he adopted very convoluted language on changing the tax treatment of carried interest.

The big picture: This could become a full employment act for private equity fund accountants.

What to know: We don’t yet have full legislative text of Manchin’s bill, with Senate Democrats instead only providing a one-page summary. But multiple sources say the carry change would be cribbed from the House version of Build Back Better (RIP).

  • This does not recharacterize carried interest as ordinary income, which everyone agrees would be the cleanest way to close the loophole (even among those who bristle at the suggestion that it is a loophole).
  • Instead it focuses on holding periods. First by expanding the minimum holding period for capital gains treatment on PE carried interest from three years to five years. Second, by starting the clock on the later of the date on which the fund acquired “substantially all” of its carried interest, or the date on which it acquired “substantially all” of its assets.

Here’s the problem, as explained by law firm Gibson Dunn: “The Act does not specify how the ‘substantially all’ requirement is intended to be measured, and, because many investment funds (e.g., hedge funds and private equity funds) acquire assets at different times and have overlapping holding periods, it would be extraordinarily difficult for taxpayers to determine when these requirements have been satisfied.”

  • Beyond that, the language also creates perverse incentives for PE investors by creating different minimum hold times for different portfolio companies within the same fund.
  • Word is that House Democrats were working to fix the BBB language until Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema torpedoed the entire package. But nothing was ever codified, which is why the new plan is the same as the old plan.
  • “Congress has got to provide more guidance on what it intends fund managers to pay,” a private equity attorney tells me. “Otherwise you’ll get a free-for-all because no one can really understand this.”

Wildcard: It’s still very possible that Sinema again refuses to play ball, or that she insists on dropping tax provisions like carry and corporate minimums. Axios’ Alayna Treene last night reported more on her thinking.

  • The American Investment Council, a PE lobbying group, notes that there are nearly 150 private capital firms based in Arizona, plus 678 PE-backed portfolio companies that employ 229,000 Arizonans.

Savings: Senate Democrats claim that their carry tax changes could generate $14 billion over 10 years. Pretty impressive. Not the number, per se, but that anyone felt comfortable calculating a number given the legislative vagueness.

  • Also worth noting that $14 billon is the same figure used by CBO in 2019 for a proposal that would have treated carry as ordinary income. Pretty sure the short-term outlook for PE profits was a bit stronger in 2019 than in 2022…

The bottom line: The political debate over carried interest taxation began more than a decade ago. It’s no less messy today than it was back then.

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Fox News Anchor Harris Faulkner Loses It When Joe Manchin Questions Her Patriotism

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Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner briefly lost it during a contentious interview with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Tuesday, taking strong issue with the centrist senator asking her if she’s afraid of Democrats doing “something good” for America.

“My father served,” an incensed Faulkner fired back at Manchin at one point, demanding that the West Virginia lawmaker not make it “personal.”

With Manchin taking a media victory lap after finally striking a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pass portions of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, Fox News has quickly turned on their favorite Democrat. After praising him for months for tanking Biden’s Build Back Better legislation, the network’s “disappointed” hosts and commentators have groused about Manchin’s “betrayal.”

Appearing on The Faulkner Focus on Tuesday to explain his support for the newly named Inflation Reduction Act, Manchin parried most of Faulkner’s pointed questions about the bill’s tax structure, spending, and energy investments. For the most part, Manchin continued his appeal to the patriotism of both the anchor and the network’s viewers.

“We need more energy today so—we also need to invest in the energy for the future,” Manchin declared early in the interview. “This is a balanced approach everyone has been talking about. Everyone is upset for whatever reason because they are afraid it is a political bill. It is not a Democrat bill. Not a Republican bill. It is not a green deal. This is a red, white, and blue deal, Harris.”

Manchin also pushed back when Faulkner parroted Republican claims that the new legislation would raise taxes on middle-class Americans, noting that it merely requires large corporations to pay a minimum tax rate of 15 percent.

“Who is paying any taxes that doesn’t have a corporation that has revenue of over a billion dollars a year? Not one person,” the West Virginia senator replied.

“I am asking you a different question than you’re answering. I’m saying Americans $400,000 and below now are going to be taxed. Their taxes will go up,” Faulkner replied.

“That’s wrong,” Manchin retorted. “That’s a lie. A pure, outright lie.”

The conversation only grew more tense when Manchin taunted the Fox News host, at one point urging her to “be optimistic” and “be an American” when she said experts predict U.S. gas prices will rise around Labor Day.

Eventually, Faulkner brought up Manchin’s non-response when recently grilled by Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd on whether he wanted Democrats to stay in power after this year’s midterms. Insisting he didn’t dodge the question, Manchin instead said he is solely focused on getting his deal passed and is unconcerned with political races.

Faulkner, however, continued to press the issue, bringing up Biden’s low approval numbers while stating that “elections are going to need some help” for Democrats.

