US Chamber launches ads thanking Manchin for fighting $2T bill

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the West Virginia Chamber on Thursday launched a wave of ads praising Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for pushing back on his party’s $2 trillion climate and social spending bill.

The business groups are running ads on TV, billboards and newspapers in Manchin’s home state thanking him for “fighting against inflation and higher prices” and encouraging him to reject the reconciliation package entirely. The ad campaign comes after Manchin effectively forced Democrats to delay their vote on the reconciliation package until next year.

“Keep fighting for us, senator,” says one West Virginia resident in the Chamber’s TV ad. “We can’t afford higher taxes and any more inflation.”

Manchin alone could derail the Build Back Better Act, which is fiercely opposed by big business groups over its minimum corporate tax and various provisions to regulate private industry. Manchin has expressed concern about the bill’s effect on inflation and this week delayed its progress by opposing the inclusion of a one-year extension of the expanded child tax credit in the bill.

“We commend Senator Manchin for his tireless commitment to putting West Virginians first, despite enormous pressures from those who want to pass an ‘everything and the kitchen sink’ spending bill that will only add to inflation over the next year,” U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark said in a statement.

Business interests have centered their largely successful lobbying efforts around Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), knowing that they only need to win over one of their pro-business allies to modify or defeat parts of the bill in the 50-50 Senate.

The U.S. Chamber launched a separate ad campaign this week urging Sinema and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who faces a tough reelection battle next year, to oppose the reconciliation bill. It’s also targeting Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), another potentially vulnerable Democrat. 

“Tell Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema: Protect American workers and reject these reckless tax increases,” the Arizona TV ad tells viewers.

The Chamber, which represents some of the largest multinational corporations, spent more than $46 million on federal lobbying through the first nine months of 2021, more than any other company or organization, according to money-in-politics watchdog OpenSecrets.