There are two must-read items today:

The first is by the New York magazine liberal columnist, Jonathan Chait, “ Biden Should Take Manchin’s Deal Right Now.”

The second is a Washington Post piece entitled, “ Manchin’s private offer to Biden included pre-K, climate money, Obamacare — but excluded child benefit.”

Bottom line of these two pieces:

The Biden White House should seriously consider the Manchin counter-offer.  It contains billions of dollars for a most badly needed overall national priority: Climate change funding.  The $1.8 trillion Manchin proposal for Build Back Better also includes universal prekindergarten for 10 years and expansion of Obamacare.

In order to fund the Manchin proposals, the child care credit will have to be significantly reduced.  This reduction should be effected by means testing it.  In fact, as a matter of sound public policy, the child care credit SHOULD be means tested, rather than become another middle-class entitlement.

Now there is one other necessity to fund a Biden-Manchin compromise, which will come as bad news for New Jersey.  Restoration of the federal income tax deduction for state and local tax payments (SALT) will not be included.

The gain to the national Democratic Party will be enormous, however, if the Manchin compromise proposal is enacted, with or without SALT deduction restoration.  Biden and the Democrats would be able to face the electorate in 2022 with a first term enacted legislative expenditure agenda that has an historical significance rivaling that of FDR in 1933 and LBJ in 1965.  This is said without hyperbole.

This Biden enacted agenda would include :1) the American Rescue Plan of 2021, the $1.9  Coronavirus relief program which directly placed $1,400-plus payments into the bank accounts of millions of working class Americans; 2) the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, the most significant domestic infrastructure package since the enactment of President Dwight David Eisenhower’s Federal Aid Highways Act of 1956, which funded the Interstate Highway System; and 3) the aforesaid $1.8 billion Build Back Better package.

There is one matter that Biden should absolutely insist upon in any negotiation with Manchin and Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema.  Specifically, he should secure their agreement to amend the filibuster rules to enable the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to advance to Senate passage.

The passage of these two voting rights acts is of the greatest significance to the African-American community nationwide.  The African-American vote was essential to the election of Joe Biden to the presidency in 2020 and the reelection of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in 2021.  A large African-American turnout at the polls on behalf of the Democrats will be critical to their hopes of victory in the 2022 US Senate and House of Representatives elections.

Passage of the Manchin Build Back Better package plus the two aforesaid voting rights acts would enable the Democrats to significantly improve their chances of retaining control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  This is especially true in view of two factors.

First, redistricting of Congressional districts nationwide does not appear at this point to be providing any advantage to the GOP.

According to America’s leading expert on Congressional elections, David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report, redistricting thus far appears to be a wash, yielding no net gain to either party.  Wasserman believes that the main impact of the redistricting has been to make seats currently held by either party less competitive.

Second, any reversal or weakening by the US Supreme Court of the federal reproductive freedom protection provided by Roe v. Wade has the potential to cause a major increase in support by women voters for the Democrats.

Memo to all political pundits: Wait until the issues of Roe v. Wade, Build Back Better, and the two voting rights acts are resolved prior to making your 2022 Congressional election predictions.

Alan J. Steinberg served as regional administrator of Region 2 EPA during the administration of former President George W. Bush and as executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.