An agreement was reached on a major tax and climate package, carried out over 10 days and entirely in secret.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) finally agreed to put aside their differences and negotiate a deal on President Joe Biden’s big rebuilding America package.
And yes, that initial meeting last Tuesday was held in a basement room at the capitol. “You still upset?” Mr. Manchin asked Mr. Schumer as their aides scoured the hallways outside to ensure the attempt at a truce would not be detected by other senators or reporters, according to the New York Times.
What happened next was a weeklong negotiation, largely out of sight, to produce the $739 billion surprise package now headed for quick votes in Congress.
Keeping the meetings secret also gave the Democrats just enough time to pass a $280 billion chips and science bill that Republicans would have otherwise blocked.
The talks were driven by major concessions made to Mr. Manchin — who demanded fewer tax increases, more fossil fuel development, and benefits for his home state.
Yet, all the talks and secretive meetings did bear fruit. On Wednesday, Schumer and Manchin announced the negotiations were complete, and on Thursday, Schumer explained the whole deal during a special caucus meeting.
The compromise deal will raise $739 billion in new tax revenue, fund an array of new climate provisions and pay down $300 billion of the federal deficit, according to The Hill.
“This thing could very well, could not have happened at all,” Mr. Manchin declared on Thursday morning in an interview with Hoppy Kercheval, a West Virginia radio host, reports the New York Times. “It could have absolutely gone sideways, so I had to see if we can make this work.”
Should it pass both chambers in the coming weeks, the measure would fulfill longstanding Democratic promises to address soaring health care costs and tax the rich, as well as provide the largest investment toward fighting climate change in American history.
“The work of the government can be slow and frustrating and sometimes even infuriating,” Mr. Biden said at the White House, where he cheered the deal. “Then, the hard work of hours and days and months from people who refuse to give up pays off. History is made. Lives are changed.”
