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Joe Manchin Drives Final Nail Into Doomed ‘Build Back Better’ Plan. For Now.

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Sen. Joe Manchin (D–W.Va.After spending months laying out various reasons why he doesn’t support President Joe Biden’s “Build Back better” plan, he stated on Sunday that he did not support Biden’s plan.

I cannot vote for this legislation to be continued. In an interview with Fox News, Manchin stated that he couldn’t. This is why I oppose this bill.

For anyone still not sure where Manchin is, the senator issued a lengthy statement that explained why he drove the final nail into the proposal that had never received the support of a majority in the U.S. Senate.

My Democratic counterparts in Washington want to drastically reshape the society of America in a manner that makes us more vulnerable to all the dangers we face. Manchin made the statement, saying that it was impossible to take such a risk with an enormous debt of over $29 trillion and inflation tax that is real and detrimental for every hard-working American at grocery stores and gas stations. Manchin also mentioned the fact that many of the temporary provisions in the bill are permanent according to the Congressional Budget Office and accused bill supporters of trying to “hide the true cost of this bill’s intent.”

Congress is the kind of place in which what’s dead might never die. There will be many attempts next year to revive some parts of the “Build back Better” plan. By Sunday night, Sen. Ron Wyden (D–Ore.) Had already released a slimmed-down version of the proposal. The White House responded to Manchin on Sunday, suggesting that the negotiations have been poisoned.

There have been many versions of the “Build Back Better” plan this year. The current form is a $1.75 trillion package—though, as Manchin notes, the actual cost is more than double that when budget gimmicks are ignored—that would greatly expand the size of government to help defer the cost of child care, health care, and living in states with high taxes. In a party line vote, it passed the House last month.

It’s certainly fair to point out—as some progressives have—that Manchin’s fiscal conservatism is applied somewhat unevenly. Manchin was one the 88 senators that voted in favor last week of the National Defense Authorization Act. It sets the Pentagon’s budget to $770 billion for next year. Even without any future increases—and those will Definitely happen, no matter which party controls Washington—that means the Pentagon is on pace to receive about $7.7 trillion over the next decade.

It would be better for Manchin that all spending decisions are scrutinized as closely as possible. It would even be better for Congress and the media to examine routine, recurring expenditures as carefully as they have watched the creation of “Build Back Better”.

Manchin has been a consistent opponent of Biden’s spending plans for several months. Biden and his allies have not done anything to resolve Manchin’s primary concerns: That the bill would increase America’s debt pile and hide its true costs with gimmicks.

Still, Manchin’s comment on Sunday drew the usual unhinged responses. Jennifer Rubin The Washington PostColumnist for the nominally conservative party declared democracy to be “hanging by a thread”—even though this seems like a pretty clear-cut example of the majority getting its way. It is quite difficult, in my opinion, to pass major legislative changes with the narrowest possible Senate majority. This is by design.

We need to be very clear on this. The apparent failure of the “Build back Better” plan is not due to a break in democracy or intentional sabotage from the senator representing West Virginia. The bill hasn’t had a strong case since months. It needs to be presented with a compelling argument that 50 senators, plus the vice-president would support it. It was there. There is not a moment of this year that I can remember. when the plan, in all its various forms and permutations, had the support of a simple majority of the U.S. Senate—the bare minimum required to pass bills into law.

Biden’s enormous domestic spending plan was not doomed by Manchin’s Sunday speech. This was not doomed. Manchin provided only some closure.

The new COVID-19 spike is causing a pragmatic response. This is what Colorado Governor. Jared Polis, (D), continues charting an independent course through this latest round COVID-19 panic. Meet the Press Sunday

The New York TimesNotes that Polis is also opposed to Govs. In the wake of the swell of COVID-19-related cases, Larry Hogan (Republican) from Maryland and Phil Murphy (D), respectively have been most vocal opponents to new economic mandates.

The NFL also announced that a new quarantine and testing regime was in place to acknowledge COVID-19 as an endemic problem. That’s a key shift—even if it happened only after the league was forced to postpone some games this weekend because an overwhelming number of positive tests left a few teams unable to field full rosters.

It’s also a change that could help America move forward.

“Successfully navigating the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic requires charting a middle course—one designed with clear goals in mind: preventing deaths, protecting our hospitals from crushing caseloads, and keeping schools and businesses open. We can do this with the proven, effective tools we already have, while giving in to neither dismay nor dismissal,” writes Ashish K. Jha, a physician and the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, in Atlantic.

Due to supply chain and inflation, lumber prices have risen again. The price of 1,000 feet of board-foot wood has doubled since November. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Lumber prices have a way to go before they threaten the records set in spring, when futures hit $1,711.20. Still, lumber prices with a comma were unimaginable before the lockdown, when mills were caught off guard by do-it-yourself and home-building booms and all the decks needed to facilitate outdoor dining.

According to traders and analysts, the conditions are favorable for winter prices to continue climbing as they do in spring.

U.S. is another contributing factor. tariffs on lumber imported from CanadaThis was doubled by the Biden administration last month.

QUICK HITS

• The New York Times Publicized Pentagon documents relating to over 1,300 reports about civilian casualties resulting from U.S. strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria.

• Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Cory Booker (D–N.J.) They announced they had tested positive for COVID-19.

• Anthony Fauci White House COVID-19 adviser says that masks will soon be worn on airplanes throughout your entire life.

• The New Spider-ManThe movie was the first to be released in the Pandemic period and earn over $100 million its initial weekend. The film’s opening weekend was the third largest in Hollywood history, with nearly $250 million being earned in America.

• Oreo cookies have become the new secret weapon of New York City’s war against rats.

• Network Effect, Martha Wells’ book about an intelligent sentient AI known by its cuddly name “Murderbot”, was awarded the Best Novel at the 2021 Hugo Awards. These awards annually recognize the very best in science fiction writing. A personal recommendation There are two truths to this story:The Hugo Award was won for the best novelette. This book is one of my favorite books this year.