In the News
Miner benefits: Action needed on critical measure | Bluefield Daily Telegraph
by Editorial
A group of 27 lawmakers are correctly urging Congress to vote on the Miners Protection Act before they leave Washington for the summer recess. The proposed legislation would address the impending loss of health and pension benefits for thousands of our coal miners, as well as the looming multi-employer pension crisis facing hundreds of thousands of other working Americans. The Miners Protection Act, if approved by Congress, would specifically protect both the health care and pension benefits … Continue Reading
May 25, 2016
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin Wants Opioid Tax for Treatment Programs | Wheeling Intelligencer
by Alec Berry & Casey Junkins
WHEELING - Sen. Joe Manchin introduced legislation Tuesday that would impose a 1-cent tax on each milligram of active opioid ingredient sold as prescription pain medication, as he believes this would generate up to $2 billion annually to combat substance abuse. Manchin joined several Senate colleagues to introduce the Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment Act, which supporters are referring to as the "LifeBOAT Act." The legislation endeavors to curb abuse of opioids - including … Continue Reading
May 25, 2016
Manchin's Act turns pennies into gold | Beckley Register Herald
by Editorial
There is a pit bull terrier hounding the opioid drug overdose epidemic in this country and his name is Joe Manchin. Luckily for us here in West Virginia, he is our U.S. senator. Manchin, who has studied the issue as closely as any politician in DC, is now pushing something called the LifeBOAT (Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment) Act, which establishes a penny fee on each milligram of active opioid ingredient in a prescription pain pill. The tax would be used to provide and expand access … Continue Reading
May 09, 2016
Not giving up on southern WV | Charleston Gazette-Mail
by Editorial
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has been pushing and promoting a series of job fairs around the state. The fourth was in Logan on Friday, where a long trail of cars wound their way to Chief Logan Lodge, and hundreds of people gathered to learn about opportunities with about 135 employers. Among the employers were Amazon, Toyota, Gestamp, Constellium Rolled Products, Frontier, healthcare companies and several branches of the U.S. military. As staff writer Andrew Brown recounted, people who have been … Continue Reading
April 23, 2016
Pickens Students Skype with Sen. Manchin | Elkins Inter Mountain
by Brooke Binns
PICKENS - Students at Pickens School were able to participate in a live, online chat with U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III. Students in grades six through 12 participated in the Skype chat with Manchin, and were able to ask questions about various current policy issues. In a press release Senator Manchin said, "The students asked excellent questions, and we had a dynamic conversation about taxes, our nation's debt and how I'm working to create jobs in West Virginia. I always look forward to my … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Manchin hoping for success with more focused mine safety bill | Charleston Gazette-Mail
by Ken Ward Jr.
Sen. Joe Manchin is working on a more narrow mine safety bill that would focus only on increasing the prison time and fines for anyone convicted of criminal safety and health violations like those involved in the case against former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. Manchin, D-W.Va., said that he still supports the passage of the entire Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Act that he co-sponsored, but that he's trying to find a way around "congressional gridlock" that he says has hampered that bill's … Continue Reading
April 14, 2016
Manchin Skypes with students | The Journal
by Katiann Marshall
CHARLES TOWN-Washington High School's Careers of Education class Skyped with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. on Wednesday morning. The Careers of Education class at the school is for any student who is interested in any aspect of a career in education, such as administration, counseling, teaching, etc. Seniors Kristin Williams, Kylee Cook, Kristy Rodgers, Carmen Rodgers, Kayla Barnes, Haelly Ramirez and Jacob Shuff, along with juniors Brooke Smoot and Allison Schwartz, were the nine students who … Continue Reading
April 13, 2016
Manchin to introduce new legislation following Jessie Grubb death | WV Metro News
by Carrie Hodousek
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin says he plans to introduce new legislation called "Jessie's Law" in connection to the death of Jessica Grubb, of Charleston, who died last month after a seven year battle of heroin addiction. Grubb, 30, who was clean for six months, died Mar. 2 in Michigan after being given pain killers following a hip surgery. The cause of her death is unknown pending an autopsy. Doctors claim they were unaware of her drug addiction and gave her 50 OxyContin … Continue Reading
April 07, 2016
Manchin speaks via Skype with Harman Students | Elkins Inter Mountain
by By Chris Lee
HARMAN - Students at Harman School communicated with U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., via video-conference Wednesday, as part of the senator's weekly session with high school and college students around the state. Manchin answered five questions formulated by the students, which delved into state and national policy issues such as the future of coal, the development of Corridor H and medical marijuana reform. He also touched on local issues, such as Harman School obtaining SBA funds to … Continue Reading
March 22, 2016
Manchin, VA hospital staff discuss drug abuse among vets | The Exponent Telegram
by Jim Davis
CLARKSBURG - U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., met Monday with staff at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center about drug abuse among military veterans. The discussion focused on prescription pain relievers that can become addictive, Manchin told reporters after the meeting at the Clarksburg hospital. "The big concern we have is the amount of narcotics and opiates on the market today, and they're everywhere," Manchin said. "A lot of our veterans come back (from the service) with … Continue Reading
