Upcoming Events

2018 Job Fairs

  Please be sure to check out my website because more may be added throughout the year. 

Click here for more. 

Martinsburg

WHAT: Regional Job & Resource Fair

WHEN: September 26 

Employer Registration:

Christy Sieg or Carolyn Jefferson

304-267-0065 ext. 59508 (Sieg) or ext.59507 (Jefferson)

Christy.l.sieg@wv.gov or Carolyn.r.jefferson@wv.gov

Parkersburg

WHAT: MOV Career & Resource Fair

WHEN: September 28 

WHERE: WVU-Parkersburg

Employer Registration:

Jennifer Randolph

304-424-8246

jennifer.randolph@wvup.edu 

Fairmont

WHAT: Regional Job Fair

WHEN: October 12 

WHERE: Robert Mollohan Research Center, High Technology Foundation

Employer Registration:

Lori Turner

304-363-0654 ext. 51258

lori.l.turner@wv.gov

To invite the senator to your event, click here.

Commonsense Connections Week

Reminder: My office's tenth “Commonsense Connections” Week ends this Friday, May 25. 

I believe in retail government - bringing the government directly to our citizens, hearing their concerns and finding the best possible common sense solutions to the issues that matter to them. The customer comes first in business, just as the citizens should come first in government. That is what ‘Commonsense Connections’ is all about – my staff travels to every corner of the state and meets with our constituents to hear about the personal challenges they are facing and their ideas of how to move our country forward, and then I take their ideas to Washington.

Click here to find a stop in your area.

From the Hill to the Mountains

We've Taken Care of Everyone Except the Working People

Last week, I participated in a Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans hearing where I questioned The Honorable W. Thomas Reeder, Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation about the looming deadline facing the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan.

If we’re able to come to the aid of every corporation that has an effect on the economy of this country then surely to God we can come to the aid and the help of the people who made this country. That’s what we’re talking about.  We have to agree that we have a crisis on our hands. Any time you put a financial institution in front of a human being, you’ve got a problem. And that’s what’s been happening for far too long. We’re talking about putting undue burden on businesses and we don’t want to do that. We just gave the biggest tax cut in the history of the United States of America and we can sit here and debate it all day long. Too much, not enough, whatever. But everyone got a benefit from that except the working people. Now we’re afraid we’re adding a little bit more of a premium but a short term premium is not going to solve my miner’s problem. We need to know how we can do this.

The Joint Select Committee was created as part of the overall budget compromise that passed in February. The committee is instructed to report a bill by the last week of November, and will be required to hold at least five public meetings, including 3 hearings so that members of Congress can hear directly from retirees, workers and businesses affected by the pension crisis. The solution that the committee produces will be guaranteed an expedited vote in the Senate without amendments.

To watch Senator Manchin’s questioning, click here.

Renaming the Huntington VA After Woody Williams

I am thrilled my colleagues in the House of Representatives took my urging seriously and, this week, have finally honored my dear friend Woody Williams for the sacrifices he has made for our country and our beloved home of West Virginia. For almost 100 years Woody has dedicated his life to public service and bravely served our country. Woody is a World War II hero, a Medal of Honor recipient and a staunch advocate for Gold Star Families. Nobody is more deserving of this honor and I am relieved the House of Representatives has finally honored Woody as the Senate did almost nine months ago.

Last week, Senator Manchin condemned the House of Representatives for not passing a resolution to rename the Huntington VA Medical Center after Woody. Senator Manchin introduced the resolution on May 18, 2017. The resolution passed the Senate on September 7, 2017 by unanimous consent and has been held up in the House of Representatives ever since. In April, Senator Manchin urged the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) and the Ranking Member Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN), to pass the resolution. 

Key Federal Resources

$2.9 Million for New Substance Abuse Treatment Center in Ohio County

Heart 2 Heart in Ohio County will receive $2,979,800 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a new substance abuse treatment center.

In order to start reversing the damage done by the opioid epidemic, we need substance abuse treatment centers to help people get their life back and start the road to recovery. This new facility will help people in the Northern Panhandle struggling with substance abuse treatment get help they need quicker. This is a good first step but we need more funding. It’s something I’m fighting for as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This Rural Development investment will be used for a Behavioral Health Facility focusing on long term substance abuse treatment. This funding, in conjunction with other funding, will be used for small renovations, equipment, initial O&M, and conversion of an existing structure into a substance abuse center. The facility will serve Ohio County and the surrounding regional areas.