Tag: Joe Biden

Manchin, Capito Seek To Overturn Biden Vehicle Emissions Rule

The rule, made final in November, requires state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to set declining emissions targets.

West Virginia’s U.S. Senators are pushing back on the Biden administration’s effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.

Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito have co-sponsored a resolution to overturn a Federal Highway Administration rule on emissions targets.

The rule, made final in November, requires state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to set declining emissions targets.

Both Capito and Manchin argue the agency lacks the authority from Congress to issue such a requirement.

The rule itself, though, does not specify how low the targets have to be, as long as they’re declining, and does not impose penalties on states for not meeting them.

The House of Representatives has a similar bill to overturn the rule.

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration Aids 5 Flood-Affected Counties

Residents in Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Harrison and Kanawha counties can apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

President Joe Biden has issued a major disaster declaration for five West Virginia counties affected by flooding in late August.

Residents in Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Harrison and Kanawha counties can apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

They can receive grants for temporary housing and home repairs, as well as low-interest loans for uninsured property losses.

Homeowners and business owners can apply by registering with FEMA, by using the FEMA app or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

Gayle Manchin Admitted To Hospital Following Alabama Car Crash

Sen. Joe Manchin’s office said Gayle Manchin and Guy Land, a congressional liaison, were in Birmingham for a grant workshop when another car struck their vehicle on Monday.

Gayle Manchin, the federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the wife of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, is in a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, after she and a commission staff member were involved in a car crash.

The commission and Sen. Manchin’s office said Gayle Manchin and Guy Land, a congressional liaison, were in Birmingham for a grant workshop when another car struck their vehicle on Monday.

Land and Manchin were transported to the University of Alabama-Birmingham hospital. Gayle Manchin is in stable condition, her husband’s office said, and she will remain there for a few days as a precaution.

Gayle Manchin was nominated to lead the 13-state commission in 2021 by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. She’s the first West Virginian to serve in that role in the commission’s 59-year history.

Joe Manchin, a Democrat, is not running for re-election to the Senate.

Boston Metal To Receive Grant To Build Chromium Plant In Weirton

The factory, which will employ 200 workers, will produce ultra-pure chromium and high-temperature alloys needed across various clean energy technologies.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the company.

A federal grant will support a high-tech manufacturing facility and bring jobs to the Northern Panhandle.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Boston Metal a $50 million grant to build a chromium plant in Weirton, one of seven sites nationwide selected as part of the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Program.

The factory, which will employ 200 workers, will produce ultra-pure chromium and high-temperature alloys needed across various clean energy technologies.

The department awarded a total of $275 million to West Virginia and six other states.

The investment is part of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a 2021 law pushed by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.

President Joe Biden signed the bill into law two years ago this month. 

Manchin Leaving Congress He Calls Divided, Yet Productive

Manchin announced last week he won’t be running for reelection to the US Senate. Speaking to a group of West Virginia reporters Wednesday, he says he’s leaving the chamber on both low and high notes.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he’s never seen Washington more divided. And yet, he says the most recent Congress – the one that ended in January – was a productive one.

Manchin announced last week he won’t be running for reelection to the United States Senate. Speaking to a group of West Virginia reporters Wednesday, he said he’s leaving the chamber on both low and high notes.

“Everything that we did in the 117th Congress, which I think that’s 2020 to 2022, and then really finished up in January 2023,” he said. “But I think it will go down as one of the most, in history, one of the most productive Congresses we’ve ever had.”

There was COVID-19 relief, an infrastructure bill, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and a bill to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.

And it was all done in a Senate divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Manchin sometimes as the most critical vote of all.

Though he was a decisive vote on some of that legislation, and could single-handedly stop some of President Joe Biden’s nominees, Manchin downplayed his own influence.

“When you have an even split, it’s kind of hard for one side to blame the other. Because they’re equal,” he said. “They can equally have all the same power, no one has more power than the other person. One person can shut things down, one person can make things happen.”

Manchin will leave a chamber that could well flip to Republican control after next year. Democrats will have one less vote if a Republican wins Manchin’s seat, and that’s considered highly likely.

Manchin said throughout his time in the Senate, he tried to work across the aisle. He also said his staff closed more than 100,000 constituent cases. Those include basic services like getting veterans benefits or Social Security benefits.

Manchin has been hinting that he might pursue a third-party bid for president. But Wednesday, he didn’t make any specific commitment to run.

Buttigieg Tours Fed-Funded Wheeling Main Street Project

The U.S. Department of Transportation provided $16 million for the Wheeling project. It’s upgrading the sidewalks, stormwater drains, accessibility for people with disabilities, lighting and landscaping.

A long string of cars and trucks crept by as workers operated heavy machinery along Wheeling’s Main Street.

Traffic also slowed for a special guest: Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) secretary and a point person for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law.

The department provided $16 million for the Wheeling project. It’s upgrading the sidewalks, stormwater drains, accessibility for people with disabilities, lighting and landscaping.

After years of neglect, downtown Wheeling is seeing a bit of a revival. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said the transformation looked familiar.

“Look, this is a community that reminds me of my own hometown, which is a place that saw its population peak in the 1960s,” Buttigieg said. “And when I was mayor, we fought hard to come back and to grow again. And I see that same kind of aspiration and that same kind of success building here. But it can’t happen unless you have the right kind of infrastructure. And sometimes taking care of the basics, streets, the sewers, the sidewalks, is the best thing you can do to make sure those businesses have a shot, too.”

Buttigieg participated in a roundtable discussion with local government and business leaders. 

He greeted local residents and shook the hands of construction workers. He said infrastructure projects benefit both big cities and small towns. He also said they bridge political divides. 

He credited Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, both from West Virginia, for helping get the infrastructure law through Congress.

“And the point is to get past all the politics and serve every American,” Buttigieg said. “And West Virginia is full of examples of communities that have a ton of potential, are starting to see that potential in a place like Wheeling come to life, but we have to have a good partnership to really get it done.”

More grants are coming, he said. The USDOT recently announced funds for street improvements in Parkersburg, a transportation terminal in Martinsburg and zero-emission transit in Grant County.

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