On Friday’s broadcast of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) stated that the Affordable Care Act subsidies were made temporary “not because they were intended to be temporary.” It was just because that was what they had to do to get then-Sen. Joe Manchin to vote for them.
Host Greta Brawner read from a viewer text that said, “These subsidies with health care were temporary during COVID and not designed or meant to be extended at all. Democrats could never seem to help themselves from pushing more and more welfare programs on other working citizens.” And asked for Casten’s response.
Casten responded, “So, the reason that these were temporary was not because they were intended to be temporary. It was because, when we brought this package forward to try to make them permanent, Joe Manchin said he would only support the package if they were temporary. So, this was Joe Manchin’s decision to make them temporary, not some larger policy purpose.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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