Manchin accuses White House of subverting Inflation Reduction Act

Sen. Joe Manchin​ accused the Biden administration of not implementing the Inflation Reduction Act as intended, arguing it is “ignoring” the law’s provisions to expand fossil fuels for purely partisan purposes and undermining its ability to reduce the national debt.

“​{​​I]​nstead of implementing the law as intended, unelected ideologues, bureaucrats and appointees seem determined to violate and subvert the law to advance a partisan agenda that ignores both energy and fiscal security​,” the West Virginia Democrat wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.

“​Specifically, they are ignoring the law’s intent to support and expand fossil energy and are redefining ​’​domestic energy​’​ to increase clean-energy spending to potentially deficit-breaking levels. The administration is attempting at every turn to implement the bill it wanted, not the bill Congress actually passed​,” he said.

Turning a blind eye to the “deficit implications of these actions” as the White House and Congress debate raising the debt ceiling is “policy and political malpractice,” he wrote. 

Manchin, who negotiated the Inflation Reduction Act over many months last year with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said he and Biden agreed that the legislation was designed to generate $738 billion in new revenue to reduce the $31.5 trillion national debt and shore up the nation’s energy security. 

​But he said that aim has been subverted and he called on the president to “rein in this extremism.”

Manchin laid out two steps the president should take immediately. 

Biden should sit down with “fiscally-minded” Democrats and Republicans to negotiate “common-sense reforms to out-of-control fiscal policy.”

​”​While we can all acknowledge that raising the debt limit is an absolute necessity and Republicans shouldn’t threaten otherwise, are we seriously to believe there is no room to negotiate?​” Manchin asked in the piece.

​”​Does the federal government operate so efficiently and effectively that there truly isn’t a dollar of waste, fraud or abuse? Let’s get serious​,” he added.

Next, the president should direct members of his administration to implement the Inflation Reduction Act as written and “stop redefining its credits and other subsidies.”

​”​Unless common-sense actions are taken now, America’s energy security will not only be jeopardized, but we will soon approach a debt-ceiling calamity that is completely avoidable​,” Manchin wrote.

The Mountaineer State lawmaker – who could face challenges from a number of Republicans, including Gov. Jim Justice, if he runs for reelection in 2024 – called for both political sides to stop their squabbling because the “American people are sick and tired of these games.”

He urged the president to take a leading role in the negotiations.

“Mr. Biden was elected to lead us all to solve problems. We can’t allow them to be made worse by ignoring them. The president has the power, today, to direct his administration to follow the law, as well as to sit down with congressional leaders and negotiate meaningful, serious reforms to the federal budget​,” Manchin wrote.

“Failing to do so may score political points with left-wing partisans, but generations of Americans will ultimately pay the price. We must do better, and it starts with all of us working together and doing what is right for our nation​,” the senator said. 

​The president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are at an impasse over raising the nation’s debt limit as the June deadline nears. 

The Republican leader said Biden is “missing in action” from he talks and urged the president to get involved in the negotiations, while the White House has said it is waiting for House Republicans to reveal their budget. 

Republicans are pressing for a series of spending cuts, including clawing back unspent COVID stimulus funds and reforming welfare entitlements. 

The Biden administration has taken the stand that the debt limit must be increased and believe Republicans should get on board, saying any spending cuts can be debated after. 

The country has already reached its debt limit, but the Treasury Department has taken what it calls “extraordinary” measures” to keep paying the government’s bills. Those emergency maneuvers are expected to run out by June. 

A failure to raise the debt ceiling would be economically catastrophic, triggering a deep recession and roiling financial markets worldwide.