Here’s Why Senator Manchin Won’t Support the Build Back Better Act

On Sunday, ALEC alumni and US Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced his opposition to the Build Back Better Act. For many taxpayers weary of reckless federal spending, surging inflation and looming tax hikes, this was seen as an early Christmas gift.

In a written statement, Senator Manchin explained his decision:

“I cannot vote to move forward on this mammoth piece of legislation… with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.” 

Earlier this month, at the request of Senator Lindsay Graham and Congressman Jason Smith, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a second score for the Build Back Better Act. This time, the bill was scored over a ten-year period, revealing a major budget deficit increase of $3 trillion. Contrary to some claims, the Build Back Better Act is not fully paid for.

Because the bill is cleverly written so that new spending programs sunset after one year, the original CBO score considered them temporary, and the ten-year estimation was a budget deficit increase of only $367 billion. But as we all know, federal spending and new programs are rarely ever temporary. As President Ronald Reagan famously said, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear.”