In the News
Manchin Asks DHHS Secretary to Work on Jessie's Law Standards | Beckley Register-Herald
by Wendy Holdren
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create and disseminate the standards required through Jessie's Law as soon as possible. Jessie's Law, included in the FY18 spending bill, aims to help ensure that medical professionals have full knowledge of their patient's previous opioid addiction if the patient provides that information. In a letter to DHHS Secretary Alex Azar, Manchin detailed the life of the young woman for whom the law was … Continue Reading
April 09, 2018
Amtrak urged to release details about new policy | Huntington Herald Dispatch
by Fred Pace
HUNTINGTON - One West Virginia politician is urging Amtrak to provide more information on its new policy concerning private and charter trains. Recently, Amtrak officials announced the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society will no longer be allowed to operate any private car moves out of Huntington on Amtrak's tri-weekly Cardinal train. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., sent a letter to Richard Anderson, the president and chief executive officer of Amtrak, requesting that he provide … Continue Reading
March 28, 2018
Congratulations on Jessie's Law, to prevent another opioid death | WV Gazette Mail
It seems heart-breakingly obvious, now. Display a patient's opioid problem as prominently as their drug allergies in medical records so treating physicians cannot miss it. This is Jessie's Law, pushed by Sen. Joe Manchin and included in the omnibus budget bill that recently passed Congress. By now, readers know the story. Vivacious Jessie Grubb, after dealing with a sexual assault in college in Asheville, N.C., became addicted to opioids. Treatment after treatment, she relapsed. But by … Continue Reading
March 24, 2018
Erma Byrd Job Fair brings opportunity to southern West Virginia | WV Metro News
BEAVER, W.Va. - Hundreds of people entered the Erma Byrd Higher Education Center Friday with resumes in hand. The U.S. Senator Joe Manchin and West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Regional Job Fair featured a total of 144 employers from numerous industries. Event partners included WorkForce West Virginia, Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin's Office. New to this year's event was a partnership with recently-moved WVU Tech in Beckley. WVU Tech … Continue Reading
March 23, 2018
Jessie's Law finally on the books | Beckley Register-Herald
by Matt Combs
In March 2016, Jessie Grubb walked into a hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to have surgery for a running-related injury. At discharge, a doctor gave the West Virginia native a prescription for 50 oxycodone pills, not knowing that Jessie was a recovering addict. The next day the young woman fatality overdosed on the prescription pills. "When she was discharged, the physician just simply did what he always does," said Jessie's father, David Grubb, said during a conference call. "He … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Free black lung exams offered next week in southern towns | Logan Banner
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Mobile Occupational Safety and Health Units will be set up in Delbarton, Man and Logan next week to provide free black lung exams, according to a release from the office of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. Miners should call 1-888-480-4042 to make an appointment. Walk-ins will be taken as time allows. According to NIOSH, the exam typically takes 30 minutes and includes a short questionnaire, blood pressure screening, a chest x-ray, and a … Continue Reading
March 14, 2018
Manchin, Capito Send Letter Concerning Staffing at Federal Prisons | WV MetroNews
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., sent a letter Tuesday to the head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons about low staffing levels at West Virginia prison and related consequences. In the letter to Director Mark Inch, the senators said they were "extremely disappointed" in the lack of progress regarding increased funding for federal correctional institutions in West Virginia. They added while they understand the challenges presented under the current … Continue Reading
March 14, 2018
Committee to Meet to Find a Solution to Pension Plan Crisis | Beckley Register-Herald
by Wendey Holdren
The first in a series of meetings and hearings will be held today to work toward a bipartisan solution to the multi-employer pension plan crisis. The pension crisis threatens nearly 86,000 coal miners nationwide, including more than 26,000 in West Virginia. The Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pensions Plans meets today at 10 a.m. The meeting will be streamed live at finance.senate.gov. The Joint Select Committee was created as part of the overall budget compromise … Continue Reading
March 13, 2018
Lincoln County schools given $440K tech award | Charleston Gazette Mail (AP)
HAMLIN (AP) - A West Virginia school board has been chosen to receive more than $440,000 for video conference technology to provide distance learning. The $440,295 award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was announced Friday by West Virginia's two U.S. senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito. A news release from Manchin's office said the funding will help provide interactive distance learning services to eight sites in Lincoln County. The release said the … Continue Reading
March 09, 2018
Manchin and Capito Announce More Than $223K for Health Research
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) have awarded $223,871 to health research organizations in West Virginia. The funding will be used for Ryan White Part C Outpatient EIS Program research at Charleston Area Medical Center and West Virginia University. "CAMC and WVU are conducting important research and providing primary … Continue Reading
