October 18, 2021

Manchin Secures West Virginia Priorities, Urges Bipartisan Compromise To Pass FY22 Budget

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured West Virginia priorities in nine appropriations bills and urged the Appropriations Committee leaders to find bipartisan compromise to pass the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) federal budget. A full list of West Virginia priorities can be found here.
 
“I am pleased to see the draft Democratic appropriations bills include many West Virginia priorities that I fought for including water and wastewater upgrades, healthcare and education investments, transportation projects and economic development opportunities for West Virginia. While these draft bills are a first step, we must find a bipartisan compromise to pass a reasonable, fiscally sound spending bill. As I have said numerous times before, I will not vote for legislation that does not include the Hyde Amendment and I fully expect the final spending bill to include that language. These nine draft bills have huge wins for the Mountain State, and I will keep fighting to ensure West Virginia gets our fair share in the final spending bill. There is still work to be done, and I will continue to work with my bipartisan, bicameral colleagues to pass this vital legislation.”
 
In August, Senator Manchin also secured West Virginia priorities in the Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA; Energy and Water Development; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bills.
 
**These are preliminary funding numbers, subject to final bill passage**

West Virginia Congressionally Directed Spending Requests Included:
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: $55,059,000
  • Charles Washington’s Home Rehabilitation and Revitalization: $500,000 for historic rehabilitation and restoration on the property of Happy Retreat estate, a Washington Family Home in Charles Town, WV.
  • Trail Connectivity to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve: $1.5 million to construct multi-use trails in Fayette County.
  • Burnsville Wastewater Collection System Rehabilitation Project: $669,000 to upgrade the existing wastewater management system in the city of Burnsville due to concerns about lack of capacity.
  • Canaan Valley Public Service District Water Plant: $8 million to provide funding for the development of a new water plant in Canaan Valley to supply treated water to residents.
  • City of Weirton Water Treatment Capacity Project: $22.47 million to increase the City's water treatment system capacity.
  • Grafton Wastewater Systems Improvement Project: $3 million to improve the wastewater system in Grafton, WV.
  • Greenbrier County Phase II Waterline Extension: $1.5 million to provide water service to approximately 275 new customers in Greenbrier County.
  • Kermit Rehabilitation of Water Treatment Facility: $2.747 million to support the rehabilitation of a water treatment plant and waterlines in Kermit, WV.
  • McDowell County Septic Tank Solutions: $495,000 to design and install 35 on-site residential septic systems in McDowell County, West Virginia.
  • Parsons Sanitary Sewer Compliance: $1.6 million for removal and replacement of parts of the sanitary sewer system to remain compliant with state guidelines.
  • Ravenswood Pump Station Improvements: $2 million to support the further development of the wastewater system in Ravenswood, WV.
  • Ripley Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements: $3 million to construct a new water treatment facility in the city of Ripley in order to mitigate concerns about lack of capacity.
  • Rowlesburg Sanitary Sewer System Upgrade: $7.578 million to upgrade Sanitary Sewer System in the city of Rowlesburg in order to address lack of capacity.
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies: $42,662,000
  • American Red Cross Central Appalachia Region: $165,000 to procure three Ram ProMaster 3500 vehicles and one Ford Transit Connect to maintain blood services vehicles.
  • Cabell Huntington Hospital: $267,000 to expand an existing program for families with babies in the Neonatal Therapeutic Unit (NTU) at Hoops Family Children’s Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH).
  • Charleston Area Medical Center: $5,000,000 to fund an advanced, enterprise imaging system.
  • City of Charleston, West Virginia: $500,000 to upgrade and outfit an existing building to create and launch the Hope Community Development Corporation's Affiliate Workforce Center.
  • City of Wheeling, West Virginia: $500,000 to undertake the design and engineering of public infrastructure, including HVAC and energy efficient systems, needed to reopen the Ohio Valley Medical Center (OVMC) hospital and health complex.
  • Community Care of West Virginia: $1,250,000 to provide Behavioral Health in all of its fifty-four School Based Wellness Center locations, spanning six rural counties in North Central West Virginia.
