WASHINGTON (AP) – With President Joe Biden on the cusp of his first major legislative victory, a major moderate Democrat says he is open to changing Senate rules that would allow more party line votes to defeat other parts of the the White House to push through, such as voting rights.
Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia on Sunday stressed that he wants to keep the procedural hurdle known as the filibuster, saying that important legislation should always have significant input from the minority party. But he noted that there are other ways to change the rules that now actually require 60 votes for most legislation. For example, the “talking filibuster,” which requires senators to delay a bill by keeping the word, but then gives an “up or down” simple majority if they give up.
“The filibuster should be painful, it should be really painful and we’ve made it more comfortable over the years,” said Manchin. “Maybe it should be more painful.”
“If you want to make it more painful, let him stand there and talk,” Manchin added. “I am willing to look in every possible way, but I am not willing to take away the involvement of the minority.”
Democrats start looking at their next legislative priorities after early victory for Biden on Saturday, with Senate approval a $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 contingency plan based on a party line 50-49 vote.
The final passage is expected in the House Tuesday if leaders can maintain the support of progressives frustrated that the Senate has cut unemployment benefits and scrapped an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
Over the weekend, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which represents about 100 Liberals of the House, called the Senate’s weakening of some provisions “bad policy and bad politics.” But Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Also characterized the changes as “relatively minor concessions” and stressed that the bill retained its “bold, progressive core elements.”
Biden says he would immediately sign the measure if the House approved it. The legislation could allow many Americans to receive $ 1,400 in direct checks from the government this month.
“Lessons Learned: When we have unity, we can do great things,” cheering Senate leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., told The Associated Press. in an interview after Saturday’s vote.
Still, the Democrats’ approach required a last-minute phone call from Biden to Manchin to secure his vote after he protested the breadth of unemployment benefits late. That immediately raised questions about the road ahead in a partisan environment where few, if any, Republicans are expected to be behind the planks of the president’s agenda.
Democrats used an accelerated budget process known as reconciliation to approve Biden’s top priority without Republican backing, a strategy that succeeded despite the reservations of some moderates. But it could be more difficult to work on other issues, such as voting rights and immigration, in the coming months.
Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., promised Senate Republicans would block the passage of a sweeping law on voting rights passed by the House. The measure, known as HR 1, would limit the partisan mandate of congressional districts, remove barriers to voting, and bring transparency to the campaign finance system. It would serve as a counterbalance to the rise of voting restrictions in Republican-controlled state houses across the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s repeated false claims about a “stolen” election.
“No Republican is going to vote for HR 1 because it is a federal takeover election, it sets up a system where there is no real voter security or verification,” Graham said. “It’s a liberal wish list in terms of how you vote.”
The Senate is split 50-50, but Democrats control the chamber as Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote. With 60 votes effectively needed for most legislation, Democrats must win the support of at least some Republicans to hit Biden’s agenda.
When asked about the voting rights law, Manchin left the door open on Sunday to support some temporary solution to allow passage based on a simple majority, suggesting that he could be ‘reconciled’ support if he was convinced that Republicans had the option of importing. But it was unclear how that would work, as voting rights are not budget related and would not qualify for the reconciliation process.
“I’m not going there until my Republican friends can have their say,” Manchin said.
On Sunday, the anti-filibuster advocacy group “Fix Our Senate” hailed Manchin’s comments as a viable way to get past the “sheer partisan obstruction” in the Senate.
Sen. Manchin just saw Senate Republicans unanimously oppose a wildly popular and much-needed COVID bill passed only because it could not be filed, so it’s encouraging to hear that he is open to reforms to ensure voting rights and other critical accounts that cannot be blocked by a purely obstructive minority, ”the group said in a statement.
Manchin spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “Fox News Sunday,” CNN’s “State of the Union,” and ABC’s “This Week,” and Graham appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.