Schumer Plans Build Back Better Vote Next Year

In a letter to Senate Democrats, Mr. Schumer said Democrats would still take up the legislation, dubbed the Build Back Better Act, early next year after weeks of what he called “deep discontent and frustration.” Such a move would force all senators to state their position on the Senate floor, “not just on television,” the New York senator wrote, in a reference to Mr. Manchin’s appearance on Fox News Sunday in which he announced his stance.

Mr. Schumer’s statement raised the prospect of the central piece of Democrats’ economic agenda, which includes measures offering universal prekindergarten, expanded healthcare subsidies and incentives for reducing carbon emissions, among many other provisions, failing on the Senate floor. The party has worked for months on the bill, wooing Mr. Manchin and a group of other critical centrists who have raised concerns about its size and scope.

In an interview with West Virginia radio host

Hoppy Kercheval

on Monday, Mr. Manchin said his differences with other Democrats and the White House were so large that he felt that they wouldn’t make the changes he sought.

Mr. Manchin has for months criticized the package, saying it could contribute to rising inflation and funds too many different programs that would ultimately require additional legislation to finance. Under the current plan, Democrats have proposed funding a number of programs for a few years in hopes of extending them later.

“They couldn’t get there, Hoppy,” he said. “They couldn’t take away all the social reforms that they’ve had pent up for years, I want social reforms to the point that has responsibility and has accountability.”

Mr. Manchin said he wouldn’t be pressured into changing his mind.

“They figured, surely to God we can move one person, surely we can badger and beat one person one up, surely we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough they’ll just say OK, ‘I’ll vote for anything, just quit.’ Well guess what, I’m from West Virginia,” he said.

Mr. Manchin also criticized how the White House handled the negotiations. According to people familiar with the matter, the frustrations stemmed in part from a statement from Mr. Biden distributed by the White House on Thursday that named the senator and expressed optimism that they could reach an agreement. When the White House alerted him to the coming statement, Mr. Manchin, who has been repeatedly confronted by protesters in recent weeks, objected to being singled out, the people said.

Mr. Biden spoke by phone with Mr. Manchin on Sunday after the senator announced he would vote against the legislation in its current form, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Democrats have started sketching out a narrower package that they hope would meet Mr. Manchin’s demands by selecting a smaller number of programs to fund for the long term. Mr. Manchin said in the radio interview that he supported rolling back elements of the 2017 tax law and empowering the government to negotiate the price of a range of prescription drugs, two efforts that another centrist,

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

(D., Ariz.), has resisted.

Mr. Manchin on Tuesday of last week gave Mr. Biden a proposed outline of a package worth roughly $1.75 trillion that he could support, according to people familiar with the offer.

That offer didn’t include extending the expanded child tax credit, a critical goal for many Democrats, according to other people familiar with it. Instead Mr. Manchin proposed that Democrats fund climate programs, subsidies for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act and universal prekindergarten for a full 10 years, according to one of the people.

White House press secretary

Jen Psaki,

who criticized Mr. Manchin in a fiery statement on Sunday, declined to offer more details on the failed talks between Mr. Manchin and Mr. Biden. She repeatedly referred to Mr. Biden and Mr. Manchin as longtime friends during a Monday briefing with reporters, adding that the administration is going to “work like hell” to pass the legislation. She said the statement Sunday was a “factual depiction of events that happened.”

Other Democrats who have started working on a revised package have proposed extending the expanded child tax credit, the ACA subsidies and climate programs, with some rallying around the expanded child tax credit.

Asked on Monday if he would still be open to a reworked or smaller piece of legislation, Mr. Manchin said the party should put the provisions through a committee process to decide on next steps.

“Don’t you think maybe a committee should put eyes on it, have hearings where the public can see what the differences may be between Democrats or between Democrats and Republicans? That’s what hearings are for. And then make the decision,” Mr. Manchin said.

A narrower package may face resistance from some progressive Democrats, though.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

(D., Wash.), chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who spoke to Mr. Manchin on Monday morning, said Democrats should move on from the negotiations with him rather than settle for a smaller package.

She also criticized Mr. Manchin, saying he had gone back on his pledge to Mr. Biden to support the Build Back Better plan.

“We cannot hang the futures of millions of Americans on the words of one man who represents a state that has a tiny percentage of the country’s entire population,” she said.

Other Democrats cautioned colleagues not to burn their bridges with Mr. Manchin.

“We need his vote. So all those who are throwing fire at him do so at our collective peril,” said

Rep. Dean Phillips

(D., Minn.) on CNN. “We have to sit down in January, you know, clear our heads and hearts a little bit. There is a path forward.”

In his letter to Democrats on Monday, Mr. Schumer also said they should expect voting rights legislation to come up for a vote on the Senate floor early in the new year. Republicans in the Senate have repeatedly this year blocked Democrats from opening debate on legislation that would overhaul election rules nationwide.

Given the Republican resistance, Democrats have been meeting privately over the past few weeks to discuss possible rules changes and to try to find a way forward on voting legislation. Democrats are pursuing the economic package through a special legislative process that allows them to avoid the 60-vote threshold for most legislation.

Mr. Schumer said Democrats would take up a vote on possible rules changes to ease the passage of the voting rights bill. He said his caucus would meet virtually on Tuesday to discuss this.

The Freedom to Vote Act, which has support from all 50 Democratic senators, would make Election Day a national holiday, require Election Day voter registration, and mandate mail-in voting and 15 days of early voting. it would also restore voting rights to felons who have completed prison sentences, among other provisions. Republicans say the proposals represent federal overreach into matters best decided by states.

—Andrew Restuccia contributed to this article.

Write to Andrew Duehren at andrew.duehren@wsj.com and Lindsay Wise at lindsay.wise@wsj.com