Manchin visits Wood County Senior Citizens Association, Wincore

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin visited Wood County Thursday to tout the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act for senior citizens and businesses.

“The administration has sold it as an environmental bill,” said Manchin, D-W.Va., before speaking at the Wood County Senior Citizens Association’s Senior Center on Green in Parkersburg. “It’s so much more than an environmental bill.”

While the legislation includes about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage shifts to cleaner forms of energy, Manchin, whose support was key in passing the $737 billion bill last year, said it’s also about energy independence. That’s something the United States must have in order to maintain its status as a superpower, he said.

The environment must be protected, Manchin said, but the U.S. can extract resources and use them for power “basically cleaner than anywhere else in the world.”

Part of the deal securing Manchin’s backing for the Inflation Reduction Act was an agreement with House and Senate leaders to move forward with environmental permitting reform. So far, that has not come to fruition, but Manchin said he isn’t giving up.

“We’re going to get that done,” he said. The advancements in the Inflation Reduction Act are “all for naught if it takes seven to 10, 12 years to get something permitted.”

Manchin stopped at the Senior Center to highlight the benefits the bill has for older Americans, including a cap of $35 for a month’s supply of insulin under Medicare Part D, free vaccinations for Medicare beneficiaries, the ability for Medicare to begin negotiating on drug costs like other federal programs and a cap of $2,000 for out-of-pocket Medicare prescription drug costs, the latter slated to begin in 2025.

Parkersburg resident Ruth Dickson told Manchin her husband had been charged more than $35 recently for insulin. Manchin told her someone with his office would look into it and find out why.

“For the most part, he gave us an answer, and I appreciate the fact that when he couldn’t answer, (he said) he’d get us an answer,” she said.

Manchin said the reforms are aimed at helping senior citizens deal with inflation.

Jane Marks, the state volunteer president for AARP West Virginia, called the legislation “historic.”

“AARP has worked on this issue for decades,” said Marks, who came to hear Manchin speak at the Senior Center Thursday. “Many of them have had to choose — can I buy my medicine this week or can I buy some food?”

Rod Poling, activities coordinator for the Senior Citizen Association, asked Manchin about the possibility of cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The senator said both Democrats and Republicans are committed to protecting those programs.

“What we’re trying to do is look down the road … how do you save it?” he said. “We can get our house back in order, but you don’t have to say you’re going to do it on the back of Social Security and Medicare.”

Getting the federal budget done by the actual deadline of Sept. 30 would save a great deal of money, Manchin said, while capping the annual increase in discretionary spending at 1% would save $1 trillion over 10 years.

One senior in attendance asked Manchin about his political future, saying she’d heard a rumor he was going to run for governor again against Republican Jim Justice.

“No, no, no — you heard a rumor that he’s going to run against me for the Senate,” Manchin said.

Justice, who cannot run again for governor a third time because of term limits, has said he’s considering a Senate campaign.

Manchin said he hasn’t decided what he’s going to do but whatever it is, “I’m going to put my heart and soul into it.”

Wood County Senior Citizens Association Executive Director Kelly Goedel said she appreciated Manchin’s visit because it gave the group a chance to show him their new facility and seniors the opportunity to ask questions of the senator.

“He spoke to a lot of topics that I know our seniors care about and are concerned about,” Goedel said.

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