Economic Security

May 22, 2025 by Kelly Allen
House Passes ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Extending Trump Tax Cuts and Slicing Medicaid

West Virginia MetroNews - Both of West Virginia’s congressional representatives voted for the big reconciliation bill that narrowly passed earlier today. Read the full article. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now headed to consideration by the U.S. Senate, where it could face changes. The legislation, called the One Big Beautiful Bill, passed…

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May 20, 2025 by WVCBP
Morrisey Formally Requests WV’s Food Stamp Program No Longer Pay for Soda

West Virginia Watch - West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey has formally asked the federal government to disallow the state’s food assistance program from paying for soda. Morrisey submitted a request for a waiver to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to make the change, the governor announced in a video message Tuesday. Read the full article.…

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May 20, 2025 by WVCBP
Amy Chalmers: Cutting Americorps Funding Hurts Appalachia (Opinion)

Charleston Gazette-Mail - AmeriCorps is a vital engine for progress in our state, and the recent decision to cancel $3 million in AmeriCorps grants in West Virginia represents a major setback. These cuts threaten to derail disaster response efforts, disrupt support for students who need it most and weaken the infrastructure of national service at…

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May 16, 2025 by Kelly Allen
Congress’ Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would Undo Historic Progress Reducing Overdose Deaths

West Virginia Watch, Beckley Register-Herald - Provisional data shows that overdose deaths in West Virginia declined by an astonishing 43.5% in the last year. Nationally, overdose deaths fell 27% over the same period, the largest one-year decline ever. While researchers are still analyzing the data, declines in overdose deaths have coincided with increased Medicaid coverage…

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May 14, 2025 by Kelly Allen
As Congress Considers Medicaid Changes, Congressman Riley Moore Expresses Support

Charleston MetroNews - As Congress moves toward making significant changes to the federal Medicaid program, Congressman Riley Moore of West Virginia expressed support. Read the full article. Moore said the changes being considered maintain services for those who need the health insurance safety net while reducing spending. The proposals do institute more rigorous requirements that are anticipated…

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May 12, 2025 by Seth DiStefano
Ambulance Costs on Inside West Virginia Politics

WOWK - On this week’s episode of Inside West Virginia Politics, we discuss ambulance services, the transformation of West Virginia State University, budget issues and the work of Soledad O’Brien. Read the full article. In Segment One, we talk to Tom Susman of the Kanawha County Ambulance Authority about rising costs of emergency services. In…

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April 29, 2025 by Kelly Allen
Microgrid Legislation Aims to Lure Data Center Developers to West Virginia

Engineering News-Record East - West Virginia is gearing up to capture a big part of the booming data center market with new legislation that would allow developers to create independent microgrids to power their data centers. Read the full article. The Power Generation and Consumption Act, which is now awaiting Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s signature to become…

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April 23, 2025 by Kelly Allen
Jack Bernard: No Longer the Party of Fiscal Responsibility (Opinion)

Charleston Gazette-Mail - “It’s kind of the perfect storm,” said Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy. “All of the spending and tax cuts are starting to hit the budget at the same time that those temporary revenue factors helped us make the case for the tax cuts have…

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