West Virginia has long faced significant health-related challenges, many of which could have been meaningfully addressed by bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. Maternal and infant mortality rates continue to rise nationally, and the most recent pre-pandemic state data indicated that infant mortality in West Virginia outpaces the national rate.[1] Opioid overdose deaths continue to take the…
Safety Net
WOWK - More families than ever are worried about putting food on the table right now. It’s because of a major decrease in food stamp, or SNAP, benefits. Read the full article. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. When COVID-19 hit, the federal government gave people extra SNAP benefits. West Virginia has 167,000…
Williamson Daily News - Legislation that would give $500 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to the West Virginia Economic Development Authority met with protest Thursday during a public hearing to discuss the proposal. Read the full article. The state has $677 million in unallocated federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. House Bill 2883 would…
Mountain State Spotlight - Lawmakers and members of the public are raising concerns about how Gov. Jim Justice’s office has used federal money related to the coronavirus pandemic — and whether those funds have gone towards helping the communities that need it most. Read the full article. West Virginia received two pots of federal money…
West Virginia News, Weirton Daily Times - West Virginia is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in excess tax revenue and federal COVID-19 relief dollars that lawmakers must consider what to do with. Members of the public are also weighing in on where that money should go. Read the full article. According to the…
West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice submitted a bill meant to transfer $678 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars to state development funds. Not everybody thinks that’s a great idea. Read the full article. House Bill 2883 calls for $500 million to be transferred to the state Economic Development Authority, a $177 million transfer to the state…
Beckley Register-Herald - The length of time people can receive unemployment benefits in West Virginia would decrease under a bill that advanced through the Senate Monday. Read the full article. The legislation, SB 59, would cap unemployment benefits – currently a maximum of 26 weeks – at 12 weeks of benefits if the unemployment rate…
Daily Beast - For the last two years, whenever Sen. Joe Manchin opened his mouth, many Democrats got ready to wince—it usually meant he was about to dismiss or pump the brakes on one of the party’s agenda items. Read the full article. But now, Democrats are anxious for the word from Manchin on something…
Mountain State Spotlight, West Virginia Daily News - As West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice stood in the House of Delegates chamber last week delivering the annual State of the State address, he jumped from topic to topic, highlighting his greatest hits. When he came to the state’s abortion ban, the assembled lawmakers rose in a…
Williamson Daily News - Despite pleas from social service groups to Gov. Jim Justice that leftover federal COVID relief money should be used to help struggling households, Justice instead diverted some of that money to ensure construction of Marshall University’s new baseball field. Read the full article. Seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic, 29 social…