Manchin On the Hill

Everything looked good for President Biden's COVID relief bill passing despite Republican opposition and obstruction.  Then Joe Manchin, the Democratic U.S. Senator from West Virginia, almost screwed up everything.

Manchin (above), balked at a Democratic deal to give an extra $300 a week through September to the unemployed with $10,200 of unemployment benefit s tax-free.  Then Manchin, who apparently wasn't privy to the deal, said he liked the proposal by Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio to just give an additional $300 per week to the unemployed only through July - without one cent being tax-free.  

It's the tax-free provisions in the Democratic proposal that Manchin had a problem with.

So why not go along with Manchin and the Senate Republican caucus and just stick with the Portman plan?  Only a two-month difference, and it would make the bill bipartisan!  Because it would have made the bill a sham, because it would have gutted the effort to fortify unemployment benefits, and also because congressional Democrats hate the idea of selling their constituents down the river just for a deal to keep one of their own on board - and for progressive congressional Democrats, that goes double.

Fortunately, an agreement was reached that spared the Democrats from a major disaster.  The Democrats announced that they now plan to extend unemployment insurance program through September 6 at a rate of $300 per week with the $10,200 tax-free figure in benefits pertaining only to households making less than $150,000.  Manchin obviously didn't want to be the Democratic senator who blew up President Biden's legislation and subsequently is Presidency.  But his stand on this and other issues mean that, as long as the Senate is split 50-50 - likely until January 2023 - Manchin is the most powerful U.S. Senator in Washington.  His vote alone can make or break a Democratic initiative.

That's either reassuring or frightening, depending on where you stand.