(Bloomberg) -- Senator Joe Manchin on Thursday called for bipartisan, bicameral commissions on federal spending and trust funds as part of a deal to avert a catastrophic default that would devastate markets worldwide.

“People like drama,” the West Virginia Democrat said of brinkmanship over the debt limit issue during an interview with Bloomberg Television’s David Westin in Davos, Switzerland. 

While Manchin said the debt limit will be raised and shouldn’t be held hostage, he sees leverage for bringing the parties together to deal with long-term debt challenges by setting up commissions empowered to make proposals to extend the life of trust funds for Social Security, Medicare and highways. 

“Kevin McCarthy, it’s a wonderful opportunity for him to say ‘Listen, let’s act like the adults. We’ve got a debt — whose at fault, we’re all at fault. How do we fix it together and move forward?’” Manchin said of the new House speaker.

Manchin suggested a compromise where the two parties would agree, “we will make this deal, we’ll raise the debt ceiling if you allow us to give the American people a look of what we’re dealing with.”

Recommendations agreed to be the commissions would get votes on the House and Senate floor.

Manchin, a critical moderate vote in the Senate who last year forced President Joe Biden to whittle down his domestic agenda, said there has to be discipline and sacrifice to control the federal debt. But, he said, lawmakers shouldn’t “scare the bejeezus out of people” for whom Social Security and Medicare is a lifeline.

“You’re not going to leave senior citizens who have worked and paid into it stranded,” Manchin said.

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