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December 22, 2021

Biden Says There Is Still Hope for Build Back Better as Mining Union Urges Manchin to Support Bill
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During his COVID address Tuesday, Biden was asked by reporters about
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin sinking the Build Back Better Act this
week and the fate of the bill.

President Joe Biden: "Look, I want to get things done. I still think
there's a possibility of getting Build Back Better done."

Rachel Scott: "Did Senator Manchin break his commitment to you?"

President Joe Biden: "Senator Manchin and I are going to get something
done."

Joe Manchin joined other Senate Democrats for a special virtual meeting
Tuesday night about a possible path forward on the bill. Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer said on the call the Senate would vote next month on a
revised version of the package and a potential rules change to
circumvent a Republican filibuster. Manchin has long opposed measures to
combat the climate crisis due to his ties with the coal industry, in
which he and his family are heavily invested, and his ties to fossil
fuel lobby groups. In related news, United Mine Workers of America
International - the U.S.'s largest coal mining union - called on Manchin
Monday to support the roughly $2 trillion social and climate bill.