Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.V., made the morning talk show rounds Sunday to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a revival of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better economic bill that collapsed earlier this year. The inflation bill, which Democrats are trying to push through reconciliation, aims to reform the tax code, lower health care costs and fight climate change. It will invest more than $400 billion over a decade closing tax loopholes, mostly in America’s biggest and wealthiest corporations. It would also reduce the deficit by $300 billion over the same decade. “This is all about fighting inflation,” Manchin told Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday. Manchin insisted the bill is not a spending bill, but instead focuses on investing money. “We cut $3.5 trillion in spending on $400 billion in investment without raising any taxes, we closed some loopholes, we didn’t raise taxes,” he added. He further explained the closing of tax loopholes, which will increase taxes on some American companies. Any tax increase could jeopardize full Democratic support for the legislation, which must pass through reconciliation — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Z., may not support that provision. “The only thing we’ve done is basically say that every company worth a billion dollars or more in America has to pay at least 15 percent of the minimum corporate tax,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “This is not a tax increase, but it closes a loophole,” he said. Manchin also noted that a deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and himself was struck privately to avoid drama. “We’ve been negotiating very quietly because I didn’t know if it would ever end,” he said. “I didn’t want to go through the drama we went through eight months ago for so long.” Manchin added that he has struck a deal with Democratic leaders to support the bill in exchange for later authorizing the reform. “If I don’t fulfill my promise to vote and support this bill with all my heart, there are consequences and there are consequences on both sides,” he told “Meet the Press.” Manchin also noted that the bill would specifically target U.S. energy prices by increasing production and using clean energy efficiently. “Inflation is the biggest challenge we have in our country right now,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If you want to lower gas prices, make more and make it in America.”
Manchin avoids campaign debates
During his Sunday interviews, Manchin repeatedly avoided answering questions about who he supports in the upcoming elections — the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election. “I’m not involved in any election right now,” he said on the “State of the Union” show. He reiterated that he will work with whomever voters elect and specifically would not answer if he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress in November. “Whatever the voters choose,” he told “Meet the Press.” “Whoever you send me is your representative and I respect him.” When asked specifically if he would support Biden for re-election, he focused on Biden’s current presidency. “Whoever is my president, that’s my president, and Joe Biden is my president right now,” he told “This Week.”
