Dear MoveOn member,
I'm beyond frustrated by Joe Manchin.
On a per-person basis, no one needs the Build Back Better bill more than the West Virginians he represents. One in five of West Virginia's children live in poverty, and nearly one in five seniors is food-insecure.1
Don't listen to the cable TV talking heads who say that the bill is just too "left-wing" for a red state like West Virginia. West Virginia voters support the Build Back Better bill by a margin of 43 points.2
And no one should believe Manchin's line about deficits or inflation either. He didn't have any problems voting for a military budget that was $25 billion over what President Joe Biden had asked for and four times larger on a per-year basis than the Build Back Better bill.3
The sad truth is that Manchin sold out the people of West Virginia to massive corporations, the ultra-wealthy, and GOP and corporate media's talking points. And marginalized communities in West Virginia and nationwide are going to be hurt the most.
No one senator should be able to deny hundreds of millions of Americans the economic relief that the Build Back Better bill will bring. Senator Manchin's comments on "Fox News Sunday" that he will not support the bill cannot and will not be the final word.
Senate Democratic leaders have announced that they still plan to bring a bill to the floor of the Senate in January, and President Biden said that he won't give up until the job is done.
That's why I'm writing to you now. MoveOn is launching a rapid-response push to keep the Build Back Better bill alive, and we all need to get behind it. Paid leave. Universal child care and pre-K. Expanding Medicare to cover dental care. Lowering drug prices. Bold climate action
So much rides on passing this bill. Will you rush an urgent donation of $65 to MoveOn now to help out?
Looking at the numbers, West Virginians would be among the biggest beneficiaries of this legislation. For instance:
- The extension of the child tax credit would immediately lift 22,000 West Virginia kids out of poverty.
- The expansion of the earned income tax credit would benefit 102,900 low-wage West Virginia workers.
- Nearly two-thirds of West Virginians live in "child care deserts." The Build Back Better bill would help fill those needs with historic investments in child care and expand free preschool to 3-year-olds.
- One in four West Virginia seniors don't have natural teeth, the highest rate in the nation. President Biden's original bill provided dental benefits under Medicare.
- Build Back Better's housing choice vouchers would provide rental assistance to families on the brink of homelessness and benefit 8,000 West Virginians, nearly half of them children.
- West Virginia has no paid leave protections at all for new parents or people with serious illness. This bill would guarantee paid leave for 690,000 workers.
- This bill would support workers abandoned by the dying coal industry with programs like the Civilian Climate Corps, which would put residents of coal-scarred rural communities to work in land restoration.4
So why would Manchin say no to all of this? Just follow the money.
He owns stock valued at between $1 million and $5 million in a coal company he founded in 1988.5 He receives more contributions from coal, oil, and gas industries than any other senator.6
While Manchin rakes in the big money, he made his disdain for working people clear when he said privately that he opposed child tax credits because he believed parents would spend the money on drugs, and that he opposed paid sick leave because he believes workers will fake being sick so they can go on hunting trips.7 It's outrageous.
But we cannot let anger turn into despair. This is NOT over. The lobbyists who have been trying to kill this bill want us to give up. We must not give them what they want.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Senior Report," America's Health Rankings, accessed December 23, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159842?t=4&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
2. "Voters in West Virginia Support the Build Back Better Agenda," Data for Progress, August 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159843?t=6&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
3. "Good to Know That Universal Pre-K Is a Threat to Our Economic Stability But $768 Billion for Bombs Isn't," Esquire, December 15, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159844?t=8&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
4. "West Virginians and State Economy Will See Outsized Benefits from the Build Back Better Act," West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, October 6, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159845?t=10&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
5. "Joe Manchin has made millions from coal. His ties are now facing examination as Democrats scramble for a climate and economic agreement," CNN, October 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159846?t=12&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
6. "Sen. Joe Manchin - West Virginia," Open Secrets, accessed December 23, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159847?t=14&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
7. "Joe Manchin Privately Told Colleagues Parents Use Child Tax Credit Money On Drugs," HuffPost, December 20, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159848?t=16&akid=313276%2E53570607%2E-vCMOt
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