Democratic Senator Joe Manchin Blasts Biden Administration’s ‘Radical Policy Agenda’: ‘It Is Absolutely Infuriating’
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) issued an excoriating statement after Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency on Monday, accusing his fellow Democrat of prioritizing his “radical policy agenda over the economic, energy and national security needs of our country.”
Biden has rejected a congressional measure to block a Department of Labor regulation that would allow managers of retirement investment vehicles to make decisions for non-pecuniary reasons, including social and environmental considerations.
A statement released by Manchin on Monday afternoon after Biden’s veto pulled no punches:
This Administration continues to prioritize their radical policy agenda over the economic, energy and national security needs of our country, and it is absolutely infuriating. West Virginians are under increasing stress as we continue to recover from a once in a generation pandemic, pay the bills amid record inflation, and face the largest land war in Europe since World War II. The Administration’s unrelenting campaign to advance a radical social and environmental agenda is only exacerbating these challenges. This ESG rule will weaken our energy, national and economic security while jeopardizing the hard-earned retirement savings of 150 million West Virginians and Americans. Despite a clear and bipartisan rejection of the rule from Congress, President Biden is choosing to put his Administration’s progressive agenda above the well-being of the American people.
Earlier this month, Manchin and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) joined every Republican senator in voting to stop the implementation of the rule, but Biden has nevertheless characterized the bipartisan measure as extreme.
In a video released by Biden on Twitter, he said that he vetoed the bill “would put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country.”
“This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like,” tweeted Biden. “Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not.”
I just vetoed my first bill.
This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like.
Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not. pic.twitter.com/PxuoJBdEee
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 20, 2023
But Manchin and Tester, both moderate Democrats representing red states, objected to the rule in no uncertain terms prior to Monday, expressing their concerns that it was the rule itself that put American’s retirement savings in jeopardy.
“At a time when our country is already facing economic uncertainty, record inflation and increasing energy costs, it is irresponsible of the Biden Administration to jeopardize retirement savings for more than 150 million Americans for purely political purposes,” argued Manchin in February.
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