Senator Joe Manchin (D-WVA) removes his mask to speak as two members of the Senate and House meet to announce a framework for legislation on fresh coronavirus (COVID-19) at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, December 1, 2020.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Senator Joe Manchin, the moderate West Virginia Democrat, said he would consider re-enacting legislation through a party vote, but only in a situation where the Democrats were trying to involve Republicans.
Manchin’s comments come as the Biden government and Democratic lawmakers look at other top priorities, including suffrage legislation, after passing a $ 1.9 billion Covid bill without Republican support in the equally divided Senate this weekend.
The massive stimulus package was able to survive the Senate thanks to a process known as reconciliation, which enables the House to approve a bill by simple majority if it affects the federal budget. A bill usually requires 60 votes before moving to the Senate floor under the rule called the filibuster.
The filibuster will make it difficult to get legislation on voting rights, passed by the House last week, in the Senate. Democrats will need the support of ten Republicans during regular process.
Asked if he would support the reconciliation, Manchin said only if the regular process that requires 60 votes fails.
“I’m not going to change my mind,” Manchin told NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “I will change my mind if we have to go to a reconciliation to where we have to do something, once I know the process is in it.”
“But I’m not going there until my Republican friends have the ability to have their say, too,” he said. “And I hope they get involved to the point where we have ten who will work with 50 of us.”
Democrats have raised the possibility of bringing about a process such as reconciliation, but apply to certain key issues such as voting rights over the budget.
Manchin played an instrumental, but sometimes uncertain, role in the implementation of the latest bill on Covid. Democrats could not afford to lose one vote and had to make concessions to keep him on board.
Manchin defends the changes, which include an additional unemployment benefit of $ 300 a week, rather than $ 400 a week proposed by the House of Representatives. However, these benefits last until September 6 instead of August 29 and recipients do not have to pay tax on the first $ 10,200.
“What would actually have happened, from $ 300 to $ 400, there would have been a problem with people who would go without unemployment checks for a while,” Manchin said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.” The $ 300 a week is systematic and will keep a smooth transition, Manchin said.
Manchin also defends the exclusion of a plan to increase the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour, from $ 7.25. He was one of eight Democratic senators opposed to an amendment by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
“There is not one senator out of the 100 who does not want to raise the minimum wage,” Manchin said. “$ 7.25 is sinfully low. We need to raise it.”
Instead, Manchin wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 11 per hour and index the rate of inflation.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden would continue to push for a federal minimum wage of $ 15 an hour.
Manchin said he was optimistic that Washington leaders could work together to reach a compromise and bring about change.
“We will work it out and move forward, as it should be,” he said.