“Harris, are you scared that we’re going to do something good that will help our country?” Manchin shot back, prompting the Fox anchor to grow apoplectic.

“Of course not! My father served!” Faulkner shouted.

“Well, sounds like you are,” Manchin calmly interjected.

“Are you kidding? Service is in the Bible!” Faulkner continued. “That’s what we do, we serve our fellow man and woman. Of course! Don’t make this personal, because it’s not.”

After that heated moment, Faulkner again pushed Manchin on the low approval ratings Biden is “rocking right now,” remarking that the West Virginia senator doesn’t sound very supportive of his own party.

“I work with what I have here in the majority party we have as a Democratic Party. I’m working with the president, who has accepted the proposal I put forward and negotiated,” Manchin responded. “Balanced energy policy. It’s wonderful for our country. I know people who don’t like the president and don’t like Democrats might be upset. It is not whether you like the president or you like Democrats. Do you like America? Do you want to fight inflation? This bill does it.”

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Senate GOP argues data shows Schumer-Manchin deal raises taxes on earners under $400K

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The energy and healthcare deal from Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer would raise taxes on millions of Americans earning less than $400,000 annually, Senate Republican say, citing non-partisan data.

The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation found that taxes would jump by $16.7 billion on American taxpayers making less than $200,000 in 2023 and raise another $14.1 billion on taxpayers who make between $200,000 and $500,000.

During the 10-year window, the average tax rate would go up for most income categories, the Senate GOP said, citing the data from the joint committee. And by 2031, new energy credits and subsidies would have people earning less than $400,000 pay as much as two-thirds of the additional tax revenue collected that year, the release said.

“Americans are already experiencing the consequences of Democrats’ reckless economic policies. The mislabeled ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ will do nothing to bring the economy out of stagnation and recession, but it will raise billions of dollars in taxes on Americans making less than $400,000,” said Sen. Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican who sits on the Senate Finance Committee as a ranking member, and who requested the analysis.

“The more this bill is analyzed by impartial experts, the more we can see Democrats are trying to sell the American people a bill of goods,” Crapo added.

The Manchin-Schumer plan would spend $369 billion on energy and climate initiatives.
AP/J. Scott Applewhite

But Democrats are objecting to the GOP’s assertions with a spokesperson for Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden stating families “will not pay one penny in additional taxes under this bill,” according to Politico.

The spokesperson, Ashley Schapitl, also said the JCT analysis isn’t complete because “it doesn’t include the benefits to middle-class families of making health insurance premiums and prescription drugs more affordable. The same goes for clean energy incentives for families,” Politico reported.

The Manchin-Schumer plan would spend $369 billion on energy and climate initiatives and another $64 billion to continue federal health insurance subsidies.

Manchin believes the bill is “not putting a burden on any taxpayers whatsoever.”
Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz

The measure would raise $739 billion over a ten-year span with much of that money coming from a 15% corporate minimum tax, the West Virginia Democrat and Senate Majority Leader from New York said.

Manchin, in touting the bill, said it “would dedicate hundreds of billions of dollars to deficit reduction by adopting a tax policy that protects small businesses and working-class Americans while ensuring that large corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes.”

He said on CNN Sunday the bill is “not putting a burden on any taxpayers whatsoever.”

On “Meet the Press” he said, “I agree with my Republican friends, we should not increase and we did not increase taxes.”

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Manchin touts inflation reduction bill, says ‘I’m not getting involved’ in upcoming elections

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Sen. Joe Manchin in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and his staff told Democratic leadership on Thursday that he’s not willing to support major climate and tax provisions in a sweeping Biden agenda bill, according to a Democrat briefed on the conversations.

Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.V., made the morning talk show rounds on Sunday to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a revival of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better economic bill that collapsed earlier this year.

The inflation bill, which Democrats are attempting to pass through reconciliation, aims to reform the tax code, cut health-care costs and fight climate change. It will invest more than $400 billion over a decade by closing tax loopholes, mostly on the largest and richest American corporations. It would also reduce the deficit by $300 billion in the same decade-long timeframe.

“This is all about fighting inflation,” Manchin told Jonathan Karl on Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC.

Manchin insisted that the bill isn’t a spending bill, but instead is focusing on investing money.

“We’ve taken $3.5 trillion of spending down to $400 billion of investing without raising any taxes whatsoever, we closed some loopholes, didn’t raise any taxes,” he added.

He further explained the closing of tax loopholes, which will raise taxes on certain American companies. Any tax increase could jeopardize full Democratic support of the legislation, which it needs to pass through reconciliation – Senator Kyrsten Sinema, D-A.Z., may not support this provision.

“The only thing we have done is basically say that every corporation of a billion dollars of value or greater in America should pay at least 15% of minimum corporate tax,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“That’s not a tax increase it’s closing a loophole,” he said.

