Federal dollars support a wide array of public services and systems that touch the lives of all West Virginians — from health care and food assistance to child care and public schools. Under both the Trump Administration and Congress, many of these programs are being considered for deep cuts or significant reductions — in large…
Health
Parkersburg News and Sentinel, Wheeling Intelligencer, Inter-Mountain - The West Virginia chapter of a conservative grassroots advocacy organization that spent money and manpower on behalf of the state’s new Republican governor and other GOP leaders now hopes their legislative agenda will receive a warm welcome, though opposition remains. Read the full article. The West Virginia…
West Virginia families deserve healthy and safe birthing outcomes, but moms and babies are currently facing significant health challenges. While much discussion is rightly focused on mortality rates, deaths are only the tip of the iceberg of infant and maternal health and well-being. Birthing complications, including pre-term births and caesarian sections, incur a significant cost…
Black By God: The West Virginian - I walked the thick, white marble hallways of the West Virginia State Capitol for years as a lobbyist. My journey into policy work began out of frustration during the 2014 West Virginia Water Crisis and the fight for the Aboveground Storage Tank Bill. The process felt foreign—because it…
West Virginia News - The annual Kids Count Data Book was recently published, highlighting where each state ranks in terms of child well-being. Read the full article. As a whole, West Virginia placed 44th in the nation after looking at data in categories including education, health, economy and family and community. The study helps officials…
West Virginia Watch, Postindustrial, Times West Virginian - Health care advocates from West Virginia have joined with thousands of physicians and public health professionals around the country in asking the U.S. Senate to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. as head of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Read the…
Overview Read the full fact sheet. Federal policymakers are reportedly considering enacting work reporting requirements for Medicaid in the new Congress. Similar state-level policy led to disastrous consequences in Arkansas in 2018-19 until a federal judge blocked the program. Enacting an Arkansas-style work reporting requirement at the federal level would result in West Virginia’s health…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia Delegate Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, played a key role in securing up to $5 million in state funding for an out-of-state Catholic school and its right-wing advocacy plans from a fund typically tapped for water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Read the full article. McGeehan has a lengthy history of proposing use…
West Virginia Watch, Huntington Herald-Dispatch, Times West Virginian, West Virginia Daily News - A bill that would expand the work requirements for West Virginians receiving assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will get another chance at becoming law during the upcoming legislative session, its sponsor said. Read the full article. Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh,…
Beckley Register-Herald - Tough stories about kids hurt my heart, especially this time of year when all that we do should be about showing them the lights, especially in a sea of darkness. Read the full op-ed. I stand corrected. That should be the year-round mission, no matter the age, no matter the holiday, presents…