  • Concord University: $850,000 to establish a school of professional nursing with an emphasis on rural health solutions.
  • Generation West Virginia: $167,000 to support Generation West Virginia's (GWV) NewForce program, a six-month, technology skills training program addressing the worker-skill mismatch in the state.
  • Golden Girl Group Home: $100,000 to provide supplemental education to female foster youth at the Golden Girl Group Home in Ceredo.
  • Grafton-Taylor County Health Department: $75,000 to procure equipment and furnishings for newly constructed Health Department.
  • Marshall University Center of Excellence for Recovery: $4,961,000 to enhance and increase efforts to address mental and behavioral health needs in rural and underserved areas.
  • Marshall University Robert C. Byrd Institute: $4,500,000 to support Apprenticeship Works, which is administered by the Robert C. Byrd Institute at Marshall University (MU).
  • Morgan County Partnership: $200,000 to provide substance abuse prevention education to students ages 9-18 attending Morgan County Schools.
  • Mon Health Preston Memorial Hospital: $580,000 to construct and equip a chemotherapy infusion center and renovate the hospital pharmacy.
  • New River Health Association: $5,000,000 to transform a large medical complex and community conference center into a single, expanded medical facility.
  • Potomac Valley Hospital: $750,000 to fund construction and renovation of Potomac Valley Hospital’s Drug Addiction Center in Keyser.
  • Shepherd University: $36,000 for new equipment, technology, and an education software that would assist students with everything from learning disabilities, to visual impairments, to international students whose first language is not English.
  • Thomas Health Systems, Inc.: $1,200,000 to fund the renovation of a floor of the Medical Office Building South on the campus of Thomas Health's St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia.
  • West Virginia 211: $500,000 to support, sustain and enhance West Virginia 211, West Virginia’s critical statewide information and resources center.
  • West Virginia Health Right: $4,000,000 to support a clinic expansion.
  • West Virginia Rural Water Association: $6,341,000 to support and expand workforce development and apprenticeship activities consistent with National Guideline Standards of Apprenticeship for Water and Wastewater Systems Operation Specialists.
  • West Virginia University Children’s Hospital: $2,790,000 to complete the construction of a new West Virginia University (WVU) Medicine Children’s Hospital.
  • West Virginia University Wastewater Testing: $930,000 to develop the infrastructure for early detection of disease outbreaks and dangerous drug use.
  • Williamson Health and Wellness Center: $2,000,000 to reopen the Williamson Memorial Hospital, which would be the only hospital in Mingo County.
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies: $35,247,000
  • Barbour & Harrison Homeless Housing ($2,000,000): Construct and rehabilitates 10 units of housing in Barbour and 10 units of housing in Harrison for a total of 20 units of new housing.
  • Beech Bottom Industrial Park Water Infrastructure Expansion ($1,957,000): Provides funding for water infrastructure to supply the Beech Bottom Industrial Park with residential water and to help business expansion efforts.
  • Bluefield Historic District Restoration ($600,000): Fund for the City of Bluefield to support renovations to historic district building restoration.
  • Braxton County BAD Buildings Fund ($500,000): Upgrades, repairs, conducts asbestos abatement and demolishes blighted, abandoned, and dilapidated buildings in Sutton, Gassaway, and Burnsville.
  • Charles Town Revive Downtown Project ($250,000): Funds the Revive! program in Charles Town to offer reimbursable grant funds to encourage the redevelopment of older commercial buildings in the downtown historic district.
  • Charleston Low Barrier Shelter ($1,000,000): Allows for the creation of Low Barrier Shelter in Charleston.
  • Charleston Yeager Apron Construction & Rehabilitation ($3,121,000): Expands apron space, as well as conducts other improvements.
  • Coal Heritage Discovery Facility ($415,000): Restores the cultural center in Mount Hope.
  • Coalfields Expressway ($500,000): Funding for a planned four-lane highway beginning at the confluence of Interstate 77 and 64 near Beckley, WV and ending in Pound, VA to open up portions of the state.
  • Clarksburg Airport Earth Moving ($5,000,000): Complete the necessary earth movement to provide a site for CKB Airport's new terminal facility.
  • Elkins Tygart Hotel ($1,750,000): Renovate the Tygart Hotel in Elkins to clean up downtown and help improve regional tourism.
