(Bloomberg) — Democratic Senator Joe Manchin isn’t closing the door Senate passage of President Joe Biden’s economic package by the end of the year, but said he has growing concerns about rising U.S. debt and soaring consumer prices, after a measure of inflation hit the highest in four decades.

The West Virginia Democrat, who said he’ll be talking with Biden later today about the roughly $2 trillion social-spending package, also said Congress also needs to account for foreign policy challenges that might compete for resources — including Russia’s troop buildup on the border with Ukraine and China’s threats to Taiwan.

“Inflation is real,” Manchin told reporters. “It’s not transitory. It’s alarming it’s going up, not down. And I think we should be more concerned about geopolitical fallout.”

Biden did not speak to reporters individually on Monday to discuss his message for Manchin. He said his objective when speaking with lawmakers generally is to “convince them that what I’m proposing makes sense and it’s not inconsistent with what they believe.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insists the Senate will pass the sweeping tax-and-spending package before Christmas, but there’s still much work to do and time is running short. 

Manchin also said that he still wants a package of about $1.7 trillion, adding that “whatever Congress is considering doing we should do it within the limits of what we can afford.”

He said he’s increasingly concerned about the way Democrats are making some programs in the so-called Build Back Better legislation temporary — which he says hides their true costs over 10 years.

Read More: Biden’s Economic Package Risks Languishing in Senate Into 2022

A Congressional Budget Office analysis requested by GOP Senator Lindsey Graham (NYSE:) of South Carolina showed that Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan would — if new and expanded programs are made permanent without new revenue — cost far more than Democrats say.

According to the assumptions Graham requested, CBO stated that the bill would increase deficits by $3 trillion over 10 years. That compares with $200 billion in deficits added under CBO’s score of the bill as written.

The CBO report was disputed by the White House, congressional Democratic leaders and Congress Democrats. They argued that Biden long maintained his support for expanding programs only if it is fully funded.

Manchin is opposed to a House provision for paid medical and family leave of four weeks.

Unresolved is the expansion of federal tax deductions for local and state taxes. The House-passed version of Biden’s so-called Build Back Better bill lifted the cap on the write-off to $80,000.

Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent senator, and Bob Menendez a New Jersey Democrat say that the House approach is too generous. The two senators are now looking for ways to reduce the tax breaks available to people with incomes below certain thresholds, although they disagree about what this should look like.

Manchin’s vote is crucial for passage in a Senate split 50-50 between the two political parties. The package is opposed by all Republicans.

The economic program will increase corporate taxes and provide universal pre-kindergarten, childcare subsidies, climate change protections and expanded Obamacare insurance subsidies. Medicare can also negotiate price for certain medications.

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