Joe Manchin: No Federal Money For 2026 World Cup 'til Women's Team Gets Equal Pay

[pnwmom]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON ― Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would prevent any federal funding for the 2026 World Cup until the U.S. Soccer Federation agrees to provide equal pay to the U.S. women's and men's national teams.

The bill would cut off "any and all" federal money that would otherwise be spent when the United States co-hosts the men's World Cup in 2026. That includes funds that go to host cities, participating local and state organizations, U.S. Soccer, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, and the international soccer governing body FIFA.

"The clear unequitable pay between the U.S. men and women's soccer teams is unacceptable and I'm glad the U.S. Women's Soccer Team latest victory is causing public outcry," Manchin said in a statement. "I'm encouraging everyone to call their Senator and Representatives to help us get this bill passed and finally pay the equitable pay they deserve."

Here's a copy of his bill:

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-manchin-equal-pay-womens-soccer-world-cup_n_5d24d66ee4b0cfb595fcef07?utm_medium=facebook&section=politics&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_source=main_fb&fbclid=IwAR1vdZmModcLbZRpJZXcXE2u6FI44

[bsiebs]

1. Joe Manchin? I think I'm surprised.. or confused. But happy I think

[pazzyanne]

15. Exactly, call me confused.

[LonePirate]

2. This may be Manchin's best idea since he joined the Senate.

[pnwmom]

3. There may be a reason he was such a popular Governor

that he could get elected as a Democrat by the same state that gave Trump his biggest margin in the country.

[SharonAnn]

4. Joe got it right! In the pocket book.

[Staph]

5. Manchin got a letter from the women's soccer coach at West Virginia University.

Link to tweet

[a la izquierda]

22. Our soccer team at WVU is excellent!

I’m glad coach Izzo-Brown sent the letter.

[jcgoldie]

6. wow

Broken clock's right twice a day I suppose. Actually, good job Joe.

[RockRaven]

7. Maybe I'm cynical, but low information WV voters will see "Manchin says no money for World Cup"

and think he's sticking it to those Trump-hating [pejorative for lesbians] -- that could be a bigger motivator for this than bolstering his cred amongst progressives/women. Let's face it, the majority of voters in EVERY state/district are low information, and the majority of WVians are RWers.

This is a win-win for Manchin. He buttresses his support amongst informed lefties and ignorant RWers at the same time.

It's only the informed RWers who might not be taken in... but how many of them like soccer more than they dislike federal spending? Not many, I think. Threatening to cut federal spending is always good in their book.

[mr_lebowski]

16. Sounds exactly the kind of assessment I'd make ... which is to say ... good thinking

[pnwmom]

18. Even the most rightwing people there probably noticed the $20 million that just poured into W VA

while they hosted the US youth soccer championships there.

There are lots of soccer fans in W Va these days.

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/soccer-tourney-helps-kanawha-businesses-set-sales-records/article_5f978710-6bd3-5089-9ab3-b239522f5ace.html

CHARLESTON - The combination of FestivALL and the U.S. Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships proved to be a profitable one for some Charleston-area businesses, including some that experienced record sales last week.

Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango said the soccer tournament brought in about $20 million to the Kanawha Valley. This includes the money spent at hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and other businesses.

The tournament was held jointly at the Shawnee Sports Complex in Dunbar, in Kanawha County, and at the Barboursville Soccer Complex in Cabell County.

Forty-one hotels were sold out to accommodate 4,500 athletes and their families, Salango said. He estimates there were 20,000 visitors to the area over the course of seven days.

Many restaurants stayed open later to accommodate the influx of people, Salango said. Some opened on days when they were typically closed, and Salango said many business owners told him they ran out of food because of the high volume of customers being served.

[a la izquierda]

23. This informed WV lefty...

Thinks Manchin sucks terribly. I’m also a huge football fan. So while I’m conflicted, he’s in general a terrible senator.
He plays both sides, as you smartly alluded to.

[pnwmom]

25. Do you think a state that gave such a big margin to Trump

would have voted for a real progressive for Senator, given a choice?

[a la izquierda]

27. No idea. I just live here.

It’s not my home and it never will be. I truly abhor living in this place. I don’t understand the thinking of people here.
But considering I am a progressive living in wV, I can-and will continue to- say that he sucks.

[BlueIdaho]

8. Shame on me.

I’m surprised...

[nsd]

9. Maybe I'm too cynical, but my immediate thought was ...

nobody in West Virginia gives a hoot about soccer. This is an easy position for Manchin to take because his constituents don't really care.

[rpannier]

13. Too cynical

First, Manchin gets very high marks from West Virginians for his constituent services. It's why he does as well as he does. The letter came from the women's soccer coach, so its constituent driven
Second West Virginia has had a few regional champions over the past 6 years and some runner-ups in the championship game, so there must be enough that care. Most recent East Regional Champion is a U-13 girl's team in 2018

[nsd]

14. Fair enough. Thanks for the informative post. (nt)

[pnwmom]

17. How would it benefit him to take a position no one in WVA cared about?

What would be the point?

And here is the top article on the front page of a major paper there. Nothing to do with Manchin -- it's about youth soccer.

People who care about youth soccer probably care about adult soccer as well. Plus, soccer has been making a lot of money for W Va.

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/soccer-tourney-helps-kanawha-businesses-set-sales-records/article_5f978710-6bd3-5089-9ab3-b239522f5ace.html

CHARLESTON - The combination of FestivALL and the U.S. Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships proved to be a profitable one for some Charleston-area businesses, including some that experienced record sales last week.

Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango said the soccer tournament brought in about $20 million to the Kanawha Valley. This includes the money spent at hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and other businesses.

The tournament was held jointly at the Shawnee Sports Complex in Dunbar, in Kanawha County, and at the Barboursville Soccer Complex in Cabell County.

Forty-one hotels were sold out to accommodate 4,500 athletes and their families, Salango said. He estimates there were 20,000 visitors to the area over the course of seven days.

Many restaurants stayed open later to accommodate the influx of people, Salango said. Some opened on days when they were typically closed, and Salango said many business owners told him they ran out of food because of the high volume of customers being served.

[JudyM]

10. There should be back pay up to a certain point, as well.

And hopefully equal training and travel conditions going forward, as well.

[Demonaut]

11. Fuck Manchin...and the thought does not count

[BadgerMom]

12. Joe Manchin? Wut?

[Sucha NastyWoman]

19. Pay equity by 2026?

I don’t think the ladies are willing to wait anywhere near that long. They will take care of it themselves much sooner than seven years from now, thank you

[pnwmom]

21. He votes with progressives 60% of the time, which is a lot more than

the 10% of the time R's vote with us. And every single Democratic Senator gets us one more vote closer to controlling all the committees and leadership in the Senate.

He comes from the state that had a greater percentage of Trump voters than all 49 others, so we're very LUCKY to have him. If you think we could replace him with a progressive Democrat, dream on. The only reason we have him is because he was a popular Governor, in a time when the parties weren't as skewed as they are now.

[bucolic_frolic]

24. Joe goes with the West Virginia wind, we just have to create more wind

Let's hope it's the Enlightement!

[Calista241]

26. I'm not sure how much pull the US has with FIFA.

One of the most hated organizations in the world. But I’m all for the message and equal pay.

[Jose Garcia]

28. How about no federal money for the World Cup at all?