Sen. Manchin says he'll vote to move ahead with budget process, opposes $15 per hour minimum wage

Sen. Joe Manchin said in a statement on Tuesday that he will vote to advance the budget process, but he also called for strict focus on issues related to contending with the coronavirus crisis as Congress seeks to pass a relief package.

"I will vote to move forward with the budget process because we must address the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. "But let me be clear – and these are words I shared with President Biden – our focus must be targeted on the COVID-19 crisis and Americans who have been most impacted by this pandemic. The President remains hopeful that we can have bipartisan support moving forward. I will only support proposals that will get us through and end the pain of this pandemic. For the sake of the country, we must work together with laser focus to defeat the COVID-19 crisis, support our neighbors and communities who continue to suffer and get back to a more normal life as quickly as possible."

The Hill reported that it is anticipated that the Senate on Tuesday will hold an initial procedural vote to advance to a budget resolution. If the bill is passed it would enable Democrats to dodge a 60-vote requirement on a separate COVID-19 relief bill, the outlet reported.

President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion relief package while a group of Senate Republicans have put forward a much less costly $618 billion proposal. 

Biden's proposal calls for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, an idea that Manchin said on Tuesday that he does not support. "No I'm not. I'm supportive of basically having something that's responsible and reasonable," Manchin told The Hill, when questioned whether he backed a $15 per hour minimum wage. 

The outlet reported that "Manchin added that for West Virginia, his home state, that would be $11 per hour, and adjusted to inflation."