November 01, 2023

Manchin Secures over $124 Million in Earmarks for West Virginia in Bipartisan Minibus Appropriations Package

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured a number of West Virginia priorities and voted to pass the minibus, which includes the Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration; and Military Constriction and Veterans Affairs funding bills. This past summer, the Senate Appropriations Committee, under regular order and on a bipartisan basis, reported all 12 annual appropriations bills to the full Senate for the first time since 2018. This minibus is the first set of appropriations bills passed in either chamber with bipartisan support.

These funding bills include more than $124 million earmarked for specific West Virginia projects, including $5 million for a new welcome center in Wheeling as well as $2.2 million for the expansion and renovation of the Elkins-Randolph County Public Library. Millions more will be allocated to West Virginia for critical transportation and infrastructure projects, and other important programs.

“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I work every day to ensure we receive robust federal investments to build a stronger, more resilient, and more prosperous West Virginia. This funding package includes resources to combat the drug epidemic as well as improve our roads and highways to better connect rural West Virginians and boost our local economies. I am committed to bringing back regular order, doing our job, and passing funding bills on time to deliver crucial resources to West Virginia,” said Senator Manchin.

To protect our national and economic security, Senator Manchin supported a floor amendment that would prevent taxpayer dollars from benefitting Chinese entities.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) funding bill:

Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS): $350 million in funding for ADHS, which works to complete a system of designated corridors and roadways within the 13 States that make up the Appalachian Region, including Corridor H.

$12.5 million in dedicated funding for Corridor H through Congressionally Directed Spending.

Autonomous Vehicle Research in Rural Areas: Includes language expressing concern about the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s delays in awarding funding to the higher education consortia working on autonomous vehicle research in rural communities and directs DOT to brief the Appropriations Committee on its plan to adhere to congressional intent.
Grants in Aide for Airports: $500 million for the Grants in Aid to Airports Program, which is a critical source of funding to help airports improve safety and continue to modernize. It also includes prioritization of small airports and expanded terminal eligibility.
Essential Air Service (EAS) Program: $348 million in funding for EAS program, which connects over 170 small communities to major airports and metropolitan areas throughout the country.
Crashworthiness Research: $222 million in funding for Crashworthiness research. Senator Manchin also included language recognizing the importance of lightweight plastics and polymer composites play to improving automotive safety, meeting consumer demand for innovative and autonomous vehicles, increasing fuel efficiency, and supporting new highly skilled manufacturing jobs. It also directs National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to leverage lessons learned from lightweight materials research for future lightweight automotive design.
Homeless Assistance Grants: $3.9 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, which provide funding for West Virginia local governments and nonprofit providers to serve individuals experiencing homelessness.
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH): $4.3 million for USICH, which coordinates federal government efforts to prevent and solve homelessness.
HOME Investment Partnerships Program: $1.5 billion for the HOME program, which is the largest federal block grant to increase physical housing stock.
Addressing homelessness:

Language directing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to report on the feasibility of collecting eviction, foreclosure, and overall housing loss data which will be critical in determining the number of additional West Virginians at risk of homelessness.
Language to urge federal agencies to redouble their focus on youth homelessness.
Language that directs that federal homeless prevention grant programs operate on two-year, rather than one-year, cycles to provide nonprofits with the time and certainty they need to serve our most vulnerable citizens.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration (Ag) funding bill:

Fight against the drug epidemic:

Language reflective of Senator Manchin’s FREED of Opioids Act, requiring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a study of the problematic enriched enrollment randomized withdrawal (EERW) clinical trial methodology used to approve opioids, and requiring the FDA to review opioids on the market for misuse and abuse.
Language reflective of Senator Manchin’s LifeBOAT Act, requiring the FDA to study the total number of opioids prescribed in a year to better understand the issue of overprescribing opioids.
Language to review the FDA’s conflict of interest policies to ensure the FDA is receiving the best impartial expert advice and providing maximum transparency to the public.

Supporting U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Facilities in West Virginia:

Precision Aquaculture: $2,000,000 for the continued operations of the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture located in Leetown, WV to study sustainable domestic aquaculture production.
Appalachian Honeybees: $1,500,000 for the continued operations of the Pollinator Recovery, Education & Research Center in Hinton, WV to study pollinator populations to ensure the sustainability of our nation’s food systems.
Appalachian Natural Products Research: $1,000,000 for the Appalachian Natural Products Research Center at Marshall University to continue to study natural products for use in drug development.
Appalachian Native Tree Crop: $800,000 in new funding over and above the annual budget of the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, WV to study and expand native fruit tree breeding to expand new market opportunities for Appalachian farmers.