March 09, 2018
Manchin: Bill guarantees loans for gas storage hubs | Parkersburg News & Sentinel
WASHINGTON - A bill ensuring a natural gas storage hub qualifies for a federal loan program was passed Thursday by a committee of the U.S. Senate. The Capitalizing American Storage Potential Act approved by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee would make sure a regional storage hub qualifies for the Department of Energy's Title XVII innovative technologies loan guarantee program, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said. Efforts are underway in West Virginia to establish the Appalachian … Continue Reading
March 08, 2018
Sen. Manchin's storage hub bill approved by Senate committee Thursday | Clarksburg Exponent Telegram
by Charles Young
CLARKSBURG - A bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that could lead to major developments for West Virginia's oil and gas industry was approved by a Senate committee Thursday. Senate Bill 1337, called the Capitalizing American Storage Potential Act, was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The bill, which Manchin introduced in June, would make sure that a regional storage hub qualifies for the Department of Energy's successful Title XVII innovative … Continue Reading
March 07, 2018
Clock Ticking | Elkins Inter-Mountain
Imagine everyone who lives in Wheeling suddenly being told their incomes are being cut off. Imagine them being old enough that they had few prospects of replacing that loss. Now you have some idea of the disaster facing families throughout our state and in other coal mining regions. Slightly more than 27,000 people live in Wheeling, according to the Census Bureau. That happens to be the number of retired West Virginians who rely on pensions from their former employers in the mining … Continue Reading
March 06, 2018
March 6, 2018
March 06, 2018
Senator Joe Manchin weighs in on pay raise bill | WTOV
by David Singer
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said West Virginia Senate Republicans are not budging on negotiations when it comes to the work stoppage. "The governor has stepped up and put the 5 percent out there, the House has approved it and the Senate Republicans, for whatever reason, have bogged down and basically entrenched themselves and not getting this accomplished," Manchin said. Manchin said he was confident the Republicans' one-party control in the legislature and the governor's office would … Continue Reading
March 06, 2018
Legislation aims to restore DEA authority to go after pharmaceutical companies | Beckley Register Herald
by Wendy Holdren
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has introduced legislation to make the changes requested by the Justice Department to restore the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) authority to go after pharmaceutical companies that are violating the law and flooding our communities with opioids. "The Drug Enforcement Agency is our first line of defense in preventing pharmaceutical companies from flooding the market with opioids and taking advantage of a nation ravaged by this deadly epidemic," Manchin said. … Continue Reading
March 03, 2018
Hundreds take part in job fair | Elkins Inter-Mountain
by Jim Workman
SOUTH CHARLESTON - If all goes as expected, some unemployed or underemployed West Virginians this week may be starting new careers as early as next week. That's the report from a few of the participating businesses at the South Charleston Regional Job and Resource Fair, held Friday at BridgeValley Community and Technical College. The office of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin was the headline presenter of the event. Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood was one company represented at the job fair, … Continue Reading
March 02, 2018
U.S. Senate passes Rural Wireless Access Act | Beckley Register Herald
by Wendy Holdren
The U.S. Senate has passed the Rural Wireless Access Act, requiring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure its broadband coverage maps reflect the real-world experiences of consumers in rural America. The legislation, introduced by Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., requires the FCC to collect valid, consistent and robust broadband coverage data. "Passing the Rural Wireless Access Act is an important step towards closing the broadband gap in West Virginia," Manchin said. "This bill … Continue Reading
February 14, 2018
Sen. Manchin skypes with Logan County High School students | WSAZ
LOGAN COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin answered questions from Logan County High School students via Skype on Wednesday. The students asked questions about his pledge to not campaign against his sitting colleagues, how to make coal mining safer for miners and their families, the future of coal, and the opioid epidemic. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said, "The students at Logan County High School asked some insightful questions today and they were keenly focused on our … Continue Reading
February 03, 2018
Sen. Joe Manchin Visits Unity Center in Benwood | Wheeling Intelligencer
by Joselyn King
BENWOOD - During the 10 years of the Vietnam War, nearly 60,000 American soldiers were killed in action. About the same number of people died just last year across America of drug addiction, according to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. About 800 of the opioid deaths were recorded in West Virginia in 2017, he said. Manchin, D-W.Va., spoke on the issue of the nation's opioid addiction during a stop Friday at the Unity Center drug addiction recovery center, now located in Benwood. Those attending stood … Continue Reading
