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Manchin Nixes Biden’s $3.5T Budget Plan, Urges $1.5T Instead

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FILE - In this Aug. 5, 2021, file photo Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., prepares to chair a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as lawmakers work to advance the $1 trillion bipartisan bill, at the Capitol in Washington. Manchin said Thursday, Sept. 2, that Congress should take a “strategic pause” on more spending, warning that he does not support President Joe Biden's plans for a sweeping $3.5 trillion effort to rebuild and reshape the economy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — As congressional Democrats speed ahead this week in pursuit of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan for social and environmental spending, a Democratic senator vital to the bill’s fate says the cost will need to be slashed to $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion to win his support.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also cautioned there was “no way” Congress will meet the late September goal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for passage given his current wide differences with liberal Democrats on how much to spend and how to pay for it.

“I cannot support $3.5 trillion,” Manchin said Sunday, citing in particular his opposition to a proposed increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and vast new social spending. “We should be looking at everything, and we’re not. We don’t have the need to rush into this and get it done within one week because there’s some deadline we’re meeting, or someone’s going to fall through the cracks.”

Democrats have no votes to spare if they want to enact Biden’s massive “Build Back Better” agenda, with the Senate split 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaker if there is no Republican support. Democratic congressional leaders have set a target of Wednesday for committees have the bill drafted.

Pressed repeatedly about a price tag he could support, Manchin said, “It’s going to be $1, $1.5 (trillion).” He suggested the range was based on a modest rise in the corporate tax rate to 25%, a figure he believes will keep the U.S. globally competitive.

“The numbers that they’re wanting to pay for and the tax changes they want to make, is that competitive?” Manchin asked. “I believe there’s some changes made that does not keep us competitive.”

But Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who chairs the Senate Budget Committee and is helping craft the measure, noted that he and other members of the liberal flank in Congress had initially urged an even more robust package of $6 trillion. He described Manchin’s proposal as a nonstarter.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable to the president, to the American people or to the overwhelming majority of the people in the Democratic caucus,” Sanders said. He added: “I believe we’re going to all sit down and work together and come up with a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill which deals with the enormously unmet needs of working families.”

The current blueprint proposes billions for rebuilding infrastructure, tackling climate change and expanding or introducing a range of services, from free prekindergarten to dental, vision and hearing aid care for older people.

Manchin voted last month to approve a budget resolution that set the figure, though he and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have expressed reservations about the topline amount. All of it would be paid for with taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Congressional committees have been working hard this month on slices of the 10-year proposal in a bid to meet this week’s timeline from Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to have the bill drafted. Pelosi is seeking a House vote by Oct. 1, near the Sept. 27 timeline for voting on a slimmer infrastructure plan favored by moderate lawmakers.

Manchin, who in an op-ed earlier this month urged a “strategic pause” on the legislation to reconsider the cost, described the timing as unrealistic. He has urged Congress to act first on the nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill already passed by the Senate. But liberal Democrats have threatened to withhold their support until the $3.5 trillion spending bill is passed alongside it.

Neither side in their remarks on Sunday news programs revealed how they hoped to quickly bridge the divide among Democrats.

“There’s no way we can get this done by the 27th, if we do our job,” Manchin said. “There’s so much differences that we have here and so much — there’s so much apart from us where we are. … I’m working with people. I’m willing to talk to people. It makes no sense at all.”

Manchin spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week.” Sanders was on CNN and ABC.

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Frost Secures Nearly $12 Million For Key Local Projects in Central Florida

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FILE-Congressman Maxwell Frost (D, FL-10) speaks at Orlando City Hall to announce a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Justice as part of their Office of Justice Programs Community Violence Intervention Initiative October 9, 2023. Photo: J. Willie David III, Florida National News file photo.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) announced that he has successfully secured nearly $12 million in federal dollars to fund all 15 of his Community Funding Projects requests and deliver millions to support critical projects to improve housing, transportation, and infrastructure across Central Florida.

The funding, which was signed into law by President Biden earlier this month, will soon start being distributed across Central Florida.

