U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is applauding the return of nearly 100 workers to a federal office in West Virginia that supports the state’s coal industry.
Workers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health office in Morgantown were impacted by a reduction in force order issued earlier this spring by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The office provides critical health safety programs for coal miners, including black lung screening results.
“Certainly I’m very pleased that my efforts with Secretary Kennedy has resulted in bringing back about 110 jobs in Morgantown with the functions — the very important functions — the black lung certification functions, research on inhalation and a lot of the other offices there,” Capito said Thursday during her weekly telephone media briefing with West Virginia reporters. “So I’ve had close contact with him over the last six weeks. It’s been worked from the House and Senate side in terms of making sure that we are preserving the functions of NIOSH for workers safety, for the inhalation safety of our firefighters and coal miners. We are preserving these functions to keep our workers safe.”
While not all workers will return, Capito said the majority of those impacted by the earlier reduction in force order are now back on the job.
“And even though some people are probably still not going to be reemployed and that is a difficult situation, the core of NIOSH will go on in Morgantown,” Capito said. “So that is good news.”
The earlier cuts to the West Virginia office were part of the larger budget cuts occurring at federal agencies across the nation as part of the ongoing review of waste, fraud and abuse by the Department of Government Efficiency, which is still being led by Elon Musk.
Capito said her ongoing discussions with Kennedy and the Trump administration centered on the importance of retaining those services that ensure the health and well being of coal miners.
“I’ve had numerous discussions with the NIOSH employees, and the latest we got today was that many of these people are getting notices to come back and they will be permanently employed,” Capito said. “So I’m very, very pleased about that.”
During the media call, Capito also was asked about proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP under the budget reconciliation bill being drafted by House Republicans. The reconciliation package, which is still being debated by House Republicans, is more commonly referred to as the “big, beautiful bill” — a term phrased by President Donald Trump.
“We have to keep in mind here that this is the House’s proposal,” Capito said of the Republican-controlled House. “They haven’t passed it fully through the House. But the fact of the matter is we have a $37 trillion debt and we need to reign in our spending and spend it more wisely and more efficiently to pull our deficit down. And then we need to create an environment where job creation is at the peak of where it could be and for the ability of individuals to prosper.”
When the bill eventually reaches the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, Capito said she will back a continuation of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
“So I voted for the 2017 tax relief,” she said. “I don’t want any individuals taxes to go up by virtue of the fact that I didn’t vote for the bills. So I’m in favor of that. At the same time I think when you look at some of the research and development tax incentives, some of the depreciation which will go straight to our small businesses, I think that is the job creation portion along with letting people keep more of their own dollars.”
Capito said she also supports the Medicaid work requirement.
“In terms of Medicaid and SNAP, you know I’ve registered my concern,” she said. “I know 28 percent of West Virginians are on Medicaid. We need to preserve the program for them and so I’m supportive of a work requirement. I’m supportive of making sure the eligibility requirements are being met. I would think everybody would be in support of that. We don’t want people on Medicaid who don’t qualify for it. There are people who are on Medicaid who absolutely have no other choice and need and have to have this program for their families and for themselves. And I’ve supported Medicaid all the way through.”
Still if spending isn’t reduced now more drastic cuts may be required in the future for Medicaid, Capito said.
“And so anything we can do to bend the curve on spending, because if we don’t that program will have to be drastically cut in the future in order not to plunge us into you know a bankruptcy here in our whole country,” she said. “So I’m very mindful of who I represent and how important these two programs are. So we will see when it comes over to the Senate what kind of decisions can be made here.”
House Republicans are considering at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, including reductions to Medicaid, food stamps and a number of green energy programs created by former President Joe Biden.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Republicans are targeting Medicaid and SNAP for a combined $1 trillion in cuts.