Dem Rep. Porter Slams Manchin for Blocking $3.5T Spending Package — ‘More Concerned About Corporate Donors,’ Big Pharma

During a Thursday appearance on “MSNBC Live,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) ripped Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) for blocking the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending package.

The moderate Democrat senator will reportedly only support a $1 trillion price tag. The lack of support from Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) puts the bill at an impasse in the 50-50 split Senate.

According to Porter, Manchin’s opposition to the massive spending bill is because he is “more concerned about corporate donors” such as the oil and gas industry, the big pharmaceutical industry, and others.

“We have revenue options on the table,” Porter declared. “There are a huge number of corporations that pay zero taxes and by making savvy revenue choices. For example, using a real corporate profit approach to dealing with those corporations that pay zero, we can generate $700 billion. If we use the corporate minimum tax approach, we are going to generate $40 billion. Right there. Right there, Senator Manchin, right there anyone who’s worried about spending, we can generate revenue so that this isn’t about $3.5 trillion in spending. It’s not even now about $3.5 trillion in spending because we are going to generate revenue to pay for these things.”

“I have the will to do it. The question is, does Senator Manchin or is he more concerned about corporate donors, including large corporations — the oil and gas industry, the big pharmaceutical industry, and others — who are getting away with paying nothing under the current tax system,” she added.

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