New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez returned to Twitter on Tuesday to hit out at fellow Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, over his opposition to the Biden administration’s Build Back Better (BBB) bill.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez said: “Seniors, kids, & people with disabilities in my community have been sleeping with bubble jackets on in 18 degree nights, despite paying rent, bc the NYCHA funding to fix their heating and capital needs is in BBB.”
“Where should I direct them to wait out the cold? Manchin’s yacht?”
The congresswoman was referring to the West Virginia senator’s $250,000 boat named “Almost Heaven” on the Potomac River.
Mr Manchin has been opposed to the Biden government’s ambitious bill which includes provisions to combat climate change, increased funding for home services for people with disabilities and elderly people, child care, and universal preschool among other infrastructure projects.
On Tuesday, Mr Manchin said that the bill was “dead”.
“What Build Back Better bill?” Manchin said to reporters.
“There is no, I mean, I don’t know what you’re all talking about.” Asked if he’d had any talks about it, he added, “No, no, no no. It’s dead”.
He added that as in the past he remains open to talks.
In December last year, Mr Manchin had said that he could not support the legislation in its current form.
While the bill had already been passed in the House, Democrats need his vote in the 50-50 senate.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most vocal advocates of the bill.
In recent weeks she has also drawn attention to the freezing temperatures caused by a broken heating plant at the Woodside Houses public-housing complex in her district, reported Business Insider.
The plant allegedly damaged during Hurricane Ida and has not been fully repaired.
The lawmaker returned to the social media platform after she said that she had logged off all devices upon testing positive for Covid-19.