Leveling the playing field for rural communities:

Community Facilities Grant Eligibility: Language directing USDA to review eligibility criteria within the Rural Development Community Facilities (CF) Grant Program to ensure that communities in small, rural states don’t face higher barriers than larger, non-rural areas.
Rural Broadband: Language urging the USDA to coordinate with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to utilize a common map to ensure universal broadband coverage, and language ensuring rural America is receiving the same quality of broadband services as non-rural areas.
Rural Appalachia Definition: Language to continue and complete research on finding a more accurate definition of “rural’ for mountainous areas like Appalachia.

Domestic Manufacturing of Medicines: Language encouraging the FDA to increase efforts to promote domestic manufacturing of medicines and encourage the pharmaceutical industry to adopt advanced and continuous manufacturing meant for onshoring medicinal manufacturing.

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Military Constriction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) funding bill:

Rural Veterans

Office of Rural Health: $347 million for the Office of Rural Health and the Rural Health Initiative within the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), $10 million more than the FY23 enacted level and the President’s request. The Office of Rural Health (ORH) implements a number of programs that help improve the health and well-being of rural Veterans by increasing their access to care and services.
Transportation for Rural Veterans: $15 million for the Highly Rural Transportation Grants Program within the Office of Rural Health to help veterans in rural areas with transportation to and from VA or VA-authorized healthcare facilities.
Access to Care for Rural Veterans: Report language prohibiting the VA from taking steps towards closing facilities or diminishing services without first providing a report to Congress that includes an analysis of how the action would impact access to care for Veterans in rural areas.
Telehealth: $5,165,336,000 for VA telehealth capacity including in rural and highly rural areas.

Opioids

Opioid Safety Initiatives: $715,365,000 for Opioid Prevention and Treatment programs at VA.
Alternative Treatments to Opioids: Report language urging VA to expand the use of osteopathic manipulative treatment, such as that taught at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, as an alternative to prescription opioids.

Veterans Safety and Homelessness

VA Homelessness: $3,113,530,000 to support the VA’s homelessness prevention programs, including $620,000,000 for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which helps homeless Veterans and their families find and sustain permanent housing and access the health care, mental health treatment, substance use counseling, and other support services.
Veterans’ Crisis Line: $300,500,000 for the Veterans Crisis Line to provide 24-hour suicide prevention and crisis intervention services for Veterans and their families, as well as geolocation capabilities to facilitate emergency dispatch similar to 911 call centers.

Senator Manchin also secured a total of $124,713,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests or ‘earmarks’ in the three 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.

