Sen. Kaine: Build Back Better is dead in current form

January 17, 2022 Amber Coakley US 0

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., listens during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine the federal response to COVID-19 and new emerging variants, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

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UPDATED 8:59 AM PT – Monday, January 17, 2022

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) admitted Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda is dead. During an interview Sunday, the Democrat admitted that the bill in its current form was highly unlikely to pass after his West Virginia colleague Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) torpedoed the social spending last month.

However, all hope isn’t lost according to Kaine. The 2016 vice presidential nominee said he expects a core of the bill, like education and labor provisions, to pass in the future.

“You’re right that it’s dead; the most recent version of it is not going to happen,” Kaine stated. “If you look at the core of the bill, I think the core is education and work force…I still believe the core of this bill, whatever we call it, we’re going to find a core of the bill and pass it, and it will deal directly with some of the inflation concerns.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) says Democrats “blew the timing” on passing President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. pic.twitter.com/7sOFLqgFwF

— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2021

The current version of the bill costs nearly $2 trillion and Manchin sunk it because of the price tag. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) promised to bring it to a vote after Manchin’s announcement, but it’s unknown when or if he will follow through.