Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on a signed piece of paper in July promised Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) the reconciliation package would only cost $1.5 trillion, not the $3.5 trillion President Biden proposed and the number House Democrats are demanding.
The signed document by both men, confirmed by Fox News, says the “topline” number for the reconciliation package would be $1.5 trillion with debate on the package beginning no later than October 1.
“Senator Manchin does not guarantee that he will vote for the final reconciliation legislation if it exceeds the conditions outlined in this agreement,” the paper reads, pinning the deal down to Manchin’s demands on paper.
The document also reveals the two men agreed the package will include terminating the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing, which means the FED will stop pumping money into the economy willy-nilly.
this document reads to me like a sign of lack of trust on the Hill, a far cry from a time when a handshake was enough pic.twitter.com/K5G2HZLvSq
— Tara Palmeri (@tarapalmeri) September 30, 2021
The signed document also proposes raising the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, the top tax rate on income to 39.6 percent, raising the capital gains tax rate to 28 percent, along with any revenue from the bill “exceeding” $1.5 trillion to go towards reducing the deficit.
The revelation of the letter is a blow to the far-left House members because it confirms their worst fears that no assurances will likely be given that the package will include an additional $2 trillion in spending to fund the most radical items of President Biden’s reconciliation package.
The Traitors. https://t.co/H3Hc8OfZ7Y
— Jerry Saltz (@jerrysaltz) September 30, 2021
Schumer, however, is already back peddling on the signed agreement.
“Leader Schumer never agreed to any of the conditions Sen. Manchin laid out; he merely acknowledged where Sen. Manchin was on the subject at the time,” a spokesperson for Schumer told Politico.
“Sen. Manchin did not rule out voting for a reconciliation bill that exceeded the ideas he outlined, and Leader Schumer made clear that he would work to convince Sen. Manchin to support a final reconciliation bill — as he has doing been for weeks,” the spokesperson claimed.
Yet Manchin issued a statement Wednesday night reiterating his position from July. “I cannot — and will not — support trillions in spending or an all-or-nothing approach that ignores the brutal fiscal reality our nation faces.”
NEW: @Sen_JoeManchin tells me 1.5 trillion is still his top line and that he has told that to the president.
— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) September 30, 2021
“There is a better way and I believe we can find it if we are willing to continue to negotiate in good faith,” he added.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø
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