At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government passed legislation to help families and health care providers amid an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Among the provisions, states were required to keep people who receive health insurance via Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) continuously enrolled in the programs in exchange…
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Infants and birthing parents are dying at alarming rates in West Virginia. Infant and maternal mortality rates are essential statistics measuring overall societal health. In particular, the disparities in life outcomes between Black and white babies and mothers raise questions about health equity and the ability of our health care system to respond to both…
This month's New York Times article on business tax subsidies has attracted plenty of attention in West Virginia, as our state was listed as second in the nation with $857 per resident given out to attract businesses in the state. While state officials defended the state's use of tax incentives, Phil Kabler in Sunday's Gazette-Mail…
Congress is currently negotiating an increase in the "debt ceiling," which must be raised to prevent catastrophic economic consequences. Previously Congress has always acted when called upon to raise the debt limit. Since 1960, Congress has acted 78 separate times to permanently raise, temporarily extend, or revise the definition of the debt limit – 49…
Beckley Register-Herald - Several speakers at a public hearing in the House of Delegates Chamber Friday morning said drug testing welfare recipients is a bad idea because of basic privacy rights issues and the likely low number of positive tests. ReadACLU legal director Jamie Lynn Crofts said drug testing of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families…
The West Virginia Legislature is poised to enact a so-called right-to-work (RTW) law this week. The House of Delegates is taking up an amended version of the "WV Workplace Freedom Act" this afternoon. The law would prohibit unions and employers from negotiating a contract that requires employees who benefit from union representation to pay for…
The WVCBP is excited to welcome Krysta Rexrode Wolfe to the team as our new operations and event coordinator! Before joining the WVCBP staff, Krysta served the state by leading faith communities in Morgantown and Charleston. Krysta brings a decade of administrative experience and a passion for advocacy to her work. She holds a B.A.…
Charleston Daily Mail - A recent column by Hoppy Kercheval wrongly states that the revolution in shale development was the product of the “free market.” Nothing could be further from the truth. ReadFederal investments and involvement in the development of shale extraction technologies span three decades.In fact, the first successful multi-fracture horizontal drilling play was…
Yesterday, Governor Jim Justice unveiled his long-awaited proposal to reduce the state personal income tax. As currently structured, it would raise West Virginia’s sales tax to 7.9 percent, making it the highest state sales tax in the country, and effectively making our combined state and local sales tax rate 8.4 percent, higher than that of any of our surrounding…
Every day in West Virginia, thousands of low-income families rely on public child care assistance. In 2011, the West Virginia Child Care Program – which is funded primarily through the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and state matching funds – provided financial assistance to more than 24,000 children whose parents…