Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Wednesday that Congress "can no longer ignore" the worsening economy under President Joe Biden and Democrat leadership who are eager to pass $1.75 trillion in social spending legislation.
The Labor Department earlier in the day announced that prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier, as surging costs for food, gas, and housing left Americans grappling with the highest inflation rate since 1990.
"By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not 'transitory' and is instead getting worse," Manchin tweeted.
"From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday she hoped to pass the Build Back Better Act next week.
Democrats, however, need Manchin's support in the Senate, which is divided 50-50 along party lines, to approve the bill via reconciliation.
Manchin, a moderate, has not said whether he will support the $1.75 trillion spending bill.
He recently said he would not vote for the spending bill without knowing about the bill’s impact on inflation and the deficit.
"As more of the real details outlined in the basic framework are released, what I see are shell games, budget gimmicks that make the real cost of the so-called $1.75 trillion bill estimated to be almost twice that amount, if the full time is run out if you extended it permanently," Manchin told reporters early last week, CBS News reported. "And that we haven't even spoken about. This is a recipe for economic crisis.
"I will not support the reconciliation legislation without knowing how the bill would impact our debt and our economy and our country."
On Nov. 3, Manchin tweeted: "West Virginians are concerned about rising inflation. We cannot throw caution to the wind & continue to pile on debt that our country can't afford."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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