Mountain State Times

Washington, DC – On JUne 23, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured a number of West Virginia priorities in the Appropriations subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) funding bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee continues to work through the rest of the funding bills, which will be voted on by the full Senate later this year.

“I am proud we were able to come together in a bipartisan manner for the first time in several years and advance a funding bill that helps rural communities throughout the country and West Virginia to continue to grow and prosper,” said Senator Manchin. “This funding bill strengthens our fight against the ongoing drug epidemic, supports a systematic approach to rural broadband deployment, and funds critical nutrition programs. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am committed to bringing back regular order, doing our job, and passing funding bills on time to deliver these crucial resources to our rural communities.”

West Virginia priorities included in the FY24 Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill:

• Fight against the drug epidemic:
  • Language reflective of Senator Manchin’s FREED of Opioids Act, requiring the 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 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 U.S Department of Agriculture (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.

Senator Manchin also secured $12,075,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests or ‘earmarks’ in the FY24 Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill. 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.

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

Original source can be found here.