Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., discusses the national debt debate, the 2024 political outlook and the green energy push in a wide-ranging interview on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast.”
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, called out President Biden this week for missing his budget deadline.
In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Manchin blasted his Republican and Democratic colleagues for their contribution to the $31.46 trillion national debt, demanding that the president and congressional leaders come together and come up with an “honest budget’ that reduces spending. He laments that Biden failed to release his presidential budget, which was expected in Congress on February 6.
“President Washington warned of the dangers of putting the will of one political party above the will of the nation. He warned against accumulating debt,” Manchin said, referring to President George Washington’s farewell address, which was read by Sen. James Lankford , R-Okla., before Manchin rose to speak.
“Yet here we are today, watching partisan politics and out-of-control spending threaten the very foundations of our great nation,” he continued. “This is exactly what George Washington was talking about. If you love your children, if you love this country, you will stop the madness and start acting sensibly and responsibly to put our government’s financial house in order. Party politics can wait. But the looming debt crisis cannot”.
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Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, said Republicans and Democrats have allowed “partisan politics and out-of-control spending to threaten the very foundations of our great nation.” (Photo: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Manchin’s warning comes as the federal government nears a summer deadline to raise the debt limit. Congress must reach a bipartisan compromise to allow the government to borrow more money to meet its spending obligations. Failure to do so would result in drastic cuts to government services and could lead to a national default if the US defaults on the interest on the debt. While some high-level meetings on the debt limit have taken place between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden, negotiations have yet to begin in earnest, and Congress may face a time crunch if tax revenue falls short of expectations.
Lawmakers in Congress from both parties tend to delay negotiations on fiscal issues in search of leverage. This dynamic often plays out through last-minute votes to pass short-term continuing resolutions to avoid government shutdowns until deals are reached on the massive spending bills. Past debates over the debt limit have been similarly heated and, in one notable case in the past decade, volatile enough to roil financial markets.
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U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C. Congress must pass a bipartisan compromise to raise the debt limit sometime this summer or risk a national debt default. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/AP Newsroom)
Manchin said Republicans and Democrats must do better for the American people, blaming both parties for creating the fiscal crisis facing the nation.
“President Trump has added approximately $7.5 trillion to projected debt levels through legislation and executive orders, including $4 trillion unrelated to COVID. President Biden has added more than $5 trillion to projected debt levels through legislation and executive orders, including more than $2.5 trillion unrelated to COVID,” the West Virginia lawmaker noted.
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“We’re never going to solve this problem with each party running in the opposite direction. We’re only going to be able to change course by coming together, embracing common sense and finding common ground,” Manchin said of the 31-year national debt. .46 trillion dollars. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“My fellow Democrats don’t want to say a word about our out-of-control spending and flat-out refuse to even talk to Republicans about sensible, responsible reforms. They want to pass a ‘clean’ debt ceiling bill with no commitment to fix anything. My Republican friends refuse to offer any specifics, and some have recklessly threatened bankruptcy, which should definitely be off the table. We will never solve this problem with each party running in the opposite direction. We will only be able to change course by coming together, embracing common sense and finding common ground,” Manchin said.
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He called on Congress to pass a budget “without the accounting gimmicks and tricks” that characterize Washington, D.C.
“If you love your children … and if you love this country … you will stop the madness and start acting sensibly and responsibly to put our government’s financial house in order,” Manchin said. “Party politics can wait, the looming debt crisis cannot.”
Eric Revell of FOX Business contributed to this report.