House Democrat: ‘Cowardly way’ Manchin, Sinema govern ‘astonishes me’

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) in a Wednesday interview ripped Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.) over the expiration of the child tax credit, saying the “cowardly way” in which the two senators govern “astonishes” him. 

The remarks by Bowman, a House progressive, underscores the hard feelings on the left — particularly in the House — with Manchin and Sinema, two centrists who have at times voted or taken positions more in line with Senate Republicans than House Democrats.

“The cowardly way in which Manchin and Sinema continue to govern astonishes me,” Bowman said Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

“I come from education; I worked with the most vulnerable children in our country for 20 years before coming to Congress. And then, I have two members of my own party in the Senate — not in the House, Democrats in the House did the right thing — two members of my own party in the Senate vote against continuing to cut childhood poverty.” 

Bowman was asked about data released last week from the U.S. Census Bureau, which revealed child poverty in the U.S. more than doubled and the median household income declined last year after the expiration of pandemic-era government benefits, including an enhanced child tax credit, at the end of 2021. 

To ease the financial burden from the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government expanded the child tax credit in 2020, sending payments to those financially struggling to curb poverty rates.  

When the child tax credit was up for expiration at the end of 2021, Democrats included a one-year extension of the credit in President Biden’s Build Back Better bill, which Sinema and Manchin eventually opposed after months of trying to wrangle a deal.

Sinema’s office told The Hill the Arizona lawmaker was against the initial $3.5 trillion price tag proposed for the Build Back Better bill, but eventually expressed support for the revised bill, which included a reduced cost after negotiations.

“They also voted against higher taxes for corporations. They also voted against and didn’t support a higher minimum wage,” Bowman continued. “When you have Democrats not supporting the most vulnerable, you really have election officials who have lost their way. And the reason we were brought here and voted into power in the first place was to do the work for the people and not the wealthiest among us.” 

The Arizona lawmaker did not oppose the child tax credit, having previously expressed support for measures that would expand opportunities for families, Sinema’s office told The Hill.

Meanwhile when Manchin opposed the bill, he said he wanted the child tax credit to be extended for 10 years if it was to be included, which would require senators to either cut other programs or find new ways to pay for the additional expenses. 

At the time, Sinema opposed raising the corporate tax rate or other taxes to pay for Manchin’s proposal, though her office said she had offered support for various other proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy. 

When asked about working across the aisle to address the issue of poverty, Bowman said, “Not with the current Republicans in the House.” 

“This is a non-starter for them,” he continued. “They don’t want to do anything as it relates to ending child poverty or passing legislation that supports affordability and helps those who are most vulnerable. That includes child poverty, that includes child care, that includes affordable housing.”

This story was updated at 1:43 p.m. Thursday.