Manchin in op-ed says Democrats should 'pause' on their $3.5 trillion budget plan, citing concerns over inflation

WASHINGTON – Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Democrats should take a “pause” with their $3.5 trillion budget plan, which encompasses much of President Joe Biden's economic agenda.

"The nation faces an unprecedented array of challenges and will inevitably encounter additional crises in the future," Manchin wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. "Yet some in Congress have a strange belief there is an infinite supply of money to deal with any current or future crisis, and that spending trillions upon trillions will have no negative consequence for the future."

"I disagree," he wrote, adding that Democrats should "pause" on rushing to pass the $3.5 trillion package.

Democratic leaders set a Sept. 15 deadline for committees to return legislation specifying how to spend the $3.5 trillion, and put together the final bill for passage.

More: House approves $3.5T budget outline, setting up fall clash on Biden's priorities for climate, immigration

"While some have suggested this reconciliation legislation must be passed now, I believe that making budgetary decisions under artificial political deadlines never leads to good policy or sound decisions," Manchin wrote.

"I have always said if I can't explain it, I can't vote for it, and I can't explain why my Democratic colleagues are rushing to spend $3.5 trillion."

Democrats have argued the high price tag is warranted to tackle issues like climate change, free pre-kindergarten and community college, paid family and sick leave, and a Medicare expansion for hearing, dental and vision benefits.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., compared the size and reach of Biden priorities to the expansive government programs under former Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.

“Passing this rule paves the way for building back better, which will forge legislative progress unseen in 50 years that will stand for generations along the New Deal and the Great Society," Pelosi said.

But Manchin argued that a "pause is warranted because it will provide more clarity on the trajectory of the pandemic, and it will allow us to determine whether inflation is transitory or not," writing in the op-ed the bill also has no regard to "crippling debt or the inevitability of future crises."

Manchin voted in August with his Democratic Senate colleagues to pass the blueprint of the budget bill. But at the time he expressed expressed concerns with the $3.5 trillion price tag.

Using a legislative maneuver called reconciliation, the budget resolution is protected from being filibustered in the Senate, allowing a simple majority to approve the legislation in each chamber.

With the evenly divided Senate, Manchin is a needed vote for Democrats. They can pass the budget bill with 50 votes, meaning all Democratic-voting senators need to vote "aye" because no Republicans are expected to support the massive legislation.

But, Manchin wrote Thursday, "I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs."

Similarly, Sen. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., also revealed in late July that she did "not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion."

More: Sinema doesn't support Democrats' $3.5T bill, clinches bipartisan infrastructure deal

Democrats in both chambers have been walking a tightrope with their economic agenda plan, struggling to please both progressives, who want to pass the budget plan along with the separate bipartisan infrastructure deal. This task has proven to be shaky as they have struggled to also keep moderates on board with the "two track" plan.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has warned she will not move to pass the separate $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal, which passed the Senate last month, until the Senate passes the larger budget bill first. Progressives have long warned they will not support the infrastructure deal without the larger budget legislation, meaning any stray senator could throw a wrench into the Democrats' plan.

Instead, Pelosi has promised to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27,

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

More: It's the House's turn on Biden's infrastructure plan. Can Pelosi keep House Democrats united?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Manchin wants Democrats to 'pause' on $3.5 trillion budget plan