  • Fairmont Regional Tech Hub ($1,000,000): Funds a planned mixed-use development that will have a tech workforce training program, co-working space, entrepreneurial incubator, and mixed-income residential units.
  • Huntington Keith Albee Theater Fire Sprinkler System ($250,000):  Renovations for fire and safety and the electrical and plumbing systems of the Keith Albee Theater.
  • Martinsburg Airport Taxiway Echo Expansion ($850,000): Expands and improves Taxiway Echo at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in Martinsburg. 
  • Mingo County Airport Access Road ($3,300,000): Access road at the Appalachian Regional Airport, enabling Mingo County to develop new industry and grow economic sectors.
  • Parkersburg Airport Main Terminal Improvements ($398,000): Improvements to the main terminal at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport to improve confidence and increase enplanements.
  • Parkersburg Airport Parking Area Repairs ($339,000): Improvements to accommodate increasing enplanements and other factors.
  • Princeton Lonnie Gunter, Jr. Center for Culture & History ($637,000):  Funds a cultural and historical center through the RiffRaff Arts Collective in Princeton.
  • Smithers Trail System ($4,688,000): Constructs an integrated trail system in the City of Smithers.
  • Thomas Multi-Use Co-Working and Small Business Center ($622,000): Multiuse co-working and small business center in Thomas, WV to address workforce housing shortages and spur economic development.
  • WV Community Development Hub Skill Training ($150,000): Support an entry-level training and skill development program for community leaders.
  • WV Land Stewardship RAISE Pilot Program ($1,000,000): Establishes a pilot program to issue grants to communities with established dilapidated building inventories to demolish or rehabilitate buildings.
  • WV Municipal League Cities Forward ($300,000): Helps the West Virginia Municipal League and WVU establish an initiative to boost the ability of West Virginia’s cities to boost their economies
  • Wheeling Grow Ohio Valley Food Hub ($620,000): Completes critical building renovations and program-specific fixtures and furnishings, including commercial kitchen appliances, food processing equipment, and other equipment for the Wheeling Food Hub.
  • Brooke County Port of WV Railroad Bridge Improvements ($4,000,000): Rail infrastructure and upgrades at the site.
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: $9,859,000
  • I-79 High Technology Park Joint Technology Consortium: $2 million to create a consortium with the NOAA Technology Partnership Office to facilitate proposals related to the NOAA Big Data Program.
  • Marshall University Law Enforcement Training Center in Forensic Sciences: $1.75 million to establish a center to train state and local law enforcement in forensic science.
  • Shepherd University Campus Security Upgrades: $4 million to provide an integrated security camera system across campus, additional vehicles, a communication system, an integrated locking system and other improvement.
  • Charleston Drug Market Intervention Initiative: $300,000 to establish an interagency program to target and shut down drug markets in Charleston’s most distressed neighborhoods.
  • Wheeling Law Enforcement Technology Program: $1.001 million to outfit the new Wheeling Police Department headquarters with additional technology including computers, data servers, and security.
  • New Martinsville Law Enforcement Cameras: $58,000 to purchase vehicle and body cameras for law enforcement officers in New Martinsville, which currently does not have the funding to provide body cameras to all its officers.
  • Charleston Eyes & Ears Police Technology Initiative: $750,000 to launch a community-based "Eyes and Ears in the Neighborhood" to deploy doorbell cameras at homes and apartments to provide a tool for police to identify threats, as well as additional funding requests for gunfire detection technologies.
Financial Services and General Government: $1,870,000
  • FASTER WV: $300,000 to provide business coaching, entrepreneurial training course work, and access to capital for new and expanding small businesses.
  • Marshall University Aerospace Manufacturing Training: $1 million to assist Marshall University in standing up training programs related to the aerospace sector.
  • West Virginia University’s Agribusiness Development Accelerator: $570,000 to assist WVU-Parkersburg to establish, on existing farm property, an agribusiness including production, community and workforce education, and provide small business incubator opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Homeland Security: $2,925,000
  • Fourpole Creek Pump Station Design and Engineering: $2.925 million to conduct critical design and engineering for the replacement of pumps and electronics for the Fourpole Creek Pump Station at the Huntington-Ohio River Levee system and its Floodwall.