Manchin also noted that a deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D- N.Y., and he was struck in private to avoid drama.

“We’ve been negotiating off and on very quietly because I didn’t know if it would ever come to fruition,” he said. “I didn’t want to go through the drama that eight months ago we went through for so long.”

Manchin added that he’s struck an agreement with Democratic leaders to support the bill in exchange for taking on permitting reform later.

“If I don’t fulfill my commitment promise that I will vote and support this bill with all my heart, there are consequences, and there are consequences on both sides,” he said on “Meet the Press.”

Manchin also noted that the bill will especially target energy prices in the U.S. by upping production and using clean energy effectively.

“Inflation is the greatest challenge we have in our country right now,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If you want to get gasoline prices down, produce more and produce it in America.”

Manchin dodges election talk

During his Sunday interviews, Manchin repeatedly evaded answering questions about who he supports in upcoming elections – the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election.

“I’m not getting involved in any election right now,” he said on “State of the Union.”

He reiterated that he would work with anyone that voters elect and specifically wouldn’t answer if he wants Democrats to keep control of Congress come November.

“Whatever the voters choose,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “Whoever you send me that’s your representative and I respect them.”

When specifically asked if he’d support Biden in reelection, he focused on Biden’s current presidency.

“Whoever is my president, that’s my president, and Joe Biden is my president right now,” he said on “This Week.”

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Unexpected deal would boost Biden pledge on climate change

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WASHINGTON (AP) — An unexpected deal reached by Senate Democrats would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to address global warming and could help President Joe Biden come close to meeting his pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, experts said Thursday, as they sifted through a massive bill that revives action on climate change weeks after the legislation appeared dead.

The deal announced late Wednesday would spend nearly $370 billion over 10 years to boost electric vehicles, jump-start renewable energy such as solar and wind power and develop alternative energy sources like hydrogen. The deal stunned lawmakers and activists who had given up hope that legislation could be enacted after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he could not support the measure because of inflation concerns.

Clean energy tax credits and other provisions in the 725-page bill could “put the U.S. on track to reducing emissions by 31-44% below 2005 levels in 2030,″ according to an analysis released late Thursday by the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm.

Additional action by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states could “help close the rest of the gap to (Biden’s) target of a 50-52% cut in emissions by 2030,″ said Ben King, the group’s associate director.

But approval of the bill is far from certain in a 50-50 Senate where support from every Democrat will be needed to overcome unanimous Republican opposition. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who forced changes in earlier versions of the plan, declined to reveal her stance Thursday.

In the narrowly divided House, Democrats can lose no more than four votes and prevail on a possible party-line vote.

Still, Biden called the bill “historic” and urged quick passage.

“We will improve our energy security and tackle the climate crisis — by providing tax credits and investments for energy projects,″ he said in a statement, adding that the bill “will create thousands of new jobs and help lower energy costs in the future.″

Environmental groups and Democrats also hailed the legislation.

“This is an 11th-hour reprieve for climate action and clean energy jobs, and America’s biggest legislative moment for climate and energy policy,″ said Heather Zichal, CEO of America’s Clean Power, a clean energy group.

“Passing this bill sends a message to the world that America is leading on climate and sends a message at home that we will create more great jobs for Americans in this industry,″ added Zichal, a former energy adviser to President Barack Obama.

Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters, summed up her reaction in a single word: “Wow!”

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., tweeted that she was “stunned, but in a good way.″

Manchin, who chairs the Senate energy panel, insisted that he had not changed his mind after he told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer two weeks ago that he could not support the bill because of inflation concerns.

“There should be no surprises. I’ve never walked away from anything in my life,″ he told reporters on a Zoom call from West Virginia, where he is recovering from COVID-19.

Manchin said called the bill an opportunity “to really give us an energy policy with security that we need for our nation” while also driving down inflation and high gasoline prices.

The bill, which Manchin dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” includes $300 billion for deficit reduction, as well as measures to lower prescription drug prices and extend subsidies to help Americans who buy health insurance on their own.

Besides investments in renewable energy like wind and solar power, the bill includes incentives for consumers to buy energy efficient appliances such as heat pumps and water heaters, electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels. The bill creates a $4,000 tax credit for purchases of used electric vehicles and up to $7,500 for new EVs.

The tax credit includes income limits for buyers and caps on sticker prices of new EVs — $80,000 for pickups, SUVs and vans and $55,000 for smaller vehicles. A $25,000 limit would be set on used vehicles.

Even with the restrictions, the credits should help stimulate already rising electric vehicle sales, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. Electric vehicles accounted for about 5% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. in the first half of the year and are projected to reach up to 37% by 2030.

The bill also invests over $60 billion in environmental justice priorities, including block grants to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change in poor and disadvantaged communities.

Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, called the bill a step forward, but said she was concerned about tax credits for “polluting industries” such as coal, oil and gas. “We need bolder action to achieve environmental and climate justice for ourselves and future generations,″ she said.

The bill would set a fee on excess methane emissions by oil and gas producers, while offering up to $850 million in grants to industry to monitor and reduce methane.

The bill’s mixture of tax incentives, grants and other investments in clean energy, transportation, energy storage, home electrification, agriculture and manufacturing “makes this a real climate bill,″ said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “The planet is on fire. This is enormous progress. Let’s get it done.”

But not all environmental groups were celebrating.

The deal includes promises by Schumer and other Democratic leaders to pursue permitting reforms that Manchin called “essential to unlocking domestic energy and transmission projects,″ including a controversial natural gas pipeline planned in his home state and Virginia. More than 90% of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline has been completed, but the project has been delayed by court battles and other issues.

The pipeline should be “at the top of the heap” for federal approval, Manchin said, and is a good example of why permitting reform is needed to speed energy project approvals. Manchin, a longtime supporter of coal and other fossil fuels, said environmental reviews of such major projects should be concluded within two years, instead of lasting up to 10 years as under current practice.

“Other countries around around the world — developed nations — do it extremely well, and they do it in a very short period of time. We should be able to do the same,″ he said.

While permitting reforms would be considered in separate legislation, the budget deal would require the Interior Department to offer at least 2 million acres of public lands and 60 million acres of offshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska for oil and gas leasing each year. If Interior fails to offer minimum amounts for leasing, the department would not be allowed to grant approvals to any utility-scale renewable energy project on public lands or waters.

That requirement “is a climate suicide pact,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group.

“It’s self-defeating to handcuff renewable energy development to massive new oil and gas extraction,″ Hartl said, adding that new fossil fuel leasing required under the bill would “fan the flames of the climate disasters torching our country.″

But an oil industry group blasted the bill as punitive and inflationary.

“We are very concerned about this bill’s potential negative impact on energy prices and American competitiveness, especially in the midst of a global energy crisis and record high inflation,” said Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, which represents independent oil and natural gas companies.

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AP reporters Tom Krisher in Detroit and Drew Costley in Washington contributed to this story.

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Manchin and Schumer announce surprise deal on climate, health care and tax package

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Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that he had reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — which had eluded them for months — on health care costs, energy and climate issues. 

The package will be paid for by closing tax loopholes on wealthy individuals and large corporations, Schumer and Manchin said in announcing the deal. 

The health care, tax and energy package needs to be reviewed by the Senate parliamentarian to pass through the budget reconciliation process, which allows Democrats to approve the measure with 50 votes. In a joint statement, Schumer and Manchin said the “revised legislative text will be submitted to the Parliamentarian for review this evening and the full Senate will consider it next week.”

President Joe Biden said in a statement Wednesday that he had spoken to Manchin and Schumer and he supports the deal. 

“If enacted, this legislation will be historic, and I urge the Senate to move on this bill as soon as possible, and for the House to follow as well,” Mr. Biden said. 

Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia whose resistance had long derailed sweeping legislation on those issues, abruptly revealed the agreement in a press release, followed by a joint release with Schumer. 

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., talks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., before an event in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Patrick Semansky / AP


The announcement from Manchin came hours after the Senate passed the Chips and Science Act, a bill to subsidize investments in domestic semiconductor chip production. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had threatened to stymie the semiconductor bill if Democrats continued to pursue party-line reconciliation legislation.

“From here forward, the debate over a future reconciliation bill or any targeted legislation must focus on supporting the everyday hardworking Americans we have been elected to serve,” Manchin said in a statement. “I support the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 because it provides a responsible path forward that is laser focused on solving our nation’s major economic, energy and climate problems. The question for my colleagues is whether they are willing to put their election politics aside and embrace the commonsense approach that the overwhelming majority of the American people support and will best serve the future of this nation.”

According to a one-page description of the legislation from Schumer and Manchin, the bill would invest $369 billion in energy security and climate change and extend the Affordable Care Act program for three years. In addition, the legislation would grant Medicare the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday noted the finality of the deal.

“The good news here is that it is Senator Manchin, who is announcing a deal, not that they’re close to a deal or not that there are some parts to a deal,” she said. 

House progressives also seemed optimistic, tweeting, “We’ll need to evaluate the details, but it’s promising a deal to deliver on those issues might finally be in reach.”

Republicans immediately criticized Manchin’s agreement. Senator John Cornyn of Texas called it “Manchin’s New Build Back Broke Bill.”

“Senate Democrats can change the name of Build Back Broke as many times as they want, it won’t be any less devastating to American families and small businesses,” Cornyn said. “Raising taxes on job creators, crushing energy producers with new regulations, and stifling innovators looking for new cures will only make this recession worse, not better.”

— CBS News’ Jack Turman and Nikole Killion contributed to this report



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