The State Journal - The U.S. Senate has voted not to proceed with legislation that would prevent interest rates on student loans from increasing — a move Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., says fails students and graduates across the country. Read
WVCBP in the News
Charleston Gazette - Only in West Virginia could politicians argue over a penny, as we saw as Republicans and Democrats wrangle over who should get credit for repeal of the final 1 percent of consumer sales tax on groceries. Read The whole issue of the food tax being particularly onerous on the state's poor has…
The State Journal - President Barack Obama abruptly decided July 2 to delay a controversial provision of his Affordable Care Act, much to the delight of some of West Virginia's business and political leaders. Read The president announced he will delay the employer mandate until 2015. The provision was originally to take effect at the…
Charleston Gazette - A substantial majority of West Virginians favor a proposal to increase taxes on coal operators to create a long-term fund to help diversify the state's economy, according to a new survey conducted for the Union of Concerned Scientists. Read More than two-thirds of those surveyed by Lake Research Associates support the idea…
Charleston Gazette - Most people in West Virginia will pay less in health insurance premiums through the state's health insurance exchange than they would have in the regular insurance market before the federal Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress, according to a state-commissioned actuarial study. Read The rates are dependent on getting younger, healthy…
Charleston Gazette - Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, said the state's political leaders are put in an awkward spot when confronted with how natural gas is edging out coal in the marketplace. Read "You can't simply push 100 percent for natural gas and 100 percent for coal,"…
The State Journal and WOWK-TV - For the effect on West Virginia's economy, Ted Boettner, director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said that any federal action to limit carbon pollution needs to include a plan for working West Virginians. That would include diversifying not only the state's energy sector, but other…
Lexington Herald-Leader - Analysts project that coal production in Eastern Kentucky and throughout Central Appalachia will continue a steep slide in the next few years regardless of the mix of environmental rules, said Sean O'Leary, an analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read "It's too expensive to mine, with or without…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia is questioning how transparent Marshall University's budget really is, claiming the administration has put up roadblocks when it comes to finding detailed financial reports. Read Ted Boettner, executive director with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said he wants to see a more uniform…
West Virginia Public News Service – Observers of corporate bankruptcies say the ruling in the Patriot Coal case will open the door to other corporations that want to shed retiree obligations. Read Sean O'Leary, policy analyst with the West Virginia Center On Budget & Policy, says retirees might end up having to depend on Social…