Sanders, Manchin, Sinema fight proxy war in the House
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON AND SCOTT WONG - 09/30/21 06:04 AM EDT The fight between Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) over the shape and size of a massive spending and tax reform bill is playing out in proxy battles between their liberal and moderate allies in the House.
For months, Sanders and Manchin — along with Sinema — have been at opposite sides of the internal Democratic debate over the size of the prospective reconciliation package and what it should include. All three are now reaching out to their progressive and centrist allies, respectively, to bolster their negotiating positions.
Sanders initially floated a $6 trillion target for the reconciliation bill, a spending goal that eventually got whittled down to $3.5 trillion in the budget resolution that passed both the Senate and House.
More recently, Democrats say the top-line spending number for the reconciliation bill is likely to fall below $3.5 trillion because of opposition from Manchin and Sinema, who say it’s more than they are willing to support.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/574606-sanders-manchin-sinema-fight-proxy-war-in-the-house
