Manchin Secures More than $154 Million for West Virginia in Four 2024 Funding Bills

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured a number of West Virginia priorities in the Appropriations Committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor HHS); Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Defense; and Homeland Security funding bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee has now reported all 12 bipartisan annual appropriations bills for the first time since 2018, which will hopefully be voted on by the full Senate later this year.

These funding bills include more than $154 million earmarked for specific West Virginia projects, including $2.5 million for the WV Bureau of Senior Services, which was conceptualized after his “Serving Our Seniors” tour to all 55 counties across West Virginia. Millions more will be allocated to West Virginia for healthcare services, water and flooding infrastructure, and other important programs.

“I am proud that we were able to come together to advance bipartisan appropriations bills that provide funding to West Virginia for some of the state’s top priorities: combatting the drug epidemic, supporting coal communities that built this great nation, preserving our public lands for future generations, and defending our nation from threats at home and abroad. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am committed to bringing back regular order, doing our job, and passing these funding bills on time to deliver these crucial resources to West Virginia,” said Senator Manchin.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Labor-HHS funding bill:

• SAMHSA Substance Use, Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services (SUPTRS) Block Grant: $2.048 billion in FY24 funding for the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s SUPTRS Block Grant Program (formerly SAPT) to support lifesaving substance use disorder treatment, prevention, and recovery services.
• SAMHSA State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants: $1.595 billion in FY24 funding for SAMHSA’s SOR Grant Program to provide critical funding to states to ensure they have the necessary resources to address the drug epidemic from every angle, as well as language including a 15 percent set aside for states with the highest age-adjusted mortality rate related to substance abuse disorders.
• Mental Health Block Grant: $1.042 billion for the Mental Health Block Grant, includes $172 million for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program, and a 5 percent set aside for states to implement crisis care programs.
• Department of Education Title I Education Grants: $18.561 billion in FY24 funding for Department of Education Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to provide services to the most vulnerable students, including those experiencing homelessness, to purchase clothing, immunizations, food, medical services, tutoring, transportation, and other needs.
• Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Dislocated Coal Miners: $1.4 billion in FY24 funding for the ETA’s Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities, as well as report language strongly supporting the Multi-State National Dislocated Coal Miners Assistance Grant Program to provide employment and training assistance to individuals dislocated by coal plant closures or substantial layoffs at coal mine operations and their immediate family.
• Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA): $387.8 million in FY24 funding for the MSHA, which works to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. This funding bill also includes language directing the agency to provide the Committee with regular updates on its progress towards establishing a new mandatory standard for respirable crystalline silica.
• Black Lung Disability Trust Fund: $452.8 million in FY24 funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to ensure adequate funding for benefits for individuals with black lung and their survivors in perpetuity and to protect the Trust Fund from future revenue challenges.
• Job Corps: $1.66 billion for Job Corps in FY24. Job Corps providers training, room and board for students ages 16-24. West Virginia has a Job Corps training program in Charleston, and a Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center in Harpers Ferry. The bill also includes language to help streamline application requirements for homeless youth to join Job Corps.
• CDC Injury Control Research Centers: $11 million in FY24 funding for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) to continue its important work reducing drug overdose deaths through evidence-based prescription drug overdose prevention programs.
• Federal TRIO Programs: $1,191,000,000 to fund college outreach services to low-income, first-generation students, including students with disabilities, homeless students, youth in and aging out of the foster care system as well as military veterans and other adult learners.
• Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP): $388,000,000 in FY 24 funding for this cost-effective college readiness program, which has helped millions of low-income students progress on the pathway to college and build a more stable future for themselves, their communities and our nation.
• Child Care and Early Learning Programs: The bill provides a $1 billion increase for early learning programs over fiscal year 2023. It provides $8.7 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Also provides $12.3 billion for Head Start, including a $275 million cost of living adjustment for teachers.
• Senior Corps: $236,917,000 in FY 24 funding for AmeriCorps Senior Programs, which provides grants to organizations to engage low-income Americans aged 55 and older in providing supportive, individualized services to help homebound seniors and other adults maintain their dignity and independence.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting: $595,000,000 in FY 24 funding for public radio stations, which play a critical role as local news providers across broadcast and digital platforms, as well as community leaders in supporting access to local noncommercial music and culture.
• Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS): $289,800,000 in FY 24 funding for the IMLS Office of Museum Services, which typically supports more than 700,000 jobs and contributes $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy. OMS funding plays a significant role in this economic impact by helping museums reach more visitors and spur community development.
• Rural Definitions: Includes language requiring the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to work with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service on implementing a new rural definition that would better capture the mountainous and rugged terrain of Appalachia.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill:

