In The News
Daily Mail editorial: America shouldn’t have to accept bad Iran deal
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has shown she's not afraid to speak out against the Obama administration. On Wednesday, the Republican continued that trend, speaking on the Senate floor against a recent nuclear deal reached with Iran. Republicans, including Capito, have decried the deal, saying it is flawed and doesn't go far enough in preventing the Mideast country from growing its nuclear ambitions. "Any agreement with Iran should include rigorous and immediate inspections of suspected nuclear si… Continue Reading
08.02.15
Capito hopeful 6-year transportation bill will pass in House
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is hopeful a bipartisan, six-year transportation funding bill that was passed in the Senate last week will pass in the U.S. House of Representatives in the months to come. "We pushed a short-term extension for three months. I'm disappointed by that," Capito said. "But I am heartened that for the first time in 10 years we have a multi-year bill on the table that I think we can work with the House to iron out our differences and get done by Octobe… Continue Reading
07.31.15
Capito follows father’s footsteps in an understated way
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) was not even born when her father, legendary Mountain State politician Arch Moore, won a seat in the state House of Delegates in 1952. She was only a little girl when he won a seat to Congress in 1956 and a teenager when he became governor in 1969. Earlier this year, Moore died at the age of 91, just one day after his daughter became West Virginia's first female U.S. senator -- and one of its most powerful politicians. Capito is now building on her fathe… Continue Reading
07.28.15
Senate Freshman Appropriators Seek Their Place at the Table
When four Republican freshmen were tapped to join the Senate Appropriations Committee this session, it was taken as a sign of the panel's waning appeal in a no-earmarks era. Senators used to wait years to join the committee and even longer to rise up the ranks. Four of the once-coveted seats - and even a subcommittee chairmanship - were extended to Steve Daines of Montana, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. Since then, the newcomers … Continue Reading
07.22.15
Capito calls on U.S. Senate to “seize opportunity” with long-term highway funding bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Debate could begin as soon as this week in the U.S. Senate on a proposed six-year federal highway funding bill that includes three years of guaranteed funding for the Highway Trust Fund. The proposal comes ahead of the expiration of the latest short-term extension for federal road funding on July 31. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) announced a tentative agreement, struck with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California,) the ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate En… Continue Reading
07.17.15
WV Sen. Shelley Moore Capito votes for bill to expand rural broadband
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., voted in favor of the agriculture appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016, which the senators said provides funding for a number of West Virginia priorities, including rural broadband expansion and free and reduced-price school lunches. The FY2016 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill would invest in food and drug safety and provide essential nutrition assistance for children, families and… Continue Reading
07.16.15
Manchin, Capito vote to rewrite decades-old education law
U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito voted Thursday to overhaul a decades-old education law that promises to roll back federal oversight of schools and shift more control to states and local-level educators. Manchin and Capito applauded the bipartisan effort to pass the Every Child Achieves Act, which serves as a rewrite of the outdated and now-maligned George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind Act, which required states to develop rigorous academic standards and student assessments th… Continue Reading
07.09.15
Capito marks six months in Senate
HUNTINGTON - First-term U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., talked about the energy industry's fight against tightened Environmental Protection Agency regulations and the importance of a long-term solution for the nation's Highway Trust Fund during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. Capito, West Virginia's first female senator, reflected on her first six months in office and said she believes open dialogue is moving legislation at a faster pace in the Republican-controlled Senat… Continue Reading
07.09.15
Capito discusses first six months
MARTINSBURG - Monday was Shelley Moore Capito's six-month anniversary as a member of the U.S. Senate. "I'm extremely excited at my six-month mark," Capito, R-W.Va., told reporters Wednesday during a conference call. "We've settled into our main office. There are a lot of bright faces working for West Virginia and for me." Capito was elected during last year's general election by an overwhelming majority to become the first female U.S. senator from West Virginia, and the first Republican se… Continue Reading
07.08.15
Capito marks 6 months in Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito marked her first six months in the Senate Wednesday. "My voice is much more focused. It's louder and I think do have a much greater ability to make an impact," Capito said. In the last six months the Senate has started to work again according to Capito. "We made a major fix to a health care issue. We've also moved forward in passing the first balanced budget in over nine years," she said. "We're trying to find bipartisan solutions to things… Continue Reading
