Manchin Demands Inclusion of Hyde Amendment in Reconciliation, Has Warning to Dems if It's Not

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall Columnist

 

Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is pushing back on a Democratic plan to push a “Medicaid-like” measure through the reconciliation bill for one simple reason: it lacks the Hyde amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for abortion.

The moderate, pro-life West Virginia Democrat said the bill is “dead on arrival” in the Senate without the Hyde amendment, telling National Review that “it has to be" included.

On Wednesday, the senator also blasted the bill’s hefty $3.5 trillion price tag.

“Spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, when we can’t even pay for the essential social programs, like Social Security and Medicare, is the definition of fiscal insanity,” he said in a statement. “Suggesting that spending trillions more will not have an impact on inflation ignores the everyday reality that America’s families continue pay an unavoidable inflation tax. Read more and see tweet here.