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

RECIPIENT	DESCRIPTION	LOCATION	COUNTY	AMOUNT	PURPOSE
Appalachian Service Project	Home Repair for Disadvantaged West Virginia	Statewide	Statewide	$400,000	Repairs substandard homes in rural West Virginia.
Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.	Arthurdale Heritage West Virginia Historic Preservation Training Center	Arthurdale	Preston	$500,000	Stabilizes the building infrastructure and upgrades life-safety systems.
Berkeley County Commission	South Berkeley Inwood Park	Bunker Hill	Berkeley	$1,125,000	Creates an outdoor recreational park.
Bluefield WV Economic Development Authority	WV Create Center: Site Development Project Carbon Corridor	Bluefield	Mercer	$557,000	Funds clearing and grading required for development.
Boy Scouts of America	Steven A. Antoline Family Conservation Complex and Sustainability Program	Glen Jean	Fayette	$1,400,000	Constructs the Steven A. Antoline Family Conservation Complex and Sustainability Program.
Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg	Boys & Girls Club Building Great Futures in the Great Outdoors	Parkersburg	Wood	$750,000	Constructs outdoor recreation and educational facilities.
Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle	Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle Facility Renovation and Expansion	Martinsburg	Berkeley	$2,000,000	Renovates the current youth facility.
Braxton County	Holly Gray Park Pavilion Replacement	Sutton	Braxton	$1,500,000	Replaces the badly deteriorated pavilion at Holly Gray Park.
Cabwaylingo Appalachian Mission Inc.	Caywaylingo Appalachian Mission Resurfacing and Forklift Purchase	Dunlow	Wayne	$90,000	Repairs and reinforcements pavement and replaces forklift.
Calhoun Homes, Inc.	Calhoun Homes Inc. – Critical Housing Stabilization and Weatherization Project	Mount Zion	Calhoun	$200,000	Funds rehabilitation and weatherization improvements.
Capitol Market Inc.	Renovation and Restoration of Capitol Market	Charleston	Kanawha	$1,168,000	Repairs and renovates the outdoor and indoor exterior surfaces and the Market.
City of Clarksburg	Downtown Clarksburg Mobility & Accessibility Revitalization	Clarksburg	Harrison	$500,000	Repairs and replaces sidewalks through Clarksburg’s central business district.
City of Hinton	New River Center Housing and Retail Development	Hinton	Summers	$1,830,000	Rehabilitates a vacant historic structure.
City of Hurricane	City of Hurricane Meeks Mountain Trails	Hurricane	Putnam	$512,000	Extends utilities and builds ADA restroom facilities.
City of Martinsburg	B&O Roundhouse Farmers Market & Events Center	Martinsburg	Berkeley	$750,000	Retrofits historic railroad maintenance shop buildings.
City of Martinsburg	Martinsburg Platform Fire Truck Replacement	Martinsburg	Berkeley	$1,800,000	Replaces a fire truck to service the City’s public safety needs.
City of Morgantown	Morgantown Housing Creation and Blight Removal	Morgantown	Monongalia	$2,000,000	Creates affordable housing while removing blighted buildings.
City of Point Pleasant	City of Point Pleasant Rehabilitation of Blighted Kisar-Kincaid House	Point Pleasant	Mason	$750,000	Funds the rehabilitation of the Kisar-Kincaid House.
City of Smithers	Smithers Longacre Readiness Development	Smithers	Fayette	$2,500,000	Funds site readiness for water and sewer.
City of Spencer	Spencer Development Authority – Downtown Housing Rehabilitation	Spencer	Roane	$1,500,000	Rehabilitates the Chandler Building to create housing units.
City of Summersville	City of Summersville Visitor Center	Summersville	Nicholas	$1,800,000	Develops the Summersville Visitor Center.
City of White Sulphur Springs	White Sulphur Springs Recreation	White Sulphur Springs	Greenbrier	$2,688,000	Constructs a recreation facility.
Community Impact Network Inc.	Ohio County Childcare	Wheeling	Ohio	$1,000,000	Creates a child care center.
Community Markets Inc.	Local Food Access Program	Charles Town	Jefferson	$187,000	Provides access to health West Virginia grown food.
Element Federal Credit Union	West Side Charleston WV Empowerment Project	Charleston	Kanawha	$500,000	Rehabilitates a blighted property into a financial empowerment center.
Grant County Commission	Grant County Hike & Bike Trail Project	Petersburg	Grant	$607,000	Constructs a rail trail system.
Housing Authority of the City of Beckley	HACB Stormwater Management	Beckley	Raleigh	$819,000	Alleviates flooding issues at two developments.
Jefferson County Community Ministries	Jefferson County Community Ministries, Community Service Center Project	Ranson	Jefferson	$1,000,000	Establishes the first emergency shelter in the county.
