November 25th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Despite earlier posturing, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he hasn’t made up his mind on a tax reform bill that the Senate could vote on as soon as next week. Manchin declined an interview request to talk about the current Senate legislation. His spokesman, Jon Kott, said in an email the senator wants to learn more about the bill, how it will impact West Virginia and what changes might be made to it in a conference committee with the House of Representatives before he discusses it publicly.

The House passed its version of the bill last week in a 227-205 vote, with all three of West Virginia’s representatives voting in the affirmative.

In August, Manchin drew national headlines when he declined to sign a letter with most of the Senate Democratic caucus outlining principles the members asked Republican leadership to follow when drafting a tax reform package.

In a subsequent interview, Manchin said he agreed with the general ideas of the letter: tax reform should not increase the deficit; it shouldn’t go through a fast-track procedural process like budget reconciliation; and it should neither increase the tax burden on the middle class nor decrease it on high-income earners.