Groups urge Sens. Capito, Justice to protect West Virginians, vote against harmful cuts to health programs and energy tax credits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2025

CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, dan@appvoices.org

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Today multiple groups held a press conference outside the office of Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., to highlight the damaging cuts to vital programs proposed in the budget reconciliation bill, officially called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and urge Justice and fellow West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to stand up and protect their constituents over out-of-state billionaires. 

Speakers from West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, West Virginia Citizen Action Group and Appalachian Voices urged Capito and Justice to use their power in the Senate to stop legislation that will take healthcare and food benefits away from struggling West Virginians, and lead to higher energy prices that will make it harder for them to make ends meet and put food on the table.

“Sen. Justice, almost 100,000 children throughout West Virginia rely on federal food assistance,” said West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Senior Policy Outreach Director Seth DiStefano. “That includes more than 1,800 in your home of Greenbrier County. Today, we ask that you look out for their best interests and vote no on the Senate reconciliation bill that takes from the stability of working families so the wealthy few can have even more.” 

“The Big Bad Boondoggle Bill harms West Virginians where it can hurt them the most — their health and their wallets,” said West Virginia Citizen Action Group Co-Executive Director Gary Zuckett. “More pollution and fewer folks insured in West Virginia will lead to more illness, death and economic hardship for our neighbors. With 1 in 4 West Virginians and 1 in 2 children in the state relying on Medicaid, the bill’s hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to that program will hurt public health. Additionally, the cuts to clean energy and pollution-reduction programs compound this attack on healthcare by ensuring that our collective community health outcomes worsen.”

“Every West Virginian knows all too well that energy bills have increased in the Mountain State at a higher rate than almost any other state,” said Appalachian Voices Government Affairs Specialist Quenton King. “The federal energy tax credits are energizing our state’s economy. Eliminating the tax credits for solar, wind and battery storage will increase energy bill costs for everyone in the state, result in thousands of lost jobs and stifle energy innovation. As a leader on energy and jobs issues in the Senate, Sen. Capito has the ability to stand up for West Virginians’ wallets and bring common sense to the reconciliation bill negotiations.”