Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Jul 28, 2022,
Sen. Joe Manchin listens to President Joe Biden's first State of the Union.
J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images
Manchin said he cut a last-minute deal on Biden's agenda since Dems might lose control of Congress in November.
Manchin said he cut a last-minute deal on Biden's agenda since Dems might lose control of Congress in November.
"We don't know what the future will bring," he told Politico.
Democrats are racing to send the $740 billion bill to Biden's desk within two weeks.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia opened up about his reasons for cutting a deal now to revive the Democratic agenda. The party might lose one or both chambers of Congress in the November midterms, which would deal a fatal blow to their domestic ambitions for the final two years of President Joe Biden's term.
"In any other environment [than] what we have right now, this would be a bipartisan bill. I really believe that. This is the only vehicle I have to work with right now," Manchin told Politico on Wednesday. "We don't know what the future will bring. But all indications, might be a little bit of a shake-up. And that changes the dynamics of getting something done."
The conservative Democrat on Thursday claimed ownership of the $740 billion spending deal that was revealed in a stunning announcement a day earlier. Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck an agreement on a broad healthcare, climate, and tax package that was bigger than many Democrats thought possible only two weeks ago when prior negotiations apparently collapsed.
The pair agreed to extend financial assistance for Americans to purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act for three years. It also included $370 billion for climate programs and set aside $300 billion to reduce the federal deficit.
"This is not a Democrat bill. It's not a Republican bill. This is an American bill," he told reporters in a press call on Thursday. He argued the package would make significant headway on denting inflation amid heightening fears of an economic slowdown.
Democrats hope to pass the bill in the 50-50 Senate next week, though a spate of COVID infections is threatening to upend that timeline. They're using budget reconciliation to approve it with a simple majority in the upper chamber, using a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris to skirt GOP resistance.
Most Democrats quickly threw their support behind the agreement, but there was one notable holdout: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Her spokesperson said in a statement that Sinema needed more time to review the legislation and wanted a top Senate official to ensure the bill complies with the strict rules of reconciliation.
Democrats are now racing to send the bill to Biden's desk within the next two weeks.
Referring to the deal's healthcare and climate initiatives, Schumer told Democratic senators, "we now have the opportunity to get those two hugely important priorities passed before the August recess," in a private caucus meeting on Thursday morning, per a Democrat in the room. "We will need to be disciplined in our messaging and focus. It will be hard. But I believe we can get this done."
Manchin Spending Deal Includes Billions in Taxes on Oil Sector
A similar proposal, included in the House-passed Build Back Better Act, would have raised nearly $25 billion over a 10-year period, according to a congressional estimate.
The Superfund tax, which previously stood at 9.7 cents per barrel until it lapsed at the end of 1995, is paid by refiners and other importers to help fund the clean-up of hazardous waste sites. In addition to increasing the tax, the Senate proposal would index the fee to inflation.
The 725-page bill released last week would also impose other costs for the oil and gas industry. It places a new first-time fee on methane emissions rising to as much as $1,500 a ton and increases the royalty rate companies pay to the government for oil and gas produced on federal land.
The legislation, which includes some $370 billion in spending to help fight climate change, also has benefits for the oil and gas sector such as requiring more lease sales on federal land.
It remains to be seen whether the legislation will be backed by the full Democratic caucus in the 50-50 Senate. It would also have to pass the House, where progressives sought a much more expansive plan.
— With assistance by Erik Wasson
Joe Manchin
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
By Ari Natter
July 31, 2022
The climate and tax spending deal announced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin could cost the oil industry $25 billion in new taxes.
The legislation, which may get a Senate vote as soon as next week, would reinstate and increase a long-lapsed tax on crude and imported petroleum products to 16.4 cents per gallon, according to a summary of the plan released Sunday by the Senate’s tax-writing committee.
July 31, 2022
The climate and tax spending deal announced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin could cost the oil industry $25 billion in new taxes.
The legislation, which may get a Senate vote as soon as next week, would reinstate and increase a long-lapsed tax on crude and imported petroleum products to 16.4 cents per gallon, according to a summary of the plan released Sunday by the Senate’s tax-writing committee.
A similar proposal, included in the House-passed Build Back Better Act, would have raised nearly $25 billion over a 10-year period, according to a congressional estimate.
The Superfund tax, which previously stood at 9.7 cents per barrel until it lapsed at the end of 1995, is paid by refiners and other importers to help fund the clean-up of hazardous waste sites. In addition to increasing the tax, the Senate proposal would index the fee to inflation.
The 725-page bill released last week would also impose other costs for the oil and gas industry. It places a new first-time fee on methane emissions rising to as much as $1,500 a ton and increases the royalty rate companies pay to the government for oil and gas produced on federal land.
The legislation, which includes some $370 billion in spending to help fight climate change, also has benefits for the oil and gas sector such as requiring more lease sales on federal land.
It remains to be seen whether the legislation will be backed by the full Democratic caucus in the 50-50 Senate. It would also have to pass the House, where progressives sought a much more expansive plan.
— With assistance by Erik Wasson
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