07.08.15
Editorial: US Senate returns as a deliberative body
It was known as the "world's greatest deliberative body," a phrase believed to have been coined by former President James Buchanan in 1867 of the U.S. Senate's reputation for deep, intelligent and impassioned debate. Of course, that was back in the days after legendary orators like senators Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Unfortunately, after Nevada Democrat Harry Reid became majority leader in 2007, the U.S. Senate was anything but great or deliberative. Fortunately, voters sent a majority of… Continue Reading
07.08.15
Capito discusses accomplishments six months into Senate
Celebrating her first six months in the U.S. Senate, Shelley Moore Capito hosted aconference call with reporters on Wednesday to provide a recap of her time and accomplishments in the chamber. Citing the passage of several bipartisan bills, the junior senator said the early months of the year have provided clarity on a number of issues ranging from health care to the federal budget. "We made a major fix to a health care issue," said Capito, R-W.Va., referring to the passage of the Medicare Acc… Continue Reading
06.29.15
W.Va. Officials Applaud Supreme Court Ruling Against EPA's Mercury/Air Toxics Standards
The Supreme Court has ruled against federal regulators' attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. The rules began to take effect in April, but the court said by a 5-4 vote this week that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to take their cost into account when the agency first decided to regulate the toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired plants. The challenge was brought by industry groups and 21 states. Writing for the court, Justice Anton… Continue Reading
06.23.15
Capito looks at Clean Power Plan effects on families and businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed "Clean Power Plan" will greatly impact businesses, rural communities and families nationwide, according to Paul Cicio, president of Industrial Energy Consumers of America. "We know, including the EPA knows, there's costs. The EPA does not want to hurt people by higher energy costs, but this rule will," said Cicio, during a Tuesday hearing chaired by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), in a continued effort to rollback th… Continue Reading
06.22.15
Senate to review EPA’s emission regulation plan, GOP counter-act
A U.S. Senate clean air panel on Tuesday will examine the Obama administration's controversial Clean Power Plan and Republican efforts to block its proposed regulations on coal-fired power plants. The panel, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. In addition to reviewing proposed regulations, the panel will discuss a bill Capito introduced last month that would not only block the Environmental Protection Agency's Clea… Continue Reading
06.20.15
Capito plans statewide listening tour
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. on Friday announced the initial schedule for her statewide "Capito Connect" listening tour in West Virginia. As part of the Capito Connect Plan announced last month, Capito urged West Virginians to attend a listening session, and share their comments and suggestions for improving broadband access in the Mountain State. "Equipping our state with the broadband infrastructure needed to compete and thrive in today's economy is one o… Continue Reading
06.20.15
Capito plans statewide listening tour
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. on Friday announced the initial schedule for her statewide "Capito Connect" listening tour in West Virginia. As part of the Capito Connect Plan announced last month, Capito urged West Virginians to attend a listening session, and share their comments and suggestions for improving broadband access in the Mountain State. "Equipping our state with the broadband infrastructure needed to compete and thrive in today's economy is one o… Continue Reading
06.19.15
Editorial: Digital Divide
Editor's note: The Register-Herald's parent company, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., has papers all over the United States. Each Friday, this space will be dedicated to what one of those papers thinks about the issues facing their communities. We have seen a lot of progress in recent years when it comes to closing the so-called digital divide in rural America, and specifically in the coalfields of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. But there are still areas in our region and acro… Continue Reading
06.10.15
Capito Connect plan could be exactly what Preston, rural W.Va. needs
Two weeks ago U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) unveiled her bold high-speed Internet/broadband initiative called the Capito Connect Plan. In it she layed out a three-step approach to tackling the broadband challenge in West Virginia. The three steps are: understanding the benefits of a connected West Virginia; fostering collaboration between government and the private sector; and promoting economic growth through innovation. Senator Capito also launched what she and her staff are ca… Continue Reading
06.07.15
Editorial: Rural areas must push for broadband expansion
Some of our older readers might remember the days when cities had electricity, but many rural areas did not. From our perspective years later, that inequity may seem unimaginable or even unfair. But in the 1920s, it did not appear to be economically feasible to wire the nation and give every American the opportunity to flip a switch and see the lights come on. With less dense populations, power companies feared the initial infrastructure costs would never be recouped. It took public invest… Continue Reading
