WVCBP in the News

May 12, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
Justice Considering eliminating $300 Extra Unemployment Benefit Early

West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday he’s considering eliminating the $300 weekly additional unemployment benefit that thousands of state residents receive before its September expiration date. Read the full article. Justice said he’s heard from employers that can’t fill jobs. He said some people still need the benefits but there are some…

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May 7, 2021 by Kelly Allen
Paid Leave Could Mean Fewer WV Women Exiting Workforce

Public News Service - Nearly 60% of West Virginia workers lack access to any form of time off, either paid or unpaid. Read the full article. Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said families are being forced to choose between caring for a child or family member or getting a…

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May 3, 2021 by Seth DiStefano
Why Are Children and Frontline Workers a Part of Biden’s Infrastructure Bill?

WOWK - On Inside West Virginia Politics, Seth DiStefano from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy office says he supports President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, which affects the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. Watch the full segment. “When it comes to West Virginia kids and West Virginia working families, there…

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May 3, 2021 by Seth DiStefano
How Would the Infrastructure Bill, Expanding Broadband Impact WV?

WOWK - This week on Inside West Virginia Politics, officials from West Virginia and beyond discuss President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, how West Virginia is expanding broadband, and how a donation to a university in West Virginia will help undergrad students. Watch the full segment. In Segment 1, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R) Kentucky shares his…

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May 3, 2021 by WVCBP
Drug Overdose Deaths Hit Record High in West Virginia in 2020

WSWS - West Virginia, the national epicenter of the opioid crisis for the past decade, saw its fatal overdose rate spike by at least 45 percent in 2020 according to data from the state Office of the Chief Medical Officer. The increase is a reversal of two years of declining drug deaths and marks a…

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April 29, 2021 by WVCBP
Hepatitis Detection Efforts in West Virginia Get Nearly $400K Boost

Hep Mag - The federal government has awarded West Virginia about $393,000 for viral hepatitis surveillance, according to an announcement from the state’s U.S. senators, Republican Shelly More Capito and Democrat Joe Manchin. Of that funding, $78,659 has been set aside to explore how the opioid epidemic affects rates of infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. Read the full article.…

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April 27, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
West Virginia Looking at Financial and Political Losses from U.S. Census Data

WOWK - West Virginia had the sharpest loss of any state in the nation, with a population drop of 3.2%. When Congress allocates federal funding for everything from health care to public transit to highway construction and education, it’s based on population. Because West Virginia lost people, it’s going to lose federal aid. Watch the…

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