Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein has stated in an interview with CNN that US President Joe Biden discussed the Build Back Better bill with Democrat Senator Joe Manchin after the latter refused to back the legislation.
"[Biden] has some confidence about [the bill], including discussions he has had with Senator [Joe] Manchin. The president and Senator Manchin - the day after that announcement where the senator said he couldn't vote for the bill as it was - they were talking again", Bernstein said.
Bernstein did not elaborate on whether Biden made progress towards convincing the senator to support the bill.
Manchin was the last Democrat in the 50-50 split Senate who was unwilling to vote for the Build Back Better bill. The senator repeatedly said that he would only vote for it after seeing its full price. Manchin engaged in long negotiations with other Democrats trying to bring down the costs of Biden's ambitious plan, intended to boost investments in green energy, social services, and welfare.
After long talks with other Democratic Party leaders, Manchin was close to backing the bill. However, once initial reports regarding decades-high inflation in the US emerged, the senator renewed his concerns regarding the BBB bill's costs. He ultimately refused to vote for the bill at the end of December, effectively blocking the passage of the legislation in 2021.
The lawmaker elaborated at the time that he saw no way of fixing the bill. Meanwhile, no Republican senator was willing to back the BBB plan, citing its high price tag for the American economy, which has been hit by a combination of slowed growth and high inflation. Many Democrats condemned Manchin's refusal to back the BBB bill, blaming him for Americans being unable to reap the benefits of it in 2022 – an election year that threatens the party's control over Congress.