Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, has asked his colleagues in the Democratic Party to sit down and discuss with Republicans a way to reduce spending. His vote is crucial in framing the major pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda. According to the information gathered from the US news website, Joe Manchin wants a discussion before setting a timeline to reach an accord on increasing the debt ceiling in the US.
While delivering a speech on the Senate floor, Joe Manchin said his democratic colleagues are reluctant to utter a word about out-of-control expenses and refuse to speak with Republicans on incorporating responsible and reasonable reforms. He went on to say that everyone in the US will pay for their past sins and close their debts. Why can’t we sit down across the table and have a discussion on these matters and find a solution?
Joe Manchin wants a short-term plan to reduce spending
The Democratic senator wants a long-term plan to address the fiscal challenges of the future and, at the same time, a short-term agenda to bring down federal spending in 2023. However, he is at odds with his colleagues because of the speech. The Democrats have rejected demands from Republicans to reduce spending as part of the agreement to raise the debt ceiling. The stance taken by Joe Manchin shows that he is firm on changing the policies of the party even if he crosses the party leaders. He has yet to decide on seeking re-election in 2024.
Biden wants to increase the debt ceiling without any conditions
Joe Biden wants to increase the debt ceiling without any conditions attached when he presents the budget next week for FY 2024. Republicans made it clear that Medicare and social security are off the agenda. They are also against reducing spending on defense. However, they have not finalized any plans so far.
Joe Manchin also criticized Republicans during his speech on the Senate floor and said some of them threatened default regarding the debt ceiling and spending but refused to provide any specifics. In January 2023, Janet Yellen, the treasury secretary, said the nation would reach the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on January 19. As a result, the Treasury will implement extraordinary measures for managing the cash flow of the government if the lawmakers don’t agree to increase the ceiling.
The extraordinary measures, which could run up to June 2023, will help the government prevent default on debt payments. It also deals with government obligations like social security checks. The aid for COVID-19 added trillions of dollars to the debt in 2021 and 2020 under the regimes of both Republicans and Democrats.
According to recent BNN news, Democrats have a 51-49 Senate majority, while Republicans have 49 votes. However, John Fetterman, the Democratic leader, is away for several days seeking treatment for depression. Kevin McCarthy, the house speaker and republican from California, pledged earlier to reduce the spending levels during his race for speaker. The Republicans control the house.
