Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), a pivotal Democratic centrist, said Wednesday that he is growing uncomfortable with the mounting cost of President Biden’s agenda, with the latest installment expected to cost $1.8 trillion, The Hill reported. Congress passed Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief proposal in March and is now weighing his $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan along with his separate $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. The total cost of the agenda is around $6 trillion — a spending number that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago when Washington was wrangling over different belt-tightening proposals and the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction commission was making headlines. “It’s a lot of money, a lot of money,” Manchin told reporters ahead of Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress. “That makes you very uncomfortable.” Manchin has repeatedly said that he wants to pay for as much of Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure package as possible but has also expressed reservations about raising taxes. “Are we going to be able to be competitive and be able to pay for what we need in the country? We got to figure out what our needs are and maybe make some adjustments. Who knows?” he added. Asked if Biden’s plans need to be fully paid for, Manchin warned that “I don’t know how much more debt” the country should add. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he was initially pleased with Biden’s proposal to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to expand access to child care, prekindergarten and paid family leave. But Tester said he wants to take a closer look at the American Families Plan to make sure it’s not overlapping with some of Biden’s other spending proposals, including the American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Plan and the 16 percent increase Biden has called for in nondefense domestic spending.
