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West Virginia voters can help save the For the People Act.
Contact Sen. Manchin at 202-224-3954 or manchin.senate.gov/contact-joe/email-joe and Sen. Capito at 202-224-6472 or capito.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion.
You can also take action here.
CHARLESTON, WV – With the Senate set to vote on the For the People Act (S1) in late June, this week the League of Women Voters of West Virginia launched a campaign to promote the bill’s passage. On Sunday, June 20th, the League placed full-page ads in the Charleston Gazette-Mail and the Huntington-Herald Dispatch, alongside digital ads on the publications’ respective homepages, urging West Virginia senators to vote for the For the People Act. “It is clear that the pro-voter policies put forward by S1 are supported by the majority of West Virginians,” said Effie Kallas, co-President of the League of Women Voters of West Virginia. “We are hopeful that this campaign will inspire people to reach out to Senators Manchin and Capito to demand that they vote ‘yes’ on this essential bill.” The For the People Act passed in the U.S. House on March 3, 2021, and now awaits a Senate vote. The bill, which aims to make the promise of democracy real for all Americans by securing the right to vote, increasing government transparency and accountability, and eliminating dark money from elections, is widely supported by the American public. In West Virginia, it has a bipartisan approval rating of 79 percent. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the bill within the next week. ### CONTACT: Lilly McGee | 202-263-1329| lmcgee@lwv.org The LWV-WV and other organizations sent the following letter urging our Senators to support the continuation of the 2017 appropriations for key EPA programs that help West Virginia’s rivers and streams. October 16, 2017 The Honorable Joe Manchin III The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito Dear Senators Manchin and Capito, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and the undersigned West Virginia organizations, are concerned about the federal appropriations that designate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s allocations for state programs that manage the protection of water quality. We urge you to support the continuation of the 2017 appropriations for key programs that help West Virginia’s rivers and streams. The U.S. House of Representatives appropriation for the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill reduced funding for EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program. The Bay Program is significant in its six-state cooperative effort that affects 180,000 miles of streams and rivers and 18 million people. We are pleased that West Virginia, which comprises the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, is part of that effort. We are also cognizant of the benefits of water clean-up programs in West Virginia supported by Bay Program funds. We believe the reduction of support for the Bay Program in the House appropriations bill will be detrimental to West Virginians in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. We request that you maintain the 2017 funding level of $73 million in the 2018 appropriations, and support last year’s requirement that $6 million of this allocation go for Small Watershed Grants and $6 million for Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants. These grant programs alone have brought in approximately $5 million since 2010 for projects in West Virginia. We also are concerned about policy “riders” added to the bill in the House. Restricting efforts to clean up our waters is not a benefit for our citizens and may cause costly future clean ups for the public to bear. Here are a few examples that stand to place West Virginia’s waters at risk:
Thank you for considering these concerns. Please fully fund essential EPA programs and reject riders that put the future quality of our water supplies at risk. Angie Rosser, Executive Director George Santucci, Executive Director Cynthia Ellis, President Charles Marsh, President Gary Zuckett, Executive Director Sherry Evasic, President Julie Archer, Co-founder Natalie Thompson, Executive Director Judy Rodd, Executive Director John Bird, Conservation Chair Brent Walls Jonathan Rosenbaum, President The Affordable Care Act was a major step forward in health care for all and has already made a difference by improving health care access and coverage for millions of Americans. The House of Representatives took a step in the wrong direction by repealing the law that has already brought positive changes. The Senate could follow their lead very soon. Take action now to tell your Senators to oppose repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Here is the complete (4 parts) WV Senate Debate!
