In the News
Manchin fights student loan interest hikes | Charleston Gazette
Last year, nearly 60,000 students at colleges and universities in West Virginia used federal subsidized Stafford loans to help pay for their education, according to the state Higher Education Policy Commission.Starting Monday, any student who signs up for those loans will face interest rates of 6.8 percent, which is double the current rate. But that rate won't be in place for long if senators who are pushing for a fix, like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., get their way.Manchin and five other … Continue Reading
July 01, 2013
Manchin Student Loan Plan Fair | Wheeling Intelligencer
The average U.S. college student walks off campus with about $26,500 in student loan debt, much of it in government-subsidized low-interest loans. Typically, students have 10 years to pay off the debt.Members of Congress now are under fire because interest rates on new Stafford loans are increasing to 6.8 percent, up from 3.4 percent. Analysts say that will add about $2,600 to the typical student's debt load - less than $22 a month on a 10-year repayment.Largely for political reasons, … Continue Reading
June 28, 2013
West Virginia Senators help with passage of immigration reform bill | WV MetroNews
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A historic piece of legislation was passed by the U.S. Senate Thursday meant to address immigration in the United States.By a bipartisan vote of 68-32, Senators passed a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.Both West Virginia Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin did their part to move the piece of legislation on by approving the measure.After successfully pushing for the Senates approval … Continue Reading
June 27, 2013
Sen. Joe Manchin seeks to avoid hike in loan interest | Charleston Daily Mail
Sen. Joe Manchin is heading up a plan to prevent interest rates on student loans from doubling next week. Manchin and four other senators will introduce the plan today. Federally subsidized Stafford loans account for a quarter of all federal student lending. The interest rate on those loans is set to double July 1. The new, bipartisan plan ties loan rates to the financial markets to avoid an immediate rate hike but could mean higher rates in future years. Still, Manchin and his fellow bill … Continue Reading
June 27, 2013
Manchin, other Senators to offer compromise on college loans | Parkersburg News and Sentinel
WASHINGTON - A coalition of lawmakers including Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia today will introduce a bill to prevent an increase of student loan rates.The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act will prevent loan rates from doubling on Monday and provide a permanent solution to lower and fix interest rates for all newly issued student loans, Manchin said."This bipartisan agreement not only makes sure student rates will not double on (Monday,) but this is a long-term fix that will lower rates … Continue Reading
June 25, 2013
Manchin: Obama 'declared war on coal' | Washington Post
In a statement Tuesday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) described a new climate initiative from President Obama as a declaration of war on the coal industry.Obama announced in a speech at Georgetown University that he will use executive authority to impose the first carbon limits on existing power plants. "The regulations the President wants to force on coal are not feasible. And if it's not feasible, it's not reasonable," Manchin said in a statement. "It's clear now that the President has … Continue Reading
June 25, 2013
Background checks | The Register-Herald
One of West Virginia's major daily newspapers, with a long history of supporting a conservative viewpoint, recently conducted a nonpartisan poll to find out how state residents feel about expanding background checks on firearms sales at ever-popular gun shows.The Charleston Daily Mail poll showed that 75 percent of West Virginians support such a change while 17 percent don't.West Virginia is likely as conservative as you get when it comes to gun control issues so for this poll to show such a … Continue Reading
June 25, 2013
WV retailers honor Rockefeller, Manchin for Marketplace Fairness | State Journal
Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, both D-W.Va., were ardent supporters of the Marketplace Fairness Act.And to show their gratitude, the West Virginia Retailers Association and national Retail Federation have recognized the two senators as Heroes of Main Street."Sen. Rockefeller and Sen. Manchin are true heroes for the retailing community in West Virginia and across the country," said Bridget Lambert, president of the West Virginia Retailers Association. "Their support of the Marketplace … Continue Reading
June 24, 2013
Heartening State for gun limits | Saturday Gazette-Mail
Rural West Virginians may be America's most ardent gun-lovers - but even they want to keep deadly weapons away from criminals and dangerous mental patients. The West Virginia Poll found 75 percent of sampled West Virginians favor background checks for informal sales at gun shows, while only 17 percent oppose the safeguard. The remaining 8 percent were unsure. This overwhelming 4-to-1 margin lends powerful support to Sen. Joe Manchin's crusade to save American lives by imposing background … Continue Reading
June 24, 2013
West Virginia poll shows support for expanding background checks | The Herald-Dispatch
West Virginia is more conservative on gun control issues than most states. But even in the Mountain State, support is strong for expanding background checks on weapon sales, the recent West Virginia Poll shows. About 75 percent of those interviewed said they would support a law requiring background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows, according to the non-partisan poll conducted for the Charleston Daily Mail by by R.L. Repass and Partners. About 17 percent said they would oppose such … Continue Reading
June 19, 2013
