Biden’s budget could transform life for working women. Don’t let Manchin gut it | Moira Donegan

The bill proposes extending the child tax credit, funding universal pre-K and childcare, and finally giving American parents mandated paid family leave

Joe Manchin is worried that American families will get spoiled if their government looks out for them too much. In negotiations over the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), the Biden administration's sweeping social spending bill that is poised to be passed through budget reconciliation, the West Virginia senator has reportedly admonished the Biden administration and progressive Democrats that the bill is too big. The Build Back Better Act has already shrunk: the Biden administration initially proposed $3.5tn in social spending, which in negotiation has dwindled dramatically to $2.2tn. The cuts already mean that Biden will likely fail to meet some of his campaign promises, a prospect that spells bad news for the Democrats in next year's midterm elections.

But for Manchin - and other conservative Democrats who agree with him - that's still too much money. Instead, Manchin wants to spend a mere $1.5tn - at most. The danger, Manchin says, is that if the Biden agenda is passed in full, America will become an entitlement society".