The United States Senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, on Thursday said his top-line spending for the budget reconciliation package is $1.5 trillion and suggested debate begins no earlier than October 1.

Manchin was joined by Arizona Senator Kyrsten Lea Sinema in the opposition to passing a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.

"My top-line has been $1.5 [trillion]," The Hill quotes Manchin to say, explaining that he doesn't want "to change our whole society to an entitlement mentality."

The $3.5 trillion spending goal was set by the budget resolution voted for by Senate Democrats last month.

Sinema in a statement posted on Twitter said her position had not changed from two months ago when whe said she would reject any bill costing $3.5 trillion.

"While we do not negotiate through the press — because Sen. Sinema respects the integrity of those direct negotiations — she continues to engage directly in good-faith discussions with both President Biden and Sen. Schumer to find common ground," she said. 

Manchin also said he had shared his figure with President Joe Biden.

The Democratic Party has been locked in an internal feud for weeks over the next big spending package. So-called moderates within the party are eager to see through a bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August; meanwhile the progressive wing of the party is focused on the broader agenda that concentrates on a greener economy and expanded social welfare. 

The latter group says the floor for that larger bill should be $3.5 trillion, far more than Manchin's proposed $1.5 trillion top-line figure.

Manchin and Sinema have been under pressure from progressives to make clear what they can agree to in terms of the social spending bill.

According to The Hill, Manchin's comments on Thursday gave a public glimpse at how far apart Democrats are to reaching a deal that has the votes to pass the House and Senate.

(With input from agencies)