Democrats frustrated with latest Manchin pitch on Build Back Better

Senate Democrats are feeling exasperated with Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) latest proposal on a scaled-down version of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda that would leave out big social-spending initiatives like expanded childcare, universal pre-kindergarten, national paid family leave and long-term home healthcare.

Manchin is proposing that his colleagues choose one ten-year program to focus on and devote the other half of revenues raised from tax reform and prescription drug reform to deficit reduction and fighting inflation.

He is suggesting limiting new spending to climate programs instead of an array social-spending initiatives that he says would likely get baked into the federal budget baseline for years to come.