By Jason Lange and Makini Brice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shortly before President Joe Biden’s speech urging Congress to pass his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, fellow Democrat Senator Joe Manchin told reporters he was “uncomfortable” with the vast sums of money Biden was proposing to spend.
Back in Manchin’s home state of West Virginia, several elected officials, including Republicans, have a different message: The more money the better to draw new workers to the state, especially with high-speed broadband services.
“It’s a lot of money, a lot of money,” Manchin said ahead of a speech in which Biden laid out $4 trillion worth of spending proposals. “That makes you very uncomfortable. You wonder how we’re going to pay for it.”