DOGE Cuts To WV Humanities And NIOSH

The Board of Directors of the West Virginia Humanities Council [the Council], a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, was recently notified by the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), that support to the Council from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was being terminated.  This abrupt termination of long-established and congressionally appropriated NEH funding support for the Council, which serves as the NEH’s official affiliate in and for the Mountain State, if sustained, will cause the closure of all Council activities within West Virginia.

The financial support received from NEH represents 50% of the Council’s annual budget. That funding is matched dollar-for-dollar by donations from West Virginians which together provide the funds that enable the Council to host events, provide programs, and support projects that preserve our state’s history and cultural heritage, and promote public discussions about issues that matter to West Virginians.

As the Council’s Board of Directors, we come from all areas of West Virginia, from communities of every size. We have seen firsthand, in our hometowns and in every county, the profound impact of the Council’s work. Rescinding of congressionally appropriated funding for the NEH means that our capacity to serve West Virginians will disappear, as will our significant contribution to our state’s rapidly growing cultural economy.

The impact will be felt everywhere, nowhere more directly than in the rural areas of our state. Our work is accomplished through the work that West Virginians do themselves. These dollars are locally directed; the projects they support are locally designed and locally delivered. Our work is a model of federal funding done responsibly and cost-effectively, by returning tax dollars to the people of West Virginia in support of programs they themselves support, create, and execute in their home communities.

West Virginians have historically demonstrated a culture of working past our differences to achieve ends that benefit us all. We call on our congressional representatives to defend and ensure the delivery of NEH funding appropriated in support of the West Virginia Humanities Council—funding that has, for 50 years, worked to serve all West Virginians. This letter was signed by Board President George ‘Gib’ Brown on April 11, 2025 on behalf and at the request of the eighteen members of the West Virginia Humanities Council Board of Directors.

The Council is not the only organization or individual seeking relief from DOGE cuts.  West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. regarding the recent layoffs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va. Specifically, Senator Capito highlighted the important role NIOSH plays in the health and wellbeing of West Virginia coal miners and requested that the administration bring back these critical programs and employees that allow them to function properly.

“I believe in the President’s vision to right size our government, but I do not think eliminating the NIOSH coal programs and research will accomplish that goal. The mission and work conducted by the specially trained NIOSH employees is not duplicative of any other government program. I am concerned that the Reductions In Force or RIFs at NIOSH will undermine the vital health programs important to so many West Virginians. I urge you to bring back the NIOSH employees immediately so they can continue to support our nation’s coal industry.”

Her letter notes in part that the NIOSH facility in Morgantown is known for its research aimed at preventing work-related injuries and illnesses, particularly in coal miners. There are specialized labs at the NIOSH facilities in Morgantown where dedicated scientists with years of training had been researching coal and silica dust along with black mold. This research stands not just to make the mining industry safer but also to benefit workers exposed to silica dust at construction sites and residents in West Virginia and North Carolina impacted by the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene. With all the scientists and employees that work in theses labs impacted by the RIF, the CDC will be starting the process to decommission the Morgantown labs in the coming days. Decommissioning the labs will cost millions of taxpayer dollars. If the labs were to later be brought back online, additional taxpayer dollars would be spent to re-comply with numerous regulations and inspections.

https://www.capito.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/04-21-2025_capito_letter_to_hhs_on_niosh_final.pdf