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By Jarrett Renshaw
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has leveraged his party's slim majority in Congress to reshape President Joe Biden's spending bill, slashing its initial price tag of $3.5 trillion and blocking policy proposals on climate and social programs.
In a 50-50 Senate where all Republicans oppose the spending plan, Democrats can only pass it if every one of their members signs on and Vice President Kamala Harris casts a tie-breaking vote.
That means the party has no choice but to bend to Manchin's will if they want the bill to pass. He has used that clout to knock down key parts of the package.
Manchin hails from West Virginia, a heavily Republican, sparsely populated coal- and natural gas-producing state that sits at or near the bottom of U.S. health, education and infrastructure rankings.
The founder and partial owner of a private coal brokerage, Enersystems, Manchin has been reluctant to rein in fossil fuels, complicating Democratic efforts to combat climate change.
He has also opposed the expansion of many social programs. At the center of the political stage, Manchin has outlined his philosophy this week with reporters, at the Economic Club of Washington and in the halls of Congress.
Here is a list of the issues where Manchin has pushed back against Biden's plans.
PAID FAMILY LEAVE AND CHILDCARE
Biden wanted to provide Americans 12 weeks of paid family leave for new parents, caretakers of ill family members and those with serious medical conditions, compensating them for up to $4,000 in wages a month.
Manchin has signaled he opposes the measure, forcing Democrats to consider paring it down to four weeks or scrapping it altogether. It would represent a significant blow to Biden.
Asked on Tuesday whether he had concerns about the paid leave proposal, Manchin said: "I'm concerned about an awful lot of things."
He does support a push for universal pre-kindergarten education. “I’m for pre-K. Whatever it costs,” he said on Monday night. “We can do that.” He said he had pushed to ensure that faith-based groups can also provide childcare.
Manchin said he told Biden: "I believe that government should be your partner and not your provider."
MEDICARE EXPANSION
Democrats want to expand the Medicare healthcare program for seniors to cover dental, hearing and vision and also extend Medicare-style insurance benefits to low-income people in states that did not expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Manchin opposes both measures, saying the federal government cannot afford to provide added benefits like dental and that Medicare faces insolvency by 2026 even without the added benefits.