January 19, 2022

Manchin Speaks on Senate Floor On Filibuster, Voting Rights Legislation

Video of Senator Manchin’s floor speech can be found here

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke on the Senate Floor on the importance of upholding the filibuster and voting rights legislation.

Senator Manchin said in part, “The role of the minority is what ensures the policies of our nation have input from all corners of the country, we must never forget, this is a Senate made up of 50 states, 100 senators, blue states and red states. For those who believe that bipartisanship is impossible. We have proven them wrong. In the last several years, we have made historic investments in our nation's public lands, passed trillions of dollars in COVID-19 relief and finally invested in rebuilding our nation's infrastructure. These critical pieces of legislation have had significant impacts on Americans across the country. They were passed with broad bipartisan support…We can do it again. We truly can. We can make it easier to vote. We must. We can make it harder to cheat. I think we can.”

“While some of the Senators have changed their positions. I have not, I respect that this is a two way street…I respect that you have changed your position on this, I would hope that you would respect that I have not. And I have never wavered on this. I do not and will not attack the contents of the character of anybody who's changed their position. And I would hope you would give me the same opportunity and not attack my allowing one party to exert complete control in the Senate with only a simple majority will only pour fuel on the fire political whiplash and dysfunction that is tearing this nation apart,” Senator Manchin continued.

Video of Senator Manchin’s floor speech can be found here.

Senator Manchin’s recent statement on his commitment to protect the filibuster can be found here.