The co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign denounced Senator Joe Manchin's efforts against Biden's spending bill at a press conference outside Manchin's office Tuesday.
The $770 billion Pentagon's budget was approved by 87 other senators, double the amount of Biden's 10-year plan, which started at $350 billion per year before negotiations with congressional Democrats lowered the total to $175 billion per year in late October.
Climate change solutions are included in the spending bill.
At the protest outside the Hart Senate building on Tuesday, Barber slammed Manchin, a Democrat, saying the senator from West Virginia "lies about scarcity" and "never asks these questions about scarcity when it comes to the military or to corporate America."
"He's never seen a corporate tax break he didn't want to pass or a military budget he wouldn't fund," Barber said.
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is on the internet.
One of the key holdouts on the bill, Manchin, has repeatedly soured plans to pass the bill, citing concerns of inflation and giving Americans an "entitlement mentality."
Manchin said at a November news conference that he wouldn't support a bill that was consequential without knowing the impact it would have on the economy and national debt.
Critics say the delay has consequences.
"It's a form of political violence against the 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country and especially to people who have suffered during COVID, regardless of their color or their geography," Barber said. People will not be able to recover from illness.
Law enforcement wouldn't allow the protesters to be in front of the office of Sen. Manchin. The Poor People's Campaign responded by writing a petition to Manchin.
We are angry that you care more about lobbyists and corporations than you do about the people of West Virginia.
346,000 children will be affected by the child tax credit being axed in the spending bill, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Manchin called the reports "bullshit".
The legislation must be supported by all 50 Democratic senators.
The Poor People's Campaign said they were pushing for the passage of voting rights legislation, which may be the priority for Congress before the end of the year.
Manchin and representatives for the Poor People's Campaign did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
