By Alexandra Alper
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he will need to shed some key elements of his signature $1.7 trillion Build Back Better legislation to get support from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.
Biden made a big push in December to win passage in Congress of the spending bill. It would provide billions of dollars to tackle climate change along with money for universal preschool, paid family leave and other social safety nets.
However, Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, pulled his support after citing concerns about the deficit and inflation.
“I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now, and come back and fight for the rest later,” Biden said at a news conference.
Biden said it was clear that there was support for climate change provisions, such as production tax credits for a range of industries, and Manchin supported early childhood education.
Biden also said he does not have to scale down his priorities to get them passed.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper, Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
