Dozens of workers at a longstanding federal employer in Parkersburg are losing their jobs, presumably through actions of the Department of Government Efficiency led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito today said the job losses are troubling, but she supports the broad mission to seek greater efficiencies and reduce spending in government. Capito has recently said she is “pretty comfortable” with Musk’s federal moves.
“I can tell you, I’m concerned anytime we have job loss in and around whatever part of our state, but I also know that the president ran on making this government more efficient, more accountable, and stretching the dollars farther than we have before,” Capito said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
The job losses are occurring at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a U.S. Treasury agency that manages federal payments and collections. Generations of Wood County residents have worked at the office, which used to be called the Bureau of Public Debt.
“And so I do believe that as painful as some of this is — and it’s very painful, and I hate it for Parkersburg and for those individuals — we need to right size government. We have a trillions of dollars in debt, and this is one of the things to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse that the president’s move forward on,” Capito said.
Representatives of DOGE were said to have visited the facility in Parkersburg earlier this month.
Musk appeared appeared at at the Conservative Political Action Conference this past weekend and held up a chainsaw to signify the effects on the federal bureaucracy.
Delegate Scot Heckert, R-Wood, said the jobs in Parkersburg are valuable to the community.
“Unfortunately, people are thinking the mass layoffs are going to save taxpayers dollars, but instead it’s going to increase the financial burden on all of us and the ripple effect is going to be huge,” Heckert said today from the state Capitol.
“Small business will suffer, unemployment and the need for social services will increase. The very states that voted for this administration are the states being hit the hardest. Meanwhile, making these ‘chainsaw slashing’ decisions from their gold adorned offices as well as those in Congress who continue to support them are laughing all the way to the bank.”
Heckert said the actions on federal employment should not be considered partisan but instead viewed as economic. He advised concerned citizens to reach out to the offices of senators Capito and Jim Justice.
“We’re going to be hit hard in the state of West Virginia from this,” Heckert said.
Thousands of federal workers in West Virginia
West Virginia has more than 17,000 employees at federal agencies or offices located in the state, according to the Congressional Research Service, using data from the Office of Personnel Management. The state location in those statistics reflects duty station, not place of residence.
That report also breaks down the number of federal employees who live in West Virginia by congressional district. Those numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey are larger because it reflects federal workers who live in West Virginia but who may report to jobs in the state or elsewhere.
Those numbers show 22,977 federal workers residing in West Virginia congressional District 2, which includes northern counties, and 10,345 federal workers in District 1, which is southern counties.
“When you take any number of jobs of that mass and pull them from the community — with the average being probably $70,000 or close to it a year — the local economy’s going to suffer the most because people aren’t going to have money to go spend, shop at the local shops; they’re going to do good to keep their bills paid and their families fed,” Heckert said.
Musk sent out a directive this weekend for federal workers to justify the work they completed this past week or resign. The email asked employees to send about five bullet points listing what they accomplished during the week.
“I think it was rather harsh on a Saturday to receive an email — not so much to be accountable to your job; we all should be doing that — it’s just the way it was executed,” Capito said on “Talkline.”
Medicaid funding in question
Capito also addressed the possibility that the federal government will try to cut back on Medicaid spending. President Trump has said Medicaid won’t be touched, but a House of Representatives budget proposal includes up to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid.
Other possibilities include moves like instituting work requirements or introducing caps on federal Medicaid spending.
About 516,500 West Virginians receive healthcare coverage through Medicaid.
“Medicaid has such an impact in our state. It serves probably a third of our citizens. It’s an important and the only option that a lot of people have. So I tread lightly here,” Capito said.
“The President said that there would be no cut in benefits in Medicaid; initially, that’s what he said. He backed up a little bit on that, saying that waste fraud and abuse would be addressed. I’m fine with waste fraud and abuse (being a focus), but we can’t do a wide swath here at all.”
She continued, “I think we can deliver the service better in connections with the states, because the states — you know, West Virginia, we know our population better than anybody else. So I am very, always very concerned whenever I hear any talk of reducing benefits for those under Medicaid coverage.”