Senator Manchin amendments of defense pass committee | Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Amendments to a defense spending bill eliminating funding for mining in Afghanistan among other changes were called a major legislative victory by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Manchin is chairman of a subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee which reviewed the defense authorization bill and included 17 amendments from the junior senator from West Virginia. The amendments to the annual defense authorization bill include withholding $63.8 million for the mining industry in Afghanistan, … Continue Reading
June 15, 2013
Flag Day: Manchin visits veterans; has town hall-style meeting | Register-Herald
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin celebrated Flag Day in Greenbrier County, conducting a town hall-style meeting at the Fairlea Senior Center and visiting with military veterans at the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Maxwelton. "People take Flag Day for granted," Manchin told a luncheon gathering of around 60 people, including some 35 senior citizens, in Fairlea. "That flag still represents freedom around the world," he said, leading up to his first topic: Immigration. "People come here looking … Continue Reading
June 07, 2013
Manchin, King urge bipartisan fix to student loans | Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Thursday urged colleagues to work in a bipartisan way to prevent federally subsidized student loan rates to double on July 1. The Senate on Thursday failed to move forward two separate partisan bills intended to prevent the interest rate hike of from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Sixty votes were needed to end debate and neither obtained the required number. The Democrat version to extend the existing rates, Senate Bill 953, failed 51-46 while the Republican-backed … Continue Reading
June 05, 2013
WVU Student is Honored on Capitol Hill For Invention | WHAG
She was only 16-years-old when she entered a project for her high school's science fair. Little did Katherine Bomkamp know that six years later her project would receive nationwide attention; not to mention becoming one of Glamour Magazine's Top Ten Women of the Year. "I incorporated the concept of thermal biofeedback into the prosthetic socket. This is concentrated and controlled heat," says Katherine Bomkamp, inventor of a pain-free prosthetic device. Currently a senior at West Virginia … Continue Reading
June 03, 2013
Manchin welcomes vets to Washington | Fayette Tribune
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) proudly welcomed 31 veterans from West Virginia to the nation's capital for the state's third "Always Free Honor Flight" in less than a year. The veterans visited the capital free of cost to see the memorials built in their honor. Eleven served in World War II, one in World War II and Korea, 10 in Korea, one in Korea and Vietnam, four in Vietnam, and two in all three wars. Two other veterans served as escorts for the group, along with three high school ROTC … Continue Reading
May 28, 2013
Manchin was essential to chemical proposal | Charleston Daily Mail
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was credited recently for rallying bipartisan support in the Senate for the first update of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. It appears to be an example of the careful policy setting work that the U.S. Senate should be doing. After all, a former governor like Manchin knows a thing or two about the importance of getting regulation right - and the economic impact on real people when regulators get it wrong. Under current law, the Environmental Protection … Continue Reading
May 24, 2013
New Alliance Emerges to Tighten Chemical Rules | New York Times
WASHINGTON - The first credible effort in years to revamp the nation's outmoded chemical safety law grew in part from the Senate's failure in April to enact a gun buyer background check bill. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat who is 89 and in ill health, traveled to Washington in April for the first time in two months to vote in favor of the gun bill, sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania. Mr. … Continue Reading
May 23, 2013
Manchin creates a deal ‘dynamic’ | Charleston Gazette
by Ken Ward Jr.
Lawmakers in Washington have reached agreement on a potential compromise to reform the way the nation regulates toxic chemicals, and Sen. Joe Manchin, DW. Va., is being credited with helping to forge the bipartisan deal. The bill would, for the first time, require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review the safety of all chemicals used in commerce. Currently, the federal Toxic Substances Control Act allows the vast majority of chemicals to remain on the market without any evidence … Continue Reading
May 20, 2013
Cortland Acres residents chat with Sen. Manchin online | Elkins Inter Mountain
Stanley "Champ" Sedmock, a 13-year resident of Cortland Acres, may not have to wait long for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin to take him up on his offer of a cup of coffee. "Hopefully I can stop by soon and visit with you in person," Manchin said via the online teleconference program Skype. "I'd love to be with you this morning. But since I'm not, this is the best way for me to talk with you about your concerns." Manchin, who owns a home and loves spending time in Canaan Valley, spoke with more than a … Continue Reading
May 08, 2013
Local Students Visit Senator Manchin in D.C. | WHAG
by Bejoy Joseph
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Despite the rainy weather, students from a local West Virginia college had a special day trip to our nation's capital on Tuesday touring the area and meeting their political officials. Mother nature could not put a damper on these students from Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in the eastern panhandle, as they got a chance to visit Washington D.C. and sit down with Senator Joe Manchin as part of a government class field trip. "The beauty of being in the eastern … Continue Reading
