Schumer, a Democrat from New York, made a number of concessions to reduce climate provisions, but Manchin stood firm.
Manchin told Schumer he would not support a bill this month with energy or climate provisions, or consider raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, which is a blow. tough on President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda heading into November’s midterm.
The change in tone of the last negotiations has been brutal. Manchin had supported those arrangements throughout negotiations with the Majority Leader, both on staff and member levels, one of the sources familiar with said.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat my disappointment here, especially since almost all of the climate and energy space issues have been resolved,” said Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, whose committee had jurisdiction over clean energy tax credits and corporate tax provisions, said in a statement.
“This is our last chance to prevent the most catastrophic and costly effects of climate change. We cannot go back another decade and prevent hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of economic damage and undo the inevitable. human toll,” he added. added the Oregon Democrat.
Likewise, climate advocates, many of whom expected to see the text of the climate and energy bill soon, reacted Thursday night with shock and outrage.
“This is nothing less than a death sentence,” Varshini Prakash, co-founder of youth climate group Sunrise Movement, said in a statement. “Clearly appealing to corporate filibusters is not working, and it will cost us a generation of voters.”
“There really are no words to express how appalled, outraged and disappointed we are,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters.
Manchin’s office pointed to rising inflation. ‘Political headlines are meaningless to the millions of Americans struggling to buy groceries and gas as inflation soars to 9.1%,’ Manchin’s spokeswoman said. , Sam Runyon, in a statement. “Senator Manchin believes it is time for leaders to set political agendas aside, reassess and adapt to the economic realities facing the country to avoid taking actions that fuel the fire of inflation.”
But Evergreen Action co-founder Jamal Raad told CNN Manchin’s argument about not spending more to avoid worsening inflation missed the mark on energy and fuel. climate.
“It’s not even about solving inflation because the main driver of inflation was gasoline prices, and he decided we should invest more in fossil fuels,” Raad said.
Manchin is willing to let Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices and extend improved Affordable Care Act grants for two years, the source familiar with suggests that’s all Democrats are likely to do. to get in the package they hope to pass in a process that only requires Democratic votes.
Democrats are now pushing for the ACA grants to be extended before the August recess to avoid major rate hikes that will be announced just before the midterm elections in November.
The grants were expanded as part of the US Democrats’ Bailout Act and made Obamacare scholarship coverage more affordable, leading to record enrollment this year. If allowed to expire at the end of the year, nearly all of the 13 million subsidized enrollees will see their premiums increased for 2023, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. More than 3 million people could no longer be insured, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute.
Democrats hope to avoid negative publicity from such bonus increases. If Congress doesn’t act, consumers will learn in the fall how much more they might have to pay. Open registration begins November 1, a week before Election Day.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tami Luhby contributed to this report.
