In The News

West Virginia was awarded about $87 million through a federal grant to use toward flood relief, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced Monday evening. The $87 million comes from a disaster relief program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Block Grant, according to a release from Capito’s office. It’s in addition to the $17 million the program dedicated in October to help the Mountain State recover from the historic June floods. In... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is asking President-elect Donald Trump to address the Miners Protection Act early in his administration after a short-term extension of miners’ health benefits. “There will be a need to address this issue again in the early part of next year,” Capito spokeswoman Ashley Berrang told The West Virginia Record. A government-funding bill known as the “continuing resolution” also calls for critical resources... Read More

CHARLESTON – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has joined 21 other senators in urging President Obama to stop issuing new, non-emergency rules and regulations while his term wraps up. Capito, a West Virginia Republican, was one of 22 senators to stress they expect to have regulatory relief based on what the American people have dictated with the results of the Nov. 8 election. “Far-reaching regulations have been a key pillar of this administration, hurting farmers, small businesses,... Read More

Since World War II, mostly out-of-state owners have eliminated 100,000 West Virginia mine jobs by replacing workers with machines. Lately, numerous coal corporations declared bankruptcy to duck liability for miner pension and health plans. As the coal industry shrinks, less revenue is pumped into the United Mine Workers various medical and pension funds, created with federal help in 1946 to resolve a national coal strike. The problem became a crisis this year as 16,000 retired miners in seven... Read More

Last week, Congress approved a continuing resolution that will fund the federal government through April 2017. The resolution also extended healthcare benefits for tens of thousands of miners and their families by four months. Members of Congress spent more than a year debating how to fund both the healthcare and pensions of tens of thousands of miners across the country. The benefits were promised to miners more than 40 years ago by the federal government, but funding for the programs is... Read More

West Virginia lags behind most states in a variety of economic opportunity indicators. Among the most critical is availability of high-speed internet access. Our state ranks 45th on a list of 56 states and territories examined by the federal government for broadband access. It is available to only about two-thirds of the state, according to one study. Another study estimates as many as 56 percent of Mountain State residents lack adequate broadband service. Given our terrain, it simply is not... Read More

Shelley Moore Capito has spent much of her first two years as the junior U.S. senator from West Virginia trying to limit the damage being done to the coal industry and the economy of our state by the policies of the Obama administration. If not for her – and Joe Manchin's – efforts to stem the tide of bureaucratic tyranny, we'd be much worse off than we are now. Late last year, she and Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota introduced a bipartisan resolution of disapproval in... Read More

A federal bill passed last week may ultimately help expand treatment options for the tens of thousands of West Virginians who will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime, officials say. The 21 Century Cures Act, which, along with the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, passed the Senate with a 94-5 vote last week and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama today, contains key aspects of the Anna Westin Act, a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. The act,... Read More

CHARLESTON, WV (WCHS/WVAH) — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. has asked President-elect Donald Trump to include broadband internet expansion to any future infrastructure proposals made in his administration. In a letter to Trump dated Dec. 9, Capito called high-speed internet access a "pillar" of 21st century infrastructure and said Trump's policies on pipelines and highways should apply to broadband as well. Overhauling the nation's infrastructure was one of Trump's... Read More

West Virginia’s Republican congressional and state leaders say they are ready to work with President-elect Donald Trump on rolling back cumbersome environmental regulations while also working to promote a business-friendly environment. We believe the local delegation will be well positioned — both in Washington and Charleston — to make positive change. Republicans control both West Virginia legislative houses, both houses of the U.S. Congress and soon the presidency. Members of... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Those vowing to fight for a long-term fix to union miners’ healthcare plans lost a showdown in Congress, but West Virginia’s congressional delegation vowed to take up the fight again next month. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, asking him to work on the issue as he assumes office. Trump promised to fight for miners and their jobs when he visited West Virginia last spring. “Preserving... Read More

WASHINGTON DC — Senator Shelley Moore Capito is calling on President-Elect Donald Trump to make the Miners Protection Act a priority in his first days in office. Capito voted in the majority in favor of the continuing resolution on Friday night to fund the government. The resolution contained only a short-term solution for the pending problems associated with retired miner’s health benefits. “I am very disappointed that the continuing resolution only extends health care... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to take up the cause of miners’ healthcare benefits, after a provision championed by coal-state senators was left out of a stopgap funding bill passed by the Senate on Friday night. “Preserving retirement benefits for our nation’s coal miners is among the most important and pressing items on the congressional agenda,” Capito wrote in a letter to Trump late... Read More

CLARKSBURG, W.Va (WDTV) – While most high school students are starting to get college acceptance letters, others are awaiting letters of another kind. Students pursuing U.S . Service academies may have to wait a little longer for acceptance letters, but nominations are out! And for one Notre Dame High school student receiving a nomination puts him one step closer to his dream. Senior Alex Altenburg wears many hats at Notre Dame High school. "One of the biggest things I... Read More

WASHINGTON – A bill that includes major funding to combat the opioid epidemic passed the Senate on Wednesday and now makes its way to the White House. The 21st Century Cures Act will allow for $1 billion over two years in funding to be distributed in the form of grants to states to combat the opioid epidemic. Funding will supplement state activities such as improving prescription drug monitoring programs, implementing prevention activities, training for health care providers and expanding... Read More

An estimated 30 million Americans experience an eating disorder in their lifetimes and more than 61,000 are currently suffering in West Virginia, according to studies. But help is on its way, a news release from West Virginia University Disordered Eating Center suggests. On Dec. 7, Congress passed legislation designed to help people with eating disorders for the first time in its history. The measure is making its way to President Barrack Obama’s desk within the week, with the expectation... Read More

West Virginia U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is working hard to pass legislation this week that will protect healthcare and pension benefits for retired coal miners. Congress is working on a temporary government spending bill this week as lawmakers wrap up work for the year. The Coal Miners Protection Act is included in that discussion. It would prevent any lapse in important benefits for thousands of retired miners and their families that are scheduled to expire at the end of the... Read More

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Landmark legislation passed in Congress on Thursday, making it easier for those suffering from eating disorders to get help. "I know, had Anna had that level of care, she would be standing next to me today," Kitty Westin said. Kitty Westin lost her daughter, Anna, to an eating disorder when she was just 21 years old. Since then, she's dedicated her time to ensuring others don't have to suffer the same fate. This week, her work paid off.Congress passed the... Read More

It looked like so much symbolism when U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and her fellow Republican officeholders gathered together at the state Capitol earlier this week. In the moment, maybe we tend to brush off symbolism: not news. But given time to reflect – like, 20 years to reflect – symbolism carries significance.Back in 1996, when Capito was first elected to a state House of Delegates seat, one word would have described the inkling that she would one day stand and promote a... Read More

CHARLESTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s Republican congressional and state leaders vowed Monday to work with the incoming Trump administration to push back federal environmental regulations they say limit and threaten their state’s energy industry and jobs. U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said the Obama administration has overstepped its authority in the energy, financial and other sectors and they expect president-elect Donald Trump to undo many of those regulations with... Read More