Senator Joe Manchin (D.W.Va.), worked tirelessly to kill last year’s Build Back Better Act. He was cheered by corporate PACs that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Manchin raised over $1.57 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, the highest total he’s ever raised in a year-end report, according to FEC records. The senator is the only Democrat who has said he will not vote for the Build Back Better Act, which contains much of President Biden’s domestic agenda and needs the support of every Senate Democrat to pass. The record Q4 amount raised by Manchin’s committee was first notedDerek Willis, journalist. Sludge.
On October 15, The New York Times reportedManchin stated to the White House that he opposed major climate programs in the Build back Better Act. It is a clean energy standard for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation. He received donations from several energy industry political action committees that represented companies that opposed the program.
Manchin received $2,500 from the PAC of the Electric Power Supply Association, on October 20, The trade association represents companies in power generation, as well as oil and gas companies such as Tenaska, Energy Capital Partners and Shell. It reported lobbying Congress in the fourth quarter on “development of a Clean Electricity Performance Program.” Also on that day, the senator received $5,000 from the PAC of oil and gas exploration company Devon Energy. On October 24, the American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers’ PAC gave $5,000 to Manchin. That group’s board members include executives of oil majors like ExxonMobil and Chevron, and it retains Manchin’s former senior advisor and communications director Jonathan Kott as a lobbyist to “Provide strategic counsel and general lobbying support on core AFPM issues,” according to Senate filings.
Manchin was seen on December 19, Fox News Sunday to announce he would not support the budget reconciliation package, claiming that the spending package of $1.7 trillion over 10 years posed too much risk to the national debt in a time of “geopolitical unrest” and the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are also facing increasing geopolitical uncertainty as tensions rise with both Russia and China,” Manchin said in a statementThe same date was also released. “Our ability to quickly and effectively respond to these pending threats would be drastically hindered by our rising debt.”
Manchin received $5,000 maximum contributions from the fourth quarter. PACsCompanies include CVS, Intuit Cigna Equitrans Midstream, Equitrans Midstream and chemistry company Celanese. Insurance company Lockton is also included.
The fourth quarter sum brings the total raised by Manchin’s primary campaign committee to over $4.83 million in 2021, compared with nearly $495,000 in 2020. Manchin, now 74 years old, has not yet indicated whether he plans to run for reelection. The committee’s cash on hand is over $6.71 millionAccording to records maintained by ProPublica.
According to Manchin, nearly $295,000 was raised from corporate PACs. Sludge’s review of FEC reports released yesterday. Companies and trade associations in financial, insurance and real estate sectors received the largest percentage of corporate PAC donations. Next came donors in the energy and health sectors.
Manchin was supported by nearly $32,000 in donations from the real-estate industry. earmarkedThrough the Votesane PAC.
Manchin’s leadership PAC, Country Roads, brought in $116,500 in PAC donations in the month of December, according to Sludge’s review. His joint fundraising committee, Manchin Victory Fund has not yet filed its annual-end report.
The Q4 contributions were made as the Biden White House claimed Manchin was negotiating to vote for their budget reconciliation bill. However, he later decided to withdraw his willingness to vote late in the year. Jen Psaki, White House Press secretary, stated in a Dec. 19, statement, “If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”
In its expenditures, Manchin’s campaign reported spending over $76,000 on Allied Universal Executive Protection & Intelligence Services, the first time the company has been mentioned in his disclosures. Manchin’s campaign also spent over $14,000 on catering at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas.
