Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) expressed concern about President Biden's massive proposals to restructure health care, child care, education and infrastructure in the wake of the pandemic, he told CNN on Thursday.
Why it matters: Biden aims to spend $6 trillion for his plans and is asking Congress to pay at least $1.8 trillion. As a moderate Democrat in a split Senate, Manchin's vote is critical.
What he's saying: "Oh, most certainly. I am, and I want to see the details," Manchin told CNN, when asked if he is worried about the president's extensive plans.
- "The bottom line is there's a lot of need in our country. There's a lot of opportunities in the country that are coming and basically we're coming out of this pandemic with a booming economy," Manchin said.
- "I think we need to have tax reform. I thought (the GOP's 2017 tax legislation) was the wrong direction to go. But we can't overreach to the point to where we stymie investments, we stymie basically growth for 2022, '23, '24 and on."
- "I'm not for that, I've never been for that and I've told them I'm not for that," the senator from West Virginia said when asked about Democrats discussing a process to pass Biden's infrastructure proposal through the budget reconciliation process along party lines.
