New data, showing that record inflation has wiped away recent wage gains for workers, has spooked Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
In contrast to President Biden, who called the rising prices โworrisome, even though wages are going up,โ Manchin said that Congress can โno longer ignoreโ the pain Americans feel in their wallets. Now, the West Virginia Democrat is saying that he may delay Biden's spending billโuntil at least next year.
Moreover, Manchin still hasn't found common ground with the White House and progressive members of Congress on the bill's climate change provisions.
Some Democrats worry that Manchin will use whatever excuse he can to kill the $1.75 trillion proposal.
The New York Post reports on Manchin's concerns about inflation:
And the West Virginia Democrat โ a key vote for Biden, who needs all 50 of his party's senators to support his $1.75 trillion social spending bill โย argued that the threat is โrealโ and โgetting worse.โ
โBy all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not โtransitory' and is instead getting worse,โ Manchin tweeted, signaling he may call for additional changes in the bill.ย โFrom the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.โ
SEE ALSO: Inflation Soars to Three Decade High
Manchin has previously sounded his alarm overย multipleย provisionsย in the package, evenย calling for a pauseย in the legislative process to assess what should be addressed in the measure. Those moves have succeeded in getting the bill's topline number whittled from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion.ย
SEE ALSO: Biden Administration Collected Records From Nearly 55 Million Gun Owners Last Year
Another House Democrat told The Post late Wednesday that the latest inflation numbers could kill the bill in the Senate.ย
Meanwhile, Republicans and business groups have roundly condemned the bill.
Do you believe that the Biden spending bill will pass Congress, and will it help or hurt Democrats in next year's midterms?