https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jul/15/manchin-middle-pressure-mounts-west-virginia-oppos/

Sen. Joe Manchin III is facing intense political pressure in West Virginia to oppose his party’s gargantuan spending package of health care, family aid and anti-poverty programs, testing where the allegiance lies for one of the chamber’s most conservative Democrats.

The pressure is rising as Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, hopes to secure an agreement on the $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” spending plan before lawmakers leave Washington in August.

Because the plan is unlikely to garner Republican support, the only hope for its passage is via budget reconciliation. That process allows spending bills to avert the 60-vote filibuster threshold and pass by a simple majority of 51 votes. Because it takes just one Democrat to kill the deal, Mr. Manchin, who represents the deep-red state of West Virginia, is seen as the likeliest to flip.

To increase the chance, advocacy groups, electoral rivals and even some political allies are upping the pressure.

In arguing for why Mr. Manchin should oppose the package, many point to its cost, clean electricity provisions and guarantee of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

“Sen. Manchin and I don’t always agree on policy, but we both love West Virginia,” said Rep. Carol Miller, West Virginia Republican. “This package is a liberal laundry list that won’t create more high-paying jobs for our state and will instead saddle our children and grandchildren with the cost. It will also make America less competitive in the global marketplace.”

Mrs. Miller, in particular, argues that new federal spending in the plan will add to the inflation Americans are experiencing when they pay for goods and services.

Rising costs and shrinking purchasing power, she said, could prove devastating for West Virginia, where per capita income lags behind the national average.

“I have every hope that Sen. Manchin will oppose this bill and stand up for West Virginia,” Mrs. Miller said.

Some say immigration provisions in the bill could undercut West Virginia’s workforce. Although details remain sparse, the deal will include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are farmworkers, have temporary protected status or were brought to the U.S. as minors, Democrats say. ..