During an interview segment of "Meet The Press" on Sunday morning, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. discussed his moves in regards to inflation with host Chuck Todd, and when questioned on his timeline for action said "I'm not going to be responsible for inflaming inflation rates."
"Two weeks ago, you said you were adamant. You needed to see the July inflation numbers before you were ready to talk about this bigger budget bill with the Democrats called reconciliation," Todd says at the opening of the interview with Manchin. "And then, abruptly, you didn't need to see those inflation numbers. What changed your mind?"
"It wasn't abruptly, Chuck," Manchin said. "We've been working and negotiating, off and on, very quietly because I didn't know if it would ever come to fruition. I didn't want to go through the drama that, eight months ago, we went through for so long thinking we're in negotiation; it got close, then it fell apart. Never could get there on Build Back Better . . . On this one here we started in April and kept working and working and working, and back and forth, and all of the sudden inflation went from 6 to 8.1 to 9.1 and I said 'hey,' Chuck, listen, we better wait and see what's coming in July, numbers coming in August before we do anything more. And that was the point where we'd been talking and negotiating . . . I'm just being very cautious. I'm not going to be responsible for inflaming the inflation rates. I'm just not gonna do it."
"The initial criticism of this bill from Republicans is, in some ways, to some people, a predictable response which is simply this — you should not increase any taxes during a time of recession. Why is now the right time to hit certain businesses with a tax hike?" Todd asks Manchin.
"First of all, Chuck, I agree with my Republican friends. We should not increase taxes and we did not increase taxes. That's what we scrubbed out from that Thursday when we shut down until we started talking again on Monday. The only thing we have done is basically say that every corporation of a billion dollars of value or greater in America should pay at least 15% at minimum of corporate tax . . . that's not a tax increase, it's closing a loop hole."
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"The last two years have been massive record profits," Manchin said further into the interview. "And with that being said it's been the lowest investment of capital expenditure that we've ever had. So it's not the taxes that's driving this. What's driving people sitting on their money right now is a lack of confidence that we can't get our act together in Congress or government."
Watch clips of the "Meet The Press" interview with Manchin below:
WATCH: @Sen_JoeManchin says the reconciliation deal wasn't abrupt.
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 31, 2022
"We've been working and negotiating off and on very quietly because I didn't know if it would ever come to fruition. I didn't want to go through the drama." pic.twitter.com/kZDRp4Q3xN
WATCH: @chucktodd: "Do you want the Democrats to keep control" of Congress in November?"@Sen_JoeManchin: "Whatever the voters choose ... I've always taken the approach, whomever you send me, that's your representative and I respect them. ... I don't play the politics that way." pic.twitter.com/ts6KvK4Cef
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 31, 2022
