(Photo : Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 30: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) declines to talk to a reporter in the tunnel that connects the U.S. Capitol to the Senate Office Buildings on September 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. Saying that he has never been a liberal, Manchin said he told the White House and Senate leaders that he wants a top-line of $1.5 trillion for the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation legislation.
Sen. Joe Manchin was ambushed by activists calling for his support of the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better infrastructure bill led by United States President Joe Biden amid his continued resistance to the bill alongside Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
The two officials are the only Democratic lawmakers who have expressed opposition to Biden's massive infrastructure bill, which is considered a centerpiece of the Biden administration. Manchin revealed that he would support the bill if it was limited to a price tag of $1.5 trillion. However, the number is well below what progressive Democrats want the bill to have.
Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema
With no Republican lawmakers supporting the bill, it requires all 50 Democrats in the upper house to vote for it so that it could go through the reconciliation process. Activists in watercraft have spent the last few days protesting outside the houseboat of Manchin found in West Virginia in Washington, D.C.
The Democratic official answered questions on Thursday about his stance and opposition to the massive infrastructure bill. The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) posted a video on Twitter of the encounter where one person asked the lawmaker about his resistance to the bill's price tag. The individual argued that the Pentagon had a budget of $788 billion that was passed that cost more than $6 trillion over 10 years.
Manchin answered by saying that the federal government was spending just as much money on non-discretionary, basically non-defense programs. During his response, someone in the water nearby shouted, "not enough," Newsweek reported.
On the other hand, many Democrats are criticizing Sinema over her opposition to the Biden administration's infrastructure bill. Executive director of Progress Arizona Emily Kirkland said that the Democratic official was "standing in the way" of the federal government being able to deliver its promises to the American people.
Sinema has shared Manchin's view that the $3.5 trillion price tag of the bill was a little bit too much to be efficient. The events in Washington this week were the latest in a series of announcements that have garnered disappointment among Sinema's party. She also voted against a bill in March that would have raised the minimum wage in the country to $15 per hour.
Support on Infrastructure Bill
The Democratic lawmaker defended her decision by saying that she did not want the bill to be included in a coronavirus relief bill. Sinema has also received criticism for her refusal to support the end of the Senate's 60-vote threshold, known as the filibuster, CNN reported.
Sinema also received criticism for leaving Washington on Friday, with her spokesman saying the Democrat had a medical appointment for a foot injury. The situation was made worse because the lawmaker has been in the middle of negotiations regarding several pieces of legislation.
On Saturday, Sinema was also scheduled to attend her political action committee's "retreat" that was attended by donors. The event was held at a high-end resort and spa located in Phoenix. The hotel also confirmed the schedule of the event, which would host the cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by a dinner, the New York Times reported.
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