Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that he is confident that President Biden will be able to negotiate a compromise that will allow for both the bipartisan infrastructure package and the larger reconciliation bill to pass.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Khanna was asked by host Chris Wallace how Congress will lower the price of the reconciliation bill, as Democrats are considering.
Khanna responded by saying it could be done by “front-loading the benefits” or adding sunset provisions.
“But ultimately the president is an honest broker. He’s gonna bring all the stakeholders together, and I trust his judgment to get a compromise,” Khanna said.
Wallace also asked Khanna what he thought of proposals from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for means-testing that would phase out benefits for individuals above a certain income level and work requirements for benefits offered in the reconciliation package.
“There’s some things, Chris, that we have to do together as Americans,” Khanna said. “I mean, should we really have segregated classes in public school? When I went to first grade, you had blue-collar kids there, you had rich kids there. So when we’re talking about having every American get a chance to have preschool, which they already have in countries like France, I don’t think that ought to be means testing.”
Wallace then directly asked Khanna what he thought of Manchin.
“I respect him, I’ve been down to Beckley, W.Va. He was deeply gracious, he cares deeply about his state. He frankly has already always been transparent. We disagree, but he has been clear about what his views are and I think we can come to an agreement. But he’s a straight shooter,” said Khanna.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has set a new deadline of Oct. 31 for the House to pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill after Democrats could not agree on the party’s larger spending package, which they hope to pass without Republican support through the reconciliation process.