US Representative Pramila Jayapal, a leading liberal House Democrat, has asked President Joe Biden to use executive action to deliver Build Back Better social spending legislation for Americans.
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Sunday, Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), called on Biden to continue focusing on his legislation despite Senator Joe Manchin’s public rejection of the plan.
Jayapal said the CPC would soon release a plan for actions including lowering costs, protecting family healthcare, and tackling the climate crisis.
“The Progressive Caucus will continue to work toward legislation for Build Back Better, focused on keeping it as close to the agreed-upon framework as possible,” she wrote in the newspaper.
Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to Biden’s hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, rejected the plan last Sunday, in a move that imperils the legislation.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,” Manchin said during an interview with the “Fox News Sunday” program, citing concerns about inflation. “I just can’t. I have tried everything humanly possible.”
The comments drew immediate outrage from liberal Democrats and Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist who helped shape the bill and called for a vote to be held on the measure despite Manchin’s opposition.
His rejection of the plan threatened to scupper hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for measures to meet climate goals and prompted Goldman Sachs to lower its forecasts for US economic growth.
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“Taking executive action will also make clear to those who hinder Build Back Better that the White House and Democrats will deliver for Americans,” Jayapal wrote.
Manchin’s support is vital in a chamber where the Democrats have the slimmest margin of control and Republican lawmakers are united in their opposition to the bill.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said he thinks Biden’s bill is “dead forever” as Democrats in the Senate struggle to get unified behind the legislation.
“I think Build Back Better is dead forever, and let me tell you why: because Joe Manchin has said he’s not going to vote for a bill that will add to the deficit,” Graham said during an interview with Fox News on December 15.
