Biden's Welfare Budget Bill Virtually Doomed to Fail Passage This Year... Concerns Over Leadership Impact

$2 Trillion Budget Bill Stalled in Senate
Democrat Joe Manchin Opposes Citing "Inflation Worsening Concerns"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The $2 trillion (approximately 2,371 trillion won) social welfare budget plan, which U.S. President Joe Biden has been prioritizing, has reportedly been effectively blocked from passing within the year due to opposition in the U.S. Senate. With efforts to persuade Democratic senators opposing the budget plan failing, it is expected that Senate approval will be impossible. If the budget plan does not pass within the year, it is anticipated that re-submission will take at least two months or more, raising concerns that President Biden's leadership could be significantly shaken.

According to foreign media including CNN on the 16th (local time), Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who had opposed the social welfare budget plan pending in the U.S. Senate, had not withdrawn his opposition by that day, making it virtually impossible for the bill to pass the Senate within the year. CNN reported that the Democratic Party continued to persuade Senator Manchin to pass the bill before the Christmas holidays, and on the 13th, President Biden personally called Senator Manchin to persuade him, but all efforts reportedly failed.

The social welfare budget plan is an essential budget for expanding the social safety net and promoting eco-friendly policies, which were core campaign promises of President Biden. While the Republican Party has persistently opposed the budget plan, the situation became critical when Democratic Senator Manchin recently expressed opposition citing concerns over worsening inflation. In a press conference following his call with President Biden on the 13th, Senator Manchin stated, "The current budget plan could further exacerbate the already serious inflation situation," adding, "Especially the child tax credit item could expand the budget up to $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, which could become a significant burden in the future."

Currently, the U.S. Senate is evenly split with 50 seats held by Democrats and 50 by Republicans. The Democrats need all 50 votes in favor, with no opposition votes, to pass the bill by adding the Vice President’s tie-breaking vote as Senate President. However, Senator Manchin, known for his conservative stance within the Democratic Party, has expressed opposition not only to the social welfare budget plan but also to eco-friendly policies, making passage within the year difficult.

If the social welfare budget does not pass within the year, President Biden is expected to suffer a major political setback. The U.S. political media outlet The Hill analyzed, "Following the failure of President Biden’s vaccine mandate expansion plan on the 8th due to Senate opposition, if one of his largest pledges, the social welfare budget plan, also fails to pass within the year, President Biden’s leadership will be significantly shaken less than a year into his term."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.