Last Spring, Congressman Frost worked closely with local community partners and stakeholders to submit funding proposals for 15 comprehensive projects to support a wide range of efforts from affordable housing to infrastructure and transportation. Some of the landmark projects that will now receive federal dollars thanks to Congressman Frost’s efforts include:

  • $4,116,279 million to convert a vacant property in Eatonville into an affordable multi-family housing rental apartment building;
  • $1,709,752 to the City of Orlando to rehabilitate a local community center used for Community Violence Intervention programs to stop gun violence before it happens, and to make major improvements to stormwater management to prevent flooding;
  • $1,641,000 to Orange County to construct a multicultural senior center where folks can congregate and be connected to services in partnership with the Office on Aging, and support transportation and energy efficiency projects;
  • $750,000 to support the construction of quality, affordable small houses for low-income people in Bithlo;

“I came to Congress with a mission to deliver on affordable housing, transportation and infrastructure issues, and to make our communities a better place where everyone can live and thrive, and I am now proud to say that our team is making these goals a reality” said Congressman Maxwell Frost. “Central Florida is now set to receive nearly $12 million in federal dollars that will help transform our communities and help grow our local economy. While this $12 million is going to make a world of difference for so many working people and families in the Orlando area – this is only the beginning. My team is ready to secure and bring home even more money to help change Central Florida for the better.

Thanks to Congressman Frost, Central Florida will now receive $11,922,031 to fund the following 15 projects:

  • $4,116,279 for the Town of Eatonville to create a multi-family affordable housing apartment building;
  • $1,000,000 for construction at the Multicultural Senior Center;
  • $750,000 for community center rehabilitation for the Community Violence Intervention Project as part of the City of Orlando;
  • $500,000 for North Independence Lane Expansion for the City of Maitland;
  • $370,000 to provide low-income seniors with high efficiency air conditioning replacement, service, or system upgrades so they can stay in their homes longer;
  • $271,000 for Transportation Mobility Hubs for Orange County Government;
  • $500,000 for a housing rehabilitation and affordability preservation program in the City of Winter Park;
  • $750,000 for the Small House Project at Transformation Village in Bithlo;
  • $850,000 for bus bay reconstruction at LYNX Central Station Bus Terminal;
  • $500,000 for solar technology for bus shelters and shelter refacing for LYNX;
  • $200,000 to purchase and install a thermal energy storage system so Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida can store more food;
  • $400,000 for roof replacements for Meadow Lake Apartments for the Orlando Housing Authority;
  • $500,000 for community center education space for Shalom Orlando;
  • $255,000 for acquisition and rehabilitation of a vacant two-unit complex to create into affordable housing;
  • $959,752 for stormwater management improvements for Haralson Estates.

 

Congressman Frost will soon embark on a Community Project Funding tour across Central Florida to revisit the sites and projects that will soon receive federal funding.

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Florida’s Jewish Legislative Caucus on Antisemitic Attacks in Broward County

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Florida’s Jewish Lawmakers Show United Front Over Israel’s Right to Defend Itself
Area Representatives Randy Fine and Jennifer "Rita" Harris are members of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus

DAVIE, Fla. – In response to recent events effecting the Jewish community of South Florida, Chair of Florida’s Jewish Legislative Caucus, Representative Michael Gottlieb (D- Davie) issued the following statement:

“The South Florida Jewish community is once again the victim of deliberate and cowardly attacks. In recent days, an arsonist set fire to a vehicle at the Las Olas Chabad in Fort Lauderdale, and a violent protest erupted at the Jewish Community Center in Davie. We are deeply saddened and angered by these attacks.

These are just a few of the many examples of the rampant antisemitism that Jews face daily. This is why the Jewish caucus remains vigilant in helping to pass legislation defining antisemitism and creating criminal penalties for antisemitic and racist activities. We condemn this and all hate crimes and remain committed to fighting for Jews in the diaspora to be able to live and worship freely.”

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The Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus

Representative Michael Gottlieb, Chair

Senators

  • Senator Lori Berman
  • Senator Lauren Book
  • Senator Tina Polsky

Representatives

  • Representative Hillary Cassel
  • Representative Randy Fine
  • Representative Peggy Gossett-Seidman
  • Representative Rita Harris
  • Representative David Silvers
  • Representative Kelly Skidmore
  • Representative Allison Tant

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President Joe Biden on the Volkswagen Plant in Tennessee

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I congratulate the Volkswagen autoworkers in Chattanooga who filed for a union election with the UAW. As one of the world’s largest automakers, many Volkswagen plants internationally are unionized. As the most pro-union president in American history, I believe American workers, too, should have a voice at work. The decision whether to join a union belongs to the workers.

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