[PJ] WASHINGTON ‐ Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said House Republicans should not have started with Obamacare as the first major issue to tackle in the new Congress, emphasizing that an infrastructure package and curing the opioid addition crisis would get more bipartisan support."I’ve told President Trump this, I’ve said you need some wins in the column and the bottom line is infrastructure. I don’t know a Democrat or Republican that doesn’t have an infrastructure problem ‐ that’s some commonality. I don’t know a Democrat or Republican that doesn’t have an addiction or an opioid problem; that’s something we could cure," Manchin said during the discussion "From the State Capitol to the Senate Floor" at The Atlantic’s recent Renewal Summit in D.C.
"It’s a silent killer. It doesn’t pick Democrats or Republicans or liberals or conservatives so once you find that and get a start ‐ we’ve been so far apart for so long we’ve got to find something that brings us together. Healthcare is not it. We know that, and why they went down that rat hole I have no idea," he added.