Democrat says Joe Manchin blocking energy, tax provisions in big bill

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin will oppose an economic measure he’s been negotiating with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer if it includes climate or energy provisions or boosts taxes on the rich or corporations, a Democrat briefed on the conversations said late Thursday, delivering a stunning blow to one of the party’s top election-year priorities.

The official said Manchin, D-W.Va., who derailed his party’s bigger and wider-ranging social and environment package last December, has told Schumer he will only support a measure limited to curbing pharmaceutical prices and extending federal subsidies for buying health care coverage.

Manchin’s demands leave the measure’s future unclear and upend party leaders’ hopes for a more sweeping package they’ve wanted to push through Congress by August. In talks with Schumer, D-N.Y., that have lasted months, Manchin had previously expressed support for energy and climate language and for raising levies on high-earners and big companies.

Manchin spokesperson Sam Runyon issued a statement that reiterated the senator’s assertions that he did not want any measure that emerged to worsen the consumer cost of living. The government reported this week that inflation last month reached an annual level of 9.1%, the highest figure in four decades.

“Political headlines are of no value to the millions of Americans struggling to afford groceries and gas as inflation soars to 9.1%,” Runyon said. “Senator Manchin believes it’s time for leaders to put political agendas aside, reevaluate and adjust to the economic realities the country faces to avoid taking steps that add fuel to the inflation fire.”

President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have been hoping to enact a roughly $1 trillion version of the $2 trillion bill that Manchin killed in December and tout it as an achievement before the November elections. It faces certain unanimous opposition by Republicans, who hope to capture House and Senate

Manchin’s demands mean Democrats would probably only be able to produce a far smaller bill that erases the hopes of many in the party to also fund clean energy incentives that could begin to help curb global warming.

However, containing the costs of prescription drugs and extending subsidies for people buying health insurance under former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law are also top Democratic priorities. Manchin’s stance puts his party in the position of having to decide whether it should accept a far more modest package, as opposed to perhaps nothing.

The official who described the talks was not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, Schumer had told Manchin during their talks that he would support using half of the overall measure for deficit reduction, a Manchin demand.

Schumer also said he would back setting aside $375 billion for climate and energy provisions, the official said. He also told Manchin he would back provisions aimed at helping domestic energy drilling — the West Virginian is a strong supporter of coal and domestic oil production — and would not include tax credits for electric vehicles, which Manchin had largely opposed.

The official said that even so, the resulting measure would have included clean energy tax credits and trimmed carbon emissions by almost 40 percent by 2030, according to Democratic estimates.