Candidates for US SenateNovember 2, 2010 General ElectionCANDIDATE Jeff BeckerCOUNTY OF RESIDENCE Berkeley PARTY Constitution BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Born in Kentucky, raised in New England and Ohio. Bachelor’s degree in Welding Engineering from Ohio State University, Masters Degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Kettering University. Registered Professional Engineer. Thirteen years Ohio and West Virginia Air National Guard in aircraft maintenance. Current Chairman of the Constitution Party of West Virginia. Teacher in Berkeley County. WV resident since 1998. QUESTION 1. What should the federal government do about the growing economic disparity between the middle class and the well-to-do? ANSWER . The Federal Reserve Act, secretly foisted upon us on Christmas Eve, 1913, must be repealed. America must return to silver coin money as we had in 1964, and only gold and commodity-backed currency. Fiat paper “money” is the root of all inflation so Congress must stop putting it into circulation. The Glass-Steagall Act must be reinstated to end banking speculation. QUESTION 2. How will you balance the continuing costs of the military with the costs of domestic needs? ANSWER. Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution tells us that only Congress has the power to declare war, appropriations for armies shall only be for two years at a time, that the states are mostly responsible for training our militias, and that our Navy is paramount. Our founders only intended “General welfare” to mean well-being and happiness, not public assistance. QUESTION 3. What measures should Congress enact to make our educational system more competitive with other developed nations? ANSWER The Department of Education Organization Act went into effect in May of 1980 just as I was graduating from high school. I was able to receive a thorough and efficient education without any interference by the federal government. The word “education” appears nowhere in our Constitution, so the best thing Congress can do here is to repeal Public Law 96-88. CANDIDATE Jesse JohnsonCOUNTY OF RESIDENCE Kanawha PARTY Mountain BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Lobbyist, Freelance Writer and Lecturer on Political and Environmental issues. Former UN expedition leader, actor and filmmaker. Has spent a decade mobilizing the Mountain Party’s growing strength as the nominee for Governor in 2004 and 2008, making WV History by earning over 31,000 votes or 4.6% voter support and the only ‘third party’ candidate ever endorsed by The Sierra Club. QUESTION 1. What should the federal government do about the growing economic disparity between the middle class and the well-to-do? ANSWER . We should stop with corporate welfare for industries that are realizing record growth and more importantly profit and incentivize research and development as well as renewable and therefore sustainable industry. We must design, build, ship, modify and trade. These have always been the cornerstones of economic prosperity. Tax breaks for the rich have not and will not revitalize this economy. QUESTION 2. How will you balance the continuing costs of the military with the costs of domestic needs? ANSWER. I will fight to cut military spending. Its appropriations are greater than all of our neighbors ‘potential threats’ put together. Last months Treasury statement shows that one in three of taxpayers dollars go to DOD. Every administration asks for more as does Congress. We have no conventional enemy of significant threat militarily. This waste must stop. Nation building starts here. QUESTION 3. What measures should Congress enact to make our educational system more competitive with other developed nations? ANSWER State and federally subsidized schools must provide to the citizens of this country, free life-long learning to empower our nation and its competitiveness in our world. Our public airwaves and library systems must be an integral part of our institutions of learning, working symbiotically to “…promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” CANDIDATE Joe Manchin IIICOUNTY OF RESIDENCE Marion PARTY Democratic BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION As West Virginia’s 34th governor, Joe Manchin has cut taxes, created good jobs and got our financial house in order. He is from Farmington, W.Va. and served as a state legislator from 1982-1996 and as Secretary of State from 2000-2004. Joe is a pilot, outdoorsman and motorcyclist. He and his wife, Gayle, have three children and seven grandchildren. Visit www.joemanchinwv.com QUESTION 1. What should the federal government do about the growing economic disparity between the middle class and the well-to-do? ANSWER . In this time of recovery, we must first get out nation’s financial house in order and cut wasteful spending, just like we have done in West Virginia. We need to make capital available to businesses willing to create full-time jobs with livable wages and benefits. We must focus on spurring private investments. QUESTION 2. How will you balance the continuing costs of the military with the costs of domestic needs? ANSWER. We have to make sure our soldiers in the field have the tools they need to do their jobs – it’s the least we can do given their dedication and sacrifices. Once we bring our combat commitment in Afghanistan to a close, we will have the opportunity to reevaluate our defense spending with an eye towards deficit reduction and domestic needs. QUESTION 3. What measures should Congress enact to make our educational system more competitive with other developed nations? ANSWER We must enact education reforms, because every child deserves a quality education. I support the federal Race-to-the-Top initiative, which sets performance and results as priorities. There is too much bureaucracy that prevents our educators from being innovative in the classrooms. States and their educators need flexibility. The federal government must set good examples so that states can adopt proven programs. CANDIDATE John R. RaeseCOUNTY OF RESIDENCE Monongalia PARTY Republican Candidate did not reply |
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