West Virginia Public Broadcasting - If you spend any time at the West Virginia state capitol during the annual 60-day legislative session, you'll notice many voices clamoring for the attention of our state's part-time lawmakers. All citizens are welcome to approach legislators with ideas and requests, but average citizens generally don't have the time or…
WVCBP in the News
West Virginia Metro News - A campaign aimed at improving communities and ending child poverty in West Virginia is holding regional workshops across the state. ReadThe Our Children, Our Future Campaign's goal is to identify and promote state policy opportunities at a local level which will improve communities and then achieve policy victories at the…
Sunday Gazette Mail - In West Virginia and many other states, the minimum wage for all workers is $7.25 an hour, but it is significantly less for tipped workers. Many restaurant owners only pay their workers a wage of $2.13 an hour, assuming tips will enable them to reach the minimum hourly wage. ReadSome waitresses…
Charleston Exponent Telegram - Since our state's birth in the midst of the Civil War, residents of West Virginia have known poverty to a greater degree than most every state in the Union — with Mississippi lagging just behind us. Considering that 18 percent of Mountain State residents currently live in poverty, it's hard to…
Charleston Gazette - Earlier this month, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., spoke in Charleston in support of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Read"I was always trying to figure out ways to access export trade for West Virginians," Manchin said at the June 16 small-business forum attended by Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg. "We have a global market…
Clarksburg Exponent Telegram — Lawmakers and higher education officials must work together to stop the trend of higher education funding cuts and tuition increases, officials said. ReadAnd accomplishing this feat will require compromises from all parties, said David Hendrickson, a member of the Higher Education Policy Commission.Higher education institutions have again been subjected to state…
Charleston Gazette - After West Virginia ranked in the last three spots for the past seven State New Economy Index reports, Ted Boettner, executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said he would like to see some changes. Read "While we should always be cautious about economic indexes that over simplify…
Charleston Gazette - The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace in West Virginia will see a new element introduced to it in time for the 2015 open enrollment period — competition. Friday was the deadline for insurance providers to enter the ACA marketplace. Read Highmark West Virginia, previously the only insurer in the state's ACA…
West Virginia Metro News - People with federal and private student loans issued prior to 2010 will not have the opportunity to refinance those loans at today's lower interest rates — at least not right now. Read There were not enough votes in the U.S. Senate this week to move forward with a proposed bill…
Charleston Gazette - The number of people getting health insurance through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program has increased more in West Virginia than in almost any other state since Medicaid was expanded under the Affordable Care Act, according to data from the federal government released Wednesday. Read As of April 30, nearly 154,000…