As the government shutdown drags on, the focus in Washington is on political gamesmanship. But here in West Virginia, the consequences are dangerously real. One in 6 West Virginians rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help put food on the table. That’s more than 270,000 of our friends and neighbors, including nearly 100,000…
Budget Beat
Due to a combination of factors, including declining student enrollment, expired pandemic-era federal relief funding, the growing Hope Scholarship, and an outdated funding formula, public schools across West Virginia have less funding and resources to meet the needs of their students and communities. This has culminated in a new wave of school closures. Over the…
If you scroll through social media or watch the news, you’ll see our members of Congress and special interest groups practically begging West Virginians to believe that the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” (HR 1) is good for us. But West Virginians know a bad deal when we see one. This legislation takes away health care…
The children of West Virginia are guaranteed a thorough and efficient system of free schools by our state constitution. However, due to the growing Hope Scholarship, declining state revenues, and disruptions to federal funding and support, this guarantee is at risk for the nearly 90 percent of school-aged children in the Mountain State that are educated in…
In July, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued guidance to states to move ahead with implementing President Trump’s executive order by creating a national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) information database including the personal identifying information of SNAP participants and their families. This guidance directed states to share the names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and addresses of people…
Quantez Burks is one of hundreds of people who died in a West Virginia jail or prison since 2020. With the permission of Mr. Burks’s family, the WVCBP created this report in his name to do what the WV Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) and state leaders have not: acknowledge the people who died in their…
In a Charleston Gazette-Mail story from July 10 about the growing cost of the Hope Scholarship, state Treasurer Larry Pack admitted something that has never been said aloud before. “…[H]is office believes only about 10% of the more than 10,000 students who received the Hope Scholarship last year were enrolled in public school before transferring to private school…
By supporting the sweeping reconciliation package passed this week, West Virginia’s Congress members have the shameful distinction of having voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance in program history, despite representing a population and economy that benefits greatly from both programs. This is the most harmful legislation for the safety net and…
The U.S. Senate is considering a sweeping budget reconciliation bill that would enact the deepest cuts in history to Medicaid and SNAP—programs that hundreds of thousands of West Virginians rely on for health care, food, and economic security. These cuts would disproportionately impact families, seniors, and children in our state, threatening access to health care,…
The U.S. Senate will soon consider a sweeping budget reconciliation bill that would enact the deepest cuts in history to Medicaid and SNAP—programs that hundreds of thousands of West Virginians rely on for health care, food, and economic security. These cuts would disproportionately impact families, seniors, and children in our state, threatening access to health…