Mountain State Spotlight, West Virginia Public Broadcasting – So far, Gov. Jim Justice has been the sole authority spending the $1.25 billion West Virginia received in federal coronavirus relief. Read the full article.
Advocates have argued that he hasn’t spent enough of it to address the immediate needs of West Virginians facing the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic and health effects; he’s controversially pledged the largest portion of the money to the state’s unemployment trust fund, so that, down the line, businesses that typically fund unemployment benefits will pay less in taxes.
As of Monday, more than $660 million of that money from the federal CARES Act remains unspent, despite struggling West Virginians begging for economic aid. And lawmakers are rankled.
