Mooney: Build Back Better won’t pass “as is”

JEFFERSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WTAP) - President Biden and Senate Democrats spent this week trying to revive the “Build Back Better” infrastructure bill, after West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he would not support it in its current form.

When the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year-on a narrow, party-line vote-all of West Virginia’s House members voted against it.

That includes Republican Congressman Alex Mooney, who Thursday spoke about the bill’s prospects with WTAP.

While Senate Democrats vow a vote on the package will happen when Congress returns to session in January, Mooney believes it won’t get anywhere, at least as it’s written now.

”I do think we should look at every issue one vote at a time,” Mooney said. “I don’t think President Biden and the Democrats in Congress are going to give up on passing a lot of these programs. But I think, for now, certainly, that bill for now does not have 51 votes in the Senate.”

Mooney’s expected Republican opponent for the redrawn 2nd district, Congressman David McKinley, agrees there may be support for certain provisions of the bill, if they are introduced as separate legislation.

Mooney, meanwhhile, doubts Sen. Manchin-a long-time Democrat-will change parties.

That’s something that’s been talked about before, with Manchin being a fiscal conservative who has reached across the political aisle to pass legislation. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell discussed it again in an interview this week.

With the Senate now at a 50-50 party split, if Manchin-or any Democratic senator-switched parties or became an independent, it would likely return control of the Senate to Republicans. (Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris can break a tie vote, effectively meaning Democrats currently control the Senate.)

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