March 17, 2016
Manchin speaks via Skype with PHS class | Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG - Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., spoke Wednesday to a Parkersburg High School government class via Skype, answering student-prepared questions on a variety of topics. The video session happened around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and lasted about half an hour. Manchin spoke to students in teacher David Woody's Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class, as well as students from his other classes who were invited to attend. Last fall, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., spoke to … Continue Reading
March 11, 2016
Lawmakers praise passage of bill aiding battle against growing opioid epidemic | Bluefield Daily Telegraph
CHARLESTON - Calling the problem a "national emergency," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) said passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act is a "good first step" in tackling a growing crisis. The bill passed by an overwhelming margin, 94-1, in the Senate Thursday, and earmarks more than $300 million over five years in federal grants to state and local programs aimed at strengthening treatment for addicts and expanding prevention efforts. Capito said Thursday afternoon … Continue Reading
March 04, 2016
Thousands turn out for employment fair in Fairmont | Clarksburg Exponent Telegram
FAIRMONT - Thousands of people either looking for employment or a career change gathered in Fairmont on Friday for a job and resource fair. The job fair was the first of eight such events that U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin is planning across the state. The event at the I-79 Technology Park began at 11 a.m., and people were lining up outside the Robert H. Mollohan Research Building at 9 a.m., said Manchin, D-W.Va. "If this is any indication of what's going on around the state and what's … Continue Reading
March 04, 2016
Federal legislation aimed at combating opioid addiction | Huntington Herald Dispatch
by By TAYLOR STUCK
HUNTINGTON - West Virginia lawmakers in Washington say the U.S. Senate is expected to pass a comprehensive bill addressing heroin and opioid addiction across the country. The Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act of 2016 would create an interagency task force to craft best practices for prescribing medications that contain opioids and grant federal officials the authority to make drug policy prevention-driven rather than punishment-focused, including funding for drug courts and long-term … Continue Reading
March 02, 2016
UMWA, Ohio and West Virginia Senators Fight for Retiree Benefits | Wheeling Intelligencer
by Casey Junkins
MARTINS FERRY - Partially due to a depressed coal market and recent bankruptcies - as well as new technologies that allow companies to extract the mineral with far fewer employees than they once needed - the pensions for thousands of retired coal miners hang in the balance as U.S. senators consider the Miners Protection Act. On Tuesday, United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts testified in Washington, D.C., before the Senate Finance Committee on the matter. He also met with … Continue Reading
February 22, 2016
Manchin hosts roundtable | Logan Banner
by Owen Wells
LOGAN, W.Va. - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin made the rounds in southern W.Va. Friday Feb. 19 conducting meetings with community and business leaders as well as constituents in Mingo, Logan and Boone counties. In Logan, Manchin addressed a crowded room in the Logan County Commission building concerning the states economic future. Manchin started the meeting with a reminder his office is open if citizens need help. "We're a facilitator. What I do and what our job is, if you have somebody that … Continue Reading
February 22, 2016
Tragic tales of pain pill addiction | Charleston Gazette-Mail
by Editorial
Everyone knows that West Virginia has America's worst rate of opioid overdose deaths. President Obama came to Charleston to spotlight the deadly pain pill menace. Police and health departments frantically seek safeguards, and administer naloxone to save some victims. To show the reality, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has been reading victim letters on the floor of the U.S. Senate in Washington. The first was from a young Beckley teacher who said her mother's painkiller addiction wrecked the … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
Manchin continues filibuster with letter from another addict's daughter | Beckley Register Herald
by Misty Poe
FAIRMONT - There isn't a day that goes by when Kylie doesn't think about her father. At the end of the month, it will be nine years since she last saw her father. Kylie was a junior in high school at the time in Clarksburg, but she stayed home from school that day. Her father had been going through drug withdrawals, and when she woke up at about 10 a.m. that morning, Kylie found him dead. "He'd found drugs and overdosed while I was asleep, leaving me there to find him," Kylie wrote in a … Continue Reading
February 10, 2016
Manchin: Culture change needed in FDA | Times West Virginian
by Misty Poe
FAIRMONT - There isn't a day that goes by when Kylie doesn't think about her father. At the end of the month, it will be nine years since she last saw her father. Kylie was a junior in high school at the time in Clarksburg, but she stayed home from school that day. Her father had been going through drug withdrawals, and when she woke up at about 10 a.m. that morning, Kylie found him dead. "He'd found drugs and overdosed while I was asleep, leaving me there to find him," Kylie wrote in a … Continue Reading
February 10, 2016
Sen. Manchin takes West Virginia's drug problem to Senate floor | Clarksburg Exponent Telegram
by Brittany Murray
CLARKSBURG - U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., went to the Senate floor Tuesday to read two letters from West Virginians who had been personally impacted by the opioid epidemic. "We're getting these by the hundreds," Manchin said. "I'm hoping that as we share the West Virginia stories, every other senator is taking a look at their own state. People are losing their parents, their home life, their spouse and their loved ones. It strips you of everything you've got." One letter, written by a … Continue Reading