• The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Treasures of the Central Appalachians: $11.6 million in FY24 mandatory funding for land acquisition projects in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee that strengthen conservation work in the ecologically rich and culturally significant region.
• Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) New River Gorge: $36 million in FY24 mandatory funding for deferred maintenance and repair needs that make up Phase II of the Remove Excess Structures and Abandoned Buildings and the Address Deficient Utilities, Historic Structures, and Visitor Facilities Projects at the National Park and Preserve.
• Monongahela National Forest: $685,000 for the Holcomb Bridge replacement.
• New River Gorge National Park and Preserve:  Over $36 million in mandatory funding to remove excess structures and address deficient utilities.
• New River Gorge National River: $655,000 to acquire the last remaining tract on the river between Stonecliff and Terry, located in one of the most biologically diverse parts of the park.
• Gauley River National Recreation Area: $920,000 to acquire 920 acres in Fayette County, WV containing significant resources for recreation in the park, including safe and public access to the Meadow and Gauley Rivers and a rail trail from Fayette and Greenbrier counties.
• Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER): West Virginia will receive $29.3 million to reclaim abandoned mine lands in conjunction with economic and community development goals through the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization AMLER program.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Defense funding bill:

• Overall Funding: Senator Manchin successfully secured $832 million in defense funding, a significant portion of which will go to West Virginia.
• WV National Guard Ridge Runner Irregular Warfare Activity: $7 million to expand the Ridge Runner exercise irregular warfare tactics, building interoperability and existing partnerships like those in the State Partnership Program and executing training exercises in 2024. The Ridge Runner exercise provides critical cross-training and preparation of both special operations and joint forces to conduct irregular warfare activities while deployed into hostile environments.
• WV National Guard Locked Shields Exercise: $2 million for Army Interagency Training and Education Center (AITEC)’s Locked Shields exercise that will occur across 54 states and territories, including NATO partners to train and demonstrate the important of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and Mission Assurance (MA).
• National Guard Mission Assurance Program: $2 million to carry out cyber training including both physical and cyber threat assessment and response for critical infrastructure necessary to support mobilization of military assets and continuing government operations in contingency scenarios.
• Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Subterranean Facility: $5 million for a multi-domain subterranean facility through the DTRA to maintain a competitive advantage in conflicts and support research, training, and exercises for countering weapons of mass destruction and subterranean missions.
• WVU Clean Hydrogen Research: $10 million for clean hydrogen research through the development of water electrolyzers, high-efficiency conversion from natural gas, carbon capture technology, and heavy-duty fuel cell systems
• Allegany Ballistics Laboratory Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER): $200 million for the Navy’s production, research and development of the AARGM-ER weapon system in Northridge, CA and the Allegheny Ballistics Lab (ABL) in Rocket Center, WV.
• Black Mesa Expeditionary Mobile Microreactor: $5 million for Black Mesa Advanced Fission and Los Alamos National Lab to conduct a 4-year RDT&E program followed by an acquisitions program of record in year 5, including the development of a fission generator to replace diesel generators where operational considerations and contested logistics put our military supply lines and operations at risk.
• ARC Critical Minerals from Chromatographic Separation: $2 million for the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) to conduct a demonstration program on Domestic Production of Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements from Chromatographic Separation.
• Greenbank Observatory Space Awareness: $5 million for the Greenbank Observatory to partner with Space Command to provide situational awareness of adversary activities in space.
• Adaptive Future Force: $5 million for a Navy research program conducting applied AI testing in West Virginia.
• Pathfinder Program: $3 million for an Army program administered by a West Virginia small business. The Pathfinder program is executed through a cooperative agreement with the West Virginia-based non-profit Civil-Military Innovation Institute (CMI2), which focuses on bringing Soldier-inspired innovations to the battlefield. 
• Project Pele Program: $127 million to produce mobile modular reactors and the fuel needed to power them for resiliency of critical national security sites. The West Virginia National Guard also supported the inaugural transportation of this reactor and the testing and evaluation of its usage.
• Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction Program: $6 million for a classified program administered in West Virginia.
• Defense Production Act Aluminum Ingot Capacity Increase: $23 million to support companies like Constellium in Ravenswood, WV, which produce aluminum for the defense industry.
• Urban Subterranean Mapping: $2 million for a joint U.S.-Israeli program that is administered by Marshall University to detect tunnels.
• Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) Facilities Support: $19 million to support facilities modernization at ABL in Rocket Center, WV, which produces munitions for each military service and our allies, including Ukraine.
• Procurement Technical Assistance Program: $30 million for the nationwide procurement assistance offices that provide expertise to industry partners looking to contract with the federal government.
• STARBASE and ChalleNGe Programs: $227 million for the National Guard’s STARBASE technical exposure program and ChalleNGe Academies. STARBASE is an educational program where young students can participate in challenging "hands-on, mind-on" activities in aviation, science, technology, engineering, math, and space exploration. The ChalleNGe program is a community-based program that leads, trains and mentors 16-18 year old so that they may become productive citizens in America’s future.
• Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR): $20 million for DEPSCoR, which is a capacity-building program designed to strengthen the research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized states, including WVU.
• Artificial Intelligence: $131 million to the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer and the classified programs recommended in the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence report.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Homeland Security funding bill:

