Transcript: Senator Joe Manchin on Face the Nation, March 5, 2023

The following is a transcript of an interview with Senator Joe Manchin that aired on Face the Nation on Sunday, March 5, 2023.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We want to start the show with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin joining us from Charleston, West Virginia. Good morning, senator. I want to start with…

SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Good morning, Brennan. Thank you- Margaret, thank you for inviting me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start with this crash. The president last week praised bipartisan rail safety legislation that would include new rules for trains carrying hazardous materials, increase fines for safety violations, and phase in new railcars. Will you vote for this? It’s enough?

SEN. MANCHIN: Yes, I will support it. We need to do this. Back in 2015 in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, we had a derailment, 27 wagons, tanks carrying Bakken oil fell-derailed, derailed and exploded, creating a huge problem there, and it was very , very dangerous. . It could have been a little, much worse, if it had been a little further, the rails could have blown the whole city apart. But at the same time, you know, we were recommended that electronic air brakes be something that could prevent this, scheduled maintenance checks and checks and things like that. I don’t think any of this has been done. And it’s time for us to get serious about it. We are moving many, many products, many more products on rails and roads than ever before. And we have a lot of people who don’t want any pipelines. Pipelines would solve most of this problem with the oil we need in our country, and we will use it for quite some time to make it safer. But out of sight, they think that if you don’t have an assembly line, you won’t use the product. Well, that’s far from the truth. And this is the result of people simply not making the right decisions. And that’s what got hacked in West Virginia and- and–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. MANCHIN: That’s what’s broken all over the country, all the way to Washington, politics.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want…

SEN. MANCHIN: It’s broken, it needs to be fixed.

MARGARET BRENNAN: In a moment, I want to go back to energy. You say it’s broken. You gave a rather fiery speech a few days ago in the Senate. You are at odds with the White House and with many in your own party because you say the Democrats should talk about fugitive spending and refuse to negotiate. You chided the Republicans for not proposing concrete cuts. If you are a deal maker and seem to be positioning yourself where do you see room for negotiation?

SEN. MANCHIN: Well, Margaret, first of all, I support Speaker Kevin McCarthy, I was hoping that he would firstly remove from the discussion what does not cause conflict, but, most importantly, sit down with the president. and contacted the White House, they sat down, had a meeting. I encourage much more of this. But what we can do is, can’t we get together and just talk about how we’ve accumulated so much debt over this… and in such a short period of time, over 10 years, Margaret, we’ve accumulated the most debt in history of our country in the shortest possible time. Can’t we at least find out what we’ve done and how we’ve expanded? I know COVID has done so much. But you know we got through COVID–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. MANCHIN: problems. And what we need to do is get back to normal, but our spending has gone from $3.5 trillion to over $6.2 trillion a year in the last 10 years. This is simply unacceptable. You must sit down. Anyone who thinks we don’t have a problem in Washington, anyone who thinks politics in Washington is not broken, doesn’t live reality, doesn’t want to face facts…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good.

SEN. MANCHIN: Indeed.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So what’s the truth? Because social security and health care account for almost 40% of spending in 2023. If no one touches these programs, where do you find the abbreviations?

SEN. MANCHIN: Well, first of all, just do your job on time. We were told that if we had just made a budget, we no longer had it. The president is a month late with his budget, which will be released next week. But I don’t see the House or Senate pushing the budget. And, in fact, according to the law passed in 1985, we must have our budgets …

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. MANCHIN: – from the House of Representatives and the Senate done by April, the first. The president basically introduces it in February. And by September 30th. I was told that we could save billions and billions of dollars if we just get it done on time.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Of course. But it is not-

(CROSS OBSERVATIONS)

SEN. MANCHIN: That’s why I say it doesn’t work. This-

MARGARET BRENNAN: But this…

SEN. MANCHIN: basically gets a downward trajectory and–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, more needs to be done…

SEN. MANCHIN: How about limiting some of the…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Done. I mean–

SEN. MANCHIN: Yes–

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know…

SEN. MANCHIN: Limiting some discretionary spending.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, there’s a lot to talk about here. But I want to ask you, what is Joe… What is Joe Manchin looking for in this deal? Are you looking for your permissive reform, for example, which the Democrats didn’t implement even though they told you you would have an agreement? Do you want this included in a potential bill, in this agreement that you say should be between Republicans and Democrats?

SEN. MANCHIN: Well, rather hiding something, we are not trying to hide anything, basically, we do not allow and we do not allow reforms in America, we are not going to solve problems and be energy independent, provided with energy. If you are not provided with energy, you will definitely not become a world superpower. And depending on other parts of the world to provide what you won’t do for yourself. This needs to be done. I don’t care which side of the arena you’re on, if you want transmissions, if you want pipelines, if you understand that we’re going to have a balanced energy proposal, that’s what the Inflation Reduction Act was for energy security, administration, this administration advertised it as a strictly environmental bill. It’s good for the environment. But we also really, really need fossil energy to be used better and cleaner than anywhere else in the world in order to have the security we need. Here’s what we need to do. And that’s what they avoided.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. MANCHIN: You have to have permission or this will all be revoked.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about what seems to be some division between you and the president. A few days ago you were quoted as saying, “We just play different games, we’re not even on the same level in a lot of things.” Are you going to support Joe Biden if he runs for a second term?

SEN. MANCHIN: Oh, there’s still plenty of time before the election. This is the problem with America right now. We start elections every time the cycle approaches…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, he is the leader of your party.

SEN. MANCHIN: I-I- No, the point is, let’s see who’s involved. Let’s wait until we see who all the players are. Let’s wait until everything comes out. My main goal now is to work for the good of my country and my state. This is my responsibility. I’m not going to announce anything until the end of the year. I am not going to decide what my political position will be or what I will do in my political future. I won’t do it until the end of the year. I have too much work now.

MARGARET BRENNAN: What is your political future? You are referring to the question of whether you are personally going to run for re-election to the West Virginia Senate. Your Republican Gov. Jim Justice says he’s going to run for your seat, or thinks he has a good chance. Why didn’t you decide?

SEN. MANCHIN: As for the outcome, I have enough time to make a decision. Elections not before November 2024. We don’t even apply until January 2024.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. MANCHIN: And run, ignoring the problems you have. We have runaway debt, we have inflation…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. MANCHIN: It’s killing people. We have unprotected energy. We have a border that is out of control. Are you saying that we play the same ball, in the same stadium? I don’t think so.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You said let’s see who all the players are when it comes to running for president. You said you are not running for president. However, is this an open question? WHO? Who do you think?

SEN. MANCHIN: I didn’t say that. I didn’t say anything about it. The bottom line is that I will make my political decision in December, whatever that may be.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Run for president?

SEN. MANCHIN: I don’t clear the table and I don’t put… and I don’t put anything on the table. I said I would make a decision in January… this… at the end of this year.

MARGARET BRENNAN: At the end of this year, you will make a decision regarding…

SEN. MANCHIN: Just like that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: – who do you support for the presidency?

SEN. MANCHIN: What will be my political future.

MARGARET BRENNAN: No, but for the president…?

SEN. MANCHIN: What will I do, how will I participate. I will make any decisions that I make politically not be made until the end of the year. I’m focused on fixing what’s wrong with Washington and the politics are so toxic. The more you talk about this party, about that party, about which candidate and about this candidate. See what’s in front of you now. You have inflation. Basically you have energy. You have these unprotected borders. You have geopolitical unrest and we talk about everything but that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We — we have a lot to talk about, and Senator Manchin, welcome back. We have to leave it there because…

SEN. MANCHIN: I’ll be glad to be back, Margaret, anytime.

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