Jefferson County Museum	Webb-Blessing Housing Restoration & Reuse Action Plan	Charles Town	Jefferson	$100,000	Restores and renovates the Webb Blessing House for public use.
Kanawha County Commission	Capital Sports Center – Kanawha County Commission	Charleston	Kanawha	$2,000,000	Funds the construction of the Capital Sports Center.
Keyser-Mineral County Public Library	Keyser-Mineral County New Public Library Building	Keyser	Mineral	$1,000,000	Constructs a new library building.
Mountaineer Food Bank	Mountaineer Food Bank Warehouse Expansion	Gassaway	Braxton	$1,000,000	Expands and reconfigures the main warehouse.
New River Community and Technical College	New River Community and Technical College Welding and Machining Training Facility	Ghent	Raleigh	$2,750,000	Replaces a welding and machining training facility.
Polymer Alliance Zone, Inc.	Huntington Industrial Development Center	Huntington	Cabell	$1,000,000	Renovates a large industrial complex.
Putnam County Development Authority	Kanawha Manufacturing Building	Red House	Putnam	$50,000	Finances the purchase of an industrial building.
Southern Appalachian Labor School	Historic Oak Hill School New River Apartments	Kincaid	Fayette	$975,000	Converts the downtown former school building into affordable housing.
The Augusta Heritage Center	Augusta Heritage Center Redeveloping the Wilt Building into a Cultural Center, Tourist Destination, Educational Center, and Quality Housing	Elkins	Randolph	$750,000	Redevelops the historic Wilt Building.
The West Virginia Land Trust, Inc.	West Virginia Land Trust’s Airport Park Restoration and Development	Morgantown	Monongalia	$304,000	Funds a new public greenspace.
Town of Gauley Bridge	Gauley Bridge Public Parks Equipment Upgrades	Gauley Bridge	Fayette	$70,000	Updates playground and parks with boat docks and new equipment.
Town of Gauley Bridge	Demolition of Former Gauley Bridge High School	Gauley Bridge	Fayette	$360,000	Demolishes the former high school building.
Town of Union	Town of Union Street Lighting	Union	Monroe	$375,000	Replaces street lights in the historical district of downtown Union.
Unleash Tygart, Inc.	Unleash Tygart: Grafton WV Development & Revitalization Initiative	Grafton	Taylor	$3,000,000	Establishes the Grafton Development Initiative.
Wheeling Convention & Visitors Bureau	Wheeling Welcome Center	Wheeling	Ohio	$5,000,000	Transforms a blighted building into a new Wheeling Welcome Center.
Woodlands Development Group	Philippi Commercial Spaces Development	Philippi	Barbour	$315,000	Supports the planning and development of viable commercial storefront spaces.
YWCA of Charleston, West Virginia, Inc.	YWCA Building Preservation & Improvements	Charleston	Kanawha	$233,000	Preserves and improves essential buildings.
Friends of the Cheat, Inc.	Cheat River Rail-Trail Construction	Kingwood	Preston	$250,000	Constructs a rail trail along the Cheat River.
City of Charleston	Charleston Clay Street Connector	Charleston	Kanawha	$400,000	Upgrades the streetscape and sidewalks.
Morgan County Commission	North Depot Trail Head & Development Hub Project	Berkeley Springs	Morgan	$720,000	Funds the design and construction of the North Depot Trail Head.
Harrison County Commission	Rail Trail Connector to North Bend Trail	Clarksburg	Harrison	$1,300,000	Completes the development and construction of a multi-use rail trail.
West Virginia Division of Highways	Corridor H (Wardensville – VA State Line)	Wardensville	Hardy	$12,500,000	Funds the Wardensville to Virginia State Line section of Corridor H
Corporation of Shepherdstown	Shepherdstown Path Project	Shepherdstown	Jefferson	$543,000	Constructs a pedestrian path.
West Virginia Division of Highways	WVU Tech Campus Corridor Streetscape	Beckley	Raleigh	$1,240,000	Funds infrastructure improvements.
West Virginia Division of Highways	Harmony Grove I-79 Interchange	Charleston	Kanawha	$1,500,000	Constructs a new interchange.
Monongahela River Trails Conservancy	Star City Caperton Trail Paving Project	Star City	Monongalia	$220,000	Repairs a section of the Mon River-Caperton-Deckers Creek Rail Trail system.
Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority	Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority Facility Replacement Project	Charleston	Kanawha	$1,000,000	Upgrades the Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority Operations and Maintenance Facility.
West Virginia University	WVU Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Passenger Stations and Guideway Project	Morgantown	Monongalia	$6,400,000	Refurbishes four Personal Rapid Transit System stations.
56 TOTAL PROJECTS	$ 75,788,000

Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA

RECIPIENT	DESCRIPTION	LOCATION	COUNTY	AMOUNT	PURPOSE
Town of Bethany	Community Center Roof Replacement	Bethany	Brooke	$23,000	Replaces roof on the Town of Bethany's Community Center.
Historic Fayette Theater	Theater Renovations Project	Fayetteville	Fayette	$372,000	Completes necessary renovations for the Historic Fayette Theater to upgrade the facility and increase tourism.
Gilmer County Commission	Gilmer County Courthouse Annex Elevator	Glenville	Gilmer	$191,000	Provides handicapped access to the 2nd floor of the Courthouse Annex, which houses the Family Court.
Meadow River Valley Local Foodway	God’s Way Home	Rainelle	Greenbrier	$100,000	Establishes a community kitchen and food bank providing daily meals and resources to the 5,000 residents of the Meadow River Valley.
Town of Wardensville	Wardensville Community Center Stabilization and Renovation Project	Wardensville	Hardy	$1,121,000	Resolves storm water runoff damage to the Community Center's basement, addresses storm water management problems with the site, and renovates an annex building.
African American Community Association of Jefferson County	Fishermen’s Hall Amphitheater Project	Charles Town	Jefferson	$67,000	Funds the engineering, design, and permitting for the construction of a community amphitheater in a historic space.
Old Opera House Theatre, Inc.	Roof & HVAC Replacement	Charles Town	Jefferson	$209,000	Reroofs the theatre and replaces HVAC in arts center buildings
Weston Historic Landmark Commission	Cultural Center Restoration Project	Weston	Lewis	$750,000	Completes the restoration of a historically significant building for the Weston Cultural Center.
Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College	Community Learning Commons	Logan	Logan	$1,275,000	Renovates and transforms the Logan campus library into a Community Learning Commons serving the residents of Logan and surrounding communities.
Worthington Volunteer Fire Department	Tanker Project	Worthington	Marion	$214,000	Purchases a Pumper/Tanker for fire suppression for Worthington and surrounding communities in Marion County.
City of Princeton	Princeton City Hall Complex Phase III	Princeton	Mercer	$657,000	Moves the Princeton Police Department into a newly renovated space with the rest of the core municipal administrative offices
Town of Ridgeley	Ridgeley Town Hall and Police Department	Ridgeley	Mineral	$1,200,000	Replaces an aging, structurally failing Town Hall, public works department, and police department.
Arnettsville Community Association	Community Center Roof Replacement	Arnettsville	Monongalia	$150,000	Replaces the rubber roof on a rural community center that was formerly an elementary school.
Senior Life Services of Morgan County, Inc.	HVAC System Replacement	Berkeley Springs	Morgan	$487,000	Replaces a non-functioning HVAC system.
New Beginnings Resource Center	Refrigerated Truck	Summersville	Nicholas	$51,000	Provides a 26-foot refrigerated box truck for the food pantry.
City of Belmont	Water Treatment Plant Roof Replacement	Belmont	Pleasants	$75,000	To upgrade and replace the roof to our water treatment plant.
Town of Reedsville	Historic Town Hall Restoration & Expansion Project	Reedsville	Preston	$234,000	Restores Historic Town Hall, expands next to town hall, while making the new space ADA compliant
Elkins-Randolph County Public Library	Elkins Library Renovation & Expansion	Elkins	Randolph	$2,200,000	Expands and renovates the Elkins-Randolph County Public Library.
Randolph County Development Authority	Randolph County Conference and Event Center	Elkins	Randolph	$1,250,000	Constructs a 26,000-square-foot conference and event center.
Tucker County	Tucker County New Visitors Center	Davis	Tucker	$1,260,000	Constructs and manages a new, fully accessible, and modern visitors center situated at the gateway to downtown Davis, WV.
Blackwater Ministerial Association, Inc.	Food Pantry Building	Davis & Thomas	Tucker	$132,000	Constructs and provides the equipment to operate a Food Pantry.
Wirt County Committee on Aging	Disability and Improvement & Senior Accessibility Project	Elizabeth	Wirt	$57,000	Upgrades parking lot and makes entrance way into building for the mobility impaired easily accessible.
22 TOTAL PROJECTS	$ 12,075,000

Military Constriction and Veterans Affairs

RECIPIENT	DESCRIPTION	LOCATION	COUNTY	AMOUNT	PURPOSE
WV National Guard	167th Airlift Wing Shepherd Field Indoor Small Arms Range	Martinsburg	Berkeley	$7,000,000	Supports the training of personnel with an indoor small arms range.
WV National Guard	167th Airlift Wing Shepherd Field Main Gate Entry Control Point Renovation	Martinsburg	Berkeley	$6,000,000	Supports multiple terrorism and force protection deficiencies.
WV National Guard	130th Airlift Wing McLaughlin Air National Guard Base Renovate Building 107 for Small Air Terminal	Charleston	Kanawha	$2,500,000	Supports the new C-130J mission in Charleston.
WV National Guard	130th Airlift Wing McLaughlin Air National Guard Base Renovate Building 109 for Aerospace Support Equipment	Charleston	Kanawha	$3,000,000	Supports the new C-130J mission in Charleston.
WV National Guard	Charleston National Guard Readiness Center Planning & Design	Charleston	Kanawha	$4,800,000	Addresses current space requirements.
WV National Guard	Bluefield National Guard Readiness Center Planning & Design	Bluefield	Mercer	$1,950,000	Meets standards for anti-terrorism and force protection.
WV National Guard	Camp Dawson-Kingwood Covered Training Area Minor Construction	Kingwood	Preston	$8,300,000	Ensures all soldiers at Camp Dawson have access to meet physical fitness standards.
WV National Guard	Parkersburg National Guard Readiness Center Planning & Design	Parkersburg	Wood	$3,300,000	Meets standards for anti-terrorism and force protection.
8 TOTAL PROJECTS	$ 36,850,000

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