BROADBAND

Take a Speed Test Here.

The sad fact is that many places in West Virginia simply do not have access to reliable broadband and the lack of access affects West Virginians every day. Back in 2015, the FCC released a coverage map that stated 99.9% of Americans had wireless coverage. I knew then what I know now: That is just plain wrong.

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March 4, 2021 - MANCHIN CALLS ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO CREATE MODERN, UNIFIED FEDERAL BROADBAND STANDARD
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME) and Rob Portman (R-OH) called on the Biden Administration to update federal standards for high-speed broadband to reflect modern uses and align those standards across the federal government.

Click here to follow Senator Manchin’s efforts on broadband.

From the Hill to the Mountains

MANCHIN STATEMENT ON CLARKSBURG VAMC SETTLEMENTS
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the following statement on the settlements between the United States government and seven of the victim’s families from the Clarksburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) investigation. Reta Mays, a former Clarksburg VAMC nurse, pled guilty to murdering seven Veterans at the Clarksburg VAMC in July.

"The settlements reached in the Clarksburg VAMC investigation are welcome news for our Veteran community and the families of each victim. No amount of money or admission of guilt can bring back their loved ones, but I hope that these settlements bring peace of mind to the victims’ families," said Senator Manchin. "While these settlements are a step forward in this investigation, we are still waiting on a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs on patient safety and quality care at VA facilities, which has yet to be released months after the mandated deadline. The West Virginia Veteran community deserves transparency on how these horrible murders were able to occur at a VA facility, and I will continue to press the VA to release the report as soon as possible. The quality of care our Veterans receive at West Virginia VAMCs and VA facilities across the nation is of the utmost importance, and I will keep fighting to ensure every Veteran has access to the safe, quality healthcare they deserve."

MANCHIN, CAPITO, SHAHEEN, PORTMAN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO HELP STEM OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act. The legislation aims to help address barriers to non-opioid pain management for those enrolled in Medicare, which will help stem the opioid epidemic across the nation.

MANCHIN, CAPITO ANNOUNCE $1.5 MILLION EDA INVESTMENT INTO WEST VIRGINIA
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced a $1,500,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to Natural Capital Investment Fund, Inc. (NCIF), in Charles Town, West Virginia. This grant will give NCIF the ability to provide the staffing and technical assistance capacity needed to deploy technical assistance and up to $5 million in capital to West Virginia businesses impacted by COVID-19. This funding was made available through the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).

MANCHIN ADVOCATES FOR HIS BIPARTISAN BURN PITS EXPOSURE RECOGNITION ACT DURING VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE HEARING
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), spoke with Mr. Stephen Whitehead, National Commander of the Disabled Veterans of America (DAV) about his bipartisan Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act during a joint hearing of the House of Representatives and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. Senator Manchin’s legislation will address a barrier currently preventing many Veterans from getting U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare and benefits for illnesses and diseases related to exposure to burn pits. Notably, the bill would not automatically grant benefits or healthcare to Veterans who served near a burn pit, nor would it create a presumption of service connection, like Agent Orange.

MANCHIN, CAPITO INTRODUCE BILL TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AT VA MEDICAL CENTERS
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) along with Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Boozman (R-AR), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced legislation that would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit to Congress a report on the use of security cameras in VA medical centers. The legislation would help better address transparency issues at VAMC’s in light of the deaths of veterans at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center.

MANCHIN, CAPITO ANNOUNCE $11.5 MILLION TO PROTECT WEST VIRGINIA WILDLIFE
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced three awards totaling $11,573,098 from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service to support hunting, fishing, and conservation in West Virginia. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program administered two of the awards for a variety of conservation programs and projects and are funded by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Acts. The State Wildlife Grant (SWG) Program administered the third award aimed to assist the recovery of threatened and endangered species, as well as prevent other species from becoming endangered.

Energy Committee News

Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso Announce Upcoming Committee Schedule
Washington, DC – The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today announced its schedule for next week.

The full committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, March 11, 2021, at 10:00 am EST. The purpose of the hearing is to examine the reliability, resiliency, and affordability of electric service in the United States amid the changing energy mix and extreme weather events. More information can be found by visiting the committee’s website. 

ENERGY COMMITTEE SENDS HAALAND TO SENATE FLOOR WITH BIPARTISAN VOTE
Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a business meeting to consider the pending nomination of U.S. Representative Debra Haaland (D-NM) to be the Secretary of the Interior. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, voted to support Rep. Haaland’s nomination and she passed out of committee by a recorded vote of 11-9. Rep. Haaland previously committed to Chairman Manchin that she will work with him to extend Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AML) fees– a key priority due to its 2021 expiration.

"While I may not personally agree with some of Representative Deb Haaland’s past statements and policy positions, as Secretary, she will be carrying out President Biden’s agenda. And, as a former Governor, I understand the importance of having one’s own team in place. It is especially important that President Biden has the department heads he wants, since they make up his Cabinet. He is trying to bind together a nation split by deep political, racial, social, and economic divisions. Just as I believe that the responsibility falls on every one of us to work together to heal those divisions, he is committed to ushering in a new era of bipartisanship and inclusiveness, and he deserves to have the support of Cabinet members he believes can best help him in that task. He is also trying to assemble a Cabinet that reflects the rich diversity of our nation—one that looks like America. 230 years after President Washington called his first Cabinet meeting, it is long past time to give a Native American woman a seat at the Cabinet table,” said Chairman Manchin. “I support Deb Haaland’s nomination and will vote to report her and I look forward to working with her to protect our public lands and ensure the responsible use of all our natural resources in a bipartisan manner."

MANCHIN, COMMITTEE CONSIDER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF ENERGY NOMINEE
Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of David M. Turk to be Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Committee, expressed his support for Mr. Turk’s nomination. Chairman Manchin also stressed the importance of the Department of Energy’s role, and that of its highest-ranking officers, in ensuring effective management and administration of the nation’s energy policies and programs.

"It is the Department of Energy’s job to see that the people of this country have ‘an adequate and reliable supply of energy at the lowest reasonable cost.’ The Department also has many other responsibilities, [b]ut its primary mission, its reason for being, is to ‘promote the general welfare by assuring coordinated and effective administration of Federal energy policy and programs,'” said Chairman Manchin. “Next to the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary bears the principal responsibility for this task. The Deputy Secretary is the second-highest ranking officer in the Department and the Department’s chief operating officer. The Deputy must be prepared to act for the Secretary and perform all of the Secretary’s functions and duties in the Secretary’s absence and to manage the Department’s wide-ranging mission and budget of over $35 billion. I am convinced that Mr. Turk is up to the job.”