The solvency of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, popular programs that face serious funding issues over the next few decades, should be protected by a broad bipartisan deal.
You will get your finances in order. Manchin told Alan Murray at a CEO conference that he couldn't live with the debt.
"If we don't look at the trust funds that are going bankrupt, whether they be Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, highway, all the ones - there are tremendous problems right now."
"If we can't come to grips with how we face the financial challenge that this country has, then we're all going to be paying a price that we can't afford"
The financial challenges facing Social Security and Medicaid have been talked about by Manchin many times.
Last year, the Social Security Administration said it wouldn't have the funds to pay full benefits after 2033.
Manchin proposed in February to raise the amount of income subject to taxation to fund Social Security from $150,000 to $400,000.
Manchin argued that the core program itself was in danger because of the soaring federal debt, which was why he opposed the expansion of Medicare to include vision, dental and hearing benefits.
If no one is concerned about the deadline for Medicare insolvency, I have people who are willing to help. Manchin told reporters in October of last year that Medicare and Social Security is a vital part of life in West Virginia.
If Manchin continues to push for a bipartisan deal to shore up the finances of Social Security and Medicare, he could have a negotiating partner in Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell.
McConnell warned that Social Security and Medicare needed to be adjusted or they wouldn't be there in the next generation.
McConnell said in October of last year that entitlement spending was the main driver of the federal deficit.
He said that the real drivers of the debt were not being addressed by doing anything to adjust the programs.
Manchin, who appeared Thursday before a room full of CEOs via video link, urged the audience to stop making political donations to members of Congress without getting pledges to improve the nation's governance in return.
He told them not to write checks to everyone.
He argued that successful CEOs build good companies because they expect return on their investment, yet too often they write checks to politicians without expecting anything in return.
He said that the investments you have made in politics from the Democrats and the Republicans are foolish.
Do you not want to do this? When a politician comes to you, tell them that you are willing to make an investment, even if you don't give a check. I want to know what to expect from you. Do you know what you are going to do? Manchin said to take it easy.
Too many donors are giving checks to bad behavior by supporting candidates and officeholders who are happy to let partisanship rule the nation's capital.
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