Senator Joe Manchin is ready to use Senate reconciliation again

Senator Joe Manchin, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said he would consider re-passing legislation through a party line vote, but only in a situation where Democrats have tried to involve Republicans.

Manchin’s comments come as the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers turn to other top priorities, including voting rights legislation, after passing a $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief bill. dollars without any Republican support in the equally split Senate this weekend.

The massive stimulus package was able to survive in the Senate through a process called reconciliation, which allows the chamber to approve a bill by simple majority if it has an impact on the federal budget. Typically, a bill needs 60 votes before it goes to the Senate under a rule called filibuster.

The filibuster will make it difficult for voting rights legislation, passed by the House last week, to be approved in the Senate. Democrats would need the support of 10 Republicans as part of a regular process.

When asked if he would support the use of reconciliation, Manchin replied that if the regular process requiring 60 votes fails.

“I’m not going to change my mind about filibuster,” Manchin told NBC’s “Meet The Press”. “I will change my mind if we have to move towards reconciliation where we need to do something, once I know they have a process.”

“But I won’t go there until my Republican friends have a chance to speak as well,” he said. “And hopefully they get involved to the point where we have 10 working with 50 of us.”

Democrats have raised the possibility of creating a process like reconciliation, but would apply to some key issues like voting rights as opposed to the budget.

Manchin played an instrumental, but at times uncertain, role in passing the latest Covid relief bill. Democrats couldn’t afford to lose a single vote and had to make concessions to keep it on board.

Manchin defended the changes, which include an additional $ 300 per week in unemployment benefits instead of the $ 400 per week proposed by the House of Representatives. However, these benefits run until September 6 rather than August 29 and beneficiaries will not have to pay tax on the first $ 10,200.

“Basically what would have happened from $ 300 to $ 400, there is going to be a problem with people going without unemployment checks for a while,” Manchin said in an interview with ABC “This week”. The $ 300 per week is systematic and will allow for a smooth transition, Manchin said.

Manchin also defended the exclusion of a plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour from $ 7.25. He was one of eight Democratic senators to vote against an amendment proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Calling for this change.

“There is not one senator in 100 who does not want to raise the minimum wage,” Manchin said. “$ 7.25 is awfully low. We have to raise it.”

Instead, Manchin wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 11 an hour and index that pay rate to inflation.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden will continue to push for a federal minimum wage of $ 15 an hour.

Manchin said he was optimistic that Washington’s leaders could work together to reach a compromise and bring about change.

“We are going to fix this problem and move forward, as it should be,” he said.