- The Poor People's Campaign condemned Sen. Manchin's efforts to undermine Biden's spending bill.
- "It's actually a form of political violence," group co-chair Rev. Dr. William J. Barber said.
- The group protested in front of Sen. Manchin's office at the Hart Senate Building on Tuesday.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, denounced Senator Joe Manchin's efforts against Biden's spending bill at a press conference outside Manchin's office Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Manchin was among 87 other senators who approved the $770 billion Pentagon's budget — twice the proposed 10-year amount of Biden's Build Back Better plan, which started at $350 billion per year before negotiations with congressional Democrats lowered the total to $175 billion per year in late October.
The spending bill includes paid leave, child and health care, and climate change solutions.
Barber slammed Manchin, a Democrat, at the protest outside the Hart Senate building on Tuesday, saying the senator from West Virginia "lies about scarcity " and "never asks these questions about scarcity when it comes to the military or to corporate America."
"He's never seen a corporate tax break he didn't want to pass or a military budget he wouldn't fund," Barber added.
—Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) December 14, 2021
Manchin, one of two key holdouts on the bill, has repeatedly soured plans to pass the Build Back Better Plan, citing concerns of inflation and giving Americans an "entitlement mentality."
"I will not support a bill that is this consequential without thoroughly understanding the impact it will have on our national debt, our economy, and the American people," Manchin said at a November news conference.
But critics, including Barber, say the delay has consequences.
"It's actually a form of political violence against the 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country and especially to people who have suffered during COVID, regardless of their color or their geography," Barber said. "People will stay sick, people will die, people will not be able to recover. "
Law enforcement would not allow the protestors in front of Sen. Manchin's office at the Hart Senate Building after the press conference. The Poor People's Campaign responded by writing a petition — which has since garnered nearly 10,000 signatures — addressed to Manchin.
"We are infuriated and fed up that you continue to care more about lobbyists and corporations than you do about hard-working poor and low-income people of West Virginia," the letter reads.
Manchin reportedly wanted to scrap the child tax credit in the spending bill, which stops in January and will impact 346,000 children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Manchin denied the reports, calling them "bullshit."
All 50 Democratic senators must vote in favor of the legislation for it to pass.
The Poor People's Campaign also said they were advocating for the passage of voting rights legislation, which also may now be the priority for Congress before 2021 comes to a close.
Manchin and representatives for the Poor People's Campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
