Manchin lays out a long list of demands as key Senate presidents win their vote

The West Virginia Democrat and his staff have been engaged for weeks in intense negotiations with key Senate committee chairs before his party publishes a bill to expand the social safety net, setting out their demands. on a wide range of issues: health care, education, child care and taxes, according to various sources familiar with the talks.

And Manchin is making it clear that he will not devote himself to the aggressive climate arrangements sought by many Democrats, giving a key to his party’s efforts to turn the bill into a key to fighting global warming.

With Democrats needing all the votes in their caucus to get the bill to the Senate along straight party lines, Manchin has received more attention than any other Democrat, even when others, such as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Cinema, they have also rejected the $ 3.5 trillion. price tag. In fact, because committee chairs have held regular meetings with their members during the summer recess to shape key provisions of the legislation under their jurisdiction, they will often have individual meetings with Manchin, even if he is not a member. of their respective committees.

Manchin and his staff have held constant talks with Oregon President Ron Wyden of the Senate Finance Committee, a committee where the two powerful Democrats have clashed over several key key provisions to fund the proposal, including ‘corporate taxes, according to various sources familiar with matter. Wyden has held weekly Zoom meetings with members of his committee on individual areas of his proposal, but has made sure to hold regular talks with Manchin, either with him directly or through his staff.

When it comes to education, Manchin is trying to limit Democrats ’efforts to provide a pre-K, unregistered universal community college. He has spoken to Democrats about limiting the number of Americans eligible for pre-K by setting income thresholds, while also discussing ways to measure student performance for community college by assuming their tuition is paid for longer. of two years. And when it comes to health care, Manchin has suggested substantially reducing funding for home care services, a key priority for many Democrats.

“Senator Manchin’s opinion made it clear that both the current and unknown challenges facing our country far outweigh the policy of something of this magnitude happening right now,” a Manchin aide told CNN. in reference to moderate Democrats ’concerns about inflation and rising national debt. “That was true last week and it is today.”

The talks underscore the challenges of the future of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who must win Manchin, but also avoid provoking a revolt among progressives (particularly in the House), who are already rejecting West Virginia’s private suggestion of bring the price of the total bill up to about $ 1.5 trillion. And without the passage of the reconciliation bill in the Senate, House progressives warn that they will derail the Senate’s $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure plan that Manchin was central to in the negotiation.

“The idea that a $ 1.5 trillion price is enough to achieve those goals for people is fantastic,” Mondaire Jones, a New York Progressive Democrat, told CNN.

What remains to be seen is whether Senate presidents will ultimately respond to Manchin’s demands or try to make a decision for him: pass the most important national legislation in recent decades or be responsible for collapsing it alone.

Schumer and Manchin – who have maintained a frank and collegial relationship for a long time – have had constant conversations throughout the month of August and were not surprised by Manchin’s opinion last week, according to various sources. Schumer knows full well that he has to keep his most important vote in check, in addition to Sinema, which has already said it would oppose a $ 3.5 trillion bill.

“There are some in my group who think $ 3.5 trillion is too much. There are some in my group who think it’s too little,” Schumer said Wednesday. “And we will work very hard to have unity because without unity, we will achieve nothing.”

To achieve unity, the committee chairs have been working to keep Manchin from being surprised by the provisions of his plan they hope to unveil next week.

Murray spokeswoman Helen Hare said the Washington State Democrat spoke with Manchin and that he has held “regular talks” with members of his committee since last month. “She is talking to many senators with the aim of reaching the strongest possible agreement on free community universities, child care and all the other policies she is working on to reach the goal,” the spokeswoman said.

Some problems may not be solved, such as climate change. Manchin, who represents one of the major coal-producing states, has rejected Democratic proposals to impose a clean energy standard to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Democrats have also debated the inclusion of a carbon tax, which could lead to the use of cleaner combustion fuels by the industry.

But Manchin has not been able to address aggressive climate targets, leaving it unclear where the talks will land.