• Fighting the Drug Epidemic: $824 million for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stem the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic narcotics into the U.S.
• CBP Advanced Training Center: Continued support for CPB’s Mission Support Facilities, which includes the agency’s Advanced Training Center (ATC) in Harpers Ferry. ATC provides critical training to CBP agents and is vital to ensuring the readiness of all CBP employees.
• CBP Border Patrol Agents: Provides $11 million to CBP to hire an additional 145 Border Patrol Agents. With this funding increase, the total number of Border Agents will equal 20,000, which would be the largest number of agents in the force since FY2016.
• Designating foreign drug cartels: Requires DHS and the State Department to report on how designating foreign drug cartels as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” could improve U.S. efforts to dismantle illegal drug importations.
• Border Wall: Requires DHS to report quarterly to the Committee on unobligated funds previously appropriated for border wall construction as well as future plans for usage of those funds.
• Title 42 / Border: Report language that requires the Department of Homeland Security to report on the benefits of an expansion of Title 42 authority within the Department
• H-2B Temporary Work Visas: Language calling on federal agencies to improve the H-2B visa allocation process and report on the shortage of visas in West Virginia and across the country.
• High Cost of Temporary Employment Visas: Language expressing concern and demanding answers over the proposed H-2A and H-2B visa fee increases that will harm West Virginia small businesses, building off Senator Manchin’s bipartisan letter sent to the Biden Administration in March.
• United States Coast Guard (USCG) Mariner Credentialing Program Modernization: $19,247,000 in FY24 funding for the Enterprise Mission Platform, which includes the Mariner Credentialing Program carried out at the National Maritime Center in Martinsburg. This would fund the development and implementation of the new mariner credentialing system, USCG Navita, to improve efficiency, data analysis, security, and user experience.
• Marshall HSI Opioid/Fentanyl Detection: Language included that would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and DHS’s Science and Technology (S&T) division to continue to develop opioid-related investigative, training, and analytical capabilities. This language builds upon language and funding you secured in previous fiscal years that would require HSI’s Cyber Crime Investigative Capabilities Program to collaborate with Marshall University to develop a program to combat opioid trafficking on the dark web.
• CBP Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology: $199.5 million in FY24 funding CBP’s Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Technology Program that enables CBP to examine large volumes of traffic quickly and effectively at U.S. Ports of Entry (POEs) to enhance and expedite security while simultaneously accelerating trade and travel through U.S. Ports of Entry.
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Title 21 Authority: Language requiring a study of how full Title 21 authority would empower HSI to better combat the fentanyl crisis.

Senator Manchin also secured $154,007,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests or ‘earmarks’ in the FY24 Labor-HHS, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and Homeland Security funding bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee allows members of Congress to submit CDS requests, which provide opportunities for state and local governments, non-profits, and other public entities to receive targeted funding for projects that bolster their communities.

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Homeland Security

• Print
• Email
• Tweet