There are a few democrats that serve within the Senate Chamber in 2021 that hold a ton of influence and one of those individuals happens to be Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. He could hold an important key to passing the major infrastructure bill that Joe Biden’s administration wants to sign into law.
According to Senator Manchin, the corporate tax increases within the infrastructure proposal are way too large to enact. He believes that he has a collection of Senators from within the democratic party that would need to see a lower corporate tax. With the current proposal recommending a ride to 28% on the corporate tax, that’s a 7% increase from where it rested during President Trump’s years in office.
It is highly likely that a compromise would need to be had in order for the infrastructure bill to even have a chance in the Senate. If the proposal is changed and certain amendments are made, then there’s reasons to believe that even a few Republicans may jump on-board and support it as well. Many experts believe that a corporate tax rate of 25% would be fair while others think it needs to be kept even lower.
With that one factor alone, Joe Manchin completely controls the fate of the bill because at the very least they are going to need every single democrat in the Senate to vote in favor of it in order for it to pass. Passing the infrastructure bill will only be possible with 50 votes if special steps are taken to avoid the filibuster. The steps would be similar to how the Biden administration passed the COVID-19 relief package, also known as the ‘American Rescue Plan’.
It’s possible that Senator Manchin believes that more harm would be done in the world of politics if the Democratic Party once again passes a massive spending bill without a single vote from Republicans. If this is the case, then the infrastructure bill could be dead on arrival without some sort of compromise. If there’s anyone that can lead the way in building a bridge across to the opposing party in congress, well then it’s probably Senator Manchin.
We could still be weeks away from even getting close to witnessing the infrastructure bill pass into law. One thing is for sure, it won’t pass in its current state and significant amendments will likely be needed to get some more support in favor of it. The massive spending bill has a long journey but it could eventually find itself passed into law if Senators like Joe Manchin and other moderate democrats force the Biden administration to talk with Republican representatives in congress.
At the same time, Republican representatives have to be willing to negotiate with representatives of the opposing party while still remaining in good faith. Only time will tell if this is possible but it would be a great step towards unifying the country.