In The News

It’s hard to deny the effort underway in Washington, D.C., to change America’s role as a global energy giant.This effort has taken many forms. The latest push by some Democrats is to coerce banks to pull back funding to fossil-fuel companies through a process termed “de-banking.”One proponent of de-banking is Sarah Bloom Raskin. She is President Joe Biden’s pick to serve as vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board, a position that would give her authority over... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Thursday the Biden Administration made a “big misstep” in failing to send MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.“I do not understand the Biden Administration’s policy on this,” she said of the reversal of a plan to provide the jets from Poland for Ukrainian pilots who are already trained to fly them.Talk of sending the MIGs to Ukraine surfaced recently when the U.S. said it would “backfill” Poland’s MIGs if the... Read More

WASHINGTON — For the security of the nation and the world, the United States needs to be energy independent, but the policies of the Biden administration are prohibiting that, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said during a virtual press conference Thursday.Stopping construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and enacting a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands has increased the country’s reliance on foreign oil, Capito said in a speech on the Senate floor just... Read More

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and 35 of her Republican colleagues, are seeking a detailed listing from the Biden administration on how the first $6 trillion in pandemic relief funding has been spent.It’s a reasonable request, particularly considering that the administration is now asking Congress for another $30 billion in COVID-19 relief.The public has a right to know how these tax payer dollars are being spent. There should be a full and complete public disclosure of where... Read More

West Virginia lawmakers led the charge in Washington, D.C., to stop our country’s financial support of Russia through our use of their fossil fuels. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., sponsored the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act. U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., introduced similar legislation Monday in the U.S. House.President Joe Biden heard their calls and Tuesday announced a ban on Russian energy imports.Biden made a wise choice in listening to our... Read More

West Virginia lawmakers are leading the charge in Washington, D.C., to stop our country’s financial support of Russia through our use of their fossil fuels. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have sponsored the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act.U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., is working on similar legislation to be introduced in the House of Representatives.Good. If anyone is qualified to reassure nervous lawmakers our country CAN stand without fossil fuels... Read More

Republicans balked at the Biden administration’s request for billions more in pandemic funding, citing a lack of transparency to show Congress how the trillions of dollars already allocated to address COVID-19 have been spent.The U.S. government has used about $5 trillion in pandemic relief out of about $5.7 trillion in total aid appropriated by Congress since the onset of the pandemic. So far, slightly over $3.6 trillion has been paid out to recipients such as the... Read More

BERKELEY SPRINGS — The March meeting for the Region 9 Planning and Development Council, serving Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson counties, took place at the newly renovated Cacapon State Park Lodge.U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., attended the meeting in person to discuss broadband and infrastructure and made comments on the current situation with the Ukraine and Russia.“I think what is at the top of the mind for everybody is what is going on in the Ukraine, and the invasion by... Read More

LOGAN, W.Va. — Broadband expansion projects in Logan and Mingo counties are now full steam ahead or as recent funding will allow projects to be — full fiber ahead.$19.7 million is coming from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to expand broadband services in those two counties. The funding will support Logan and Mingo counties’ Fiber to the Premises project, which enables last-mile... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s U.S. senators are not committed to passing President Joe Biden’s agenda as presented during last week’s State of the Union address, but Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., recognize possible areas for congressional action.   Biden used the 62-minute speech to reinforce the United States’ opposition to Russia’s actions against Ukraine as well as push his domestic policy agenda,... Read More

U.S. senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito were among those who spoke today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who continues to ask for a range of help as his country remains under a Russian siege.“WV continues to support the free people of Ukraine,” Capito wrote on Twitter.West Virginia’s two senators participated on a teleconference call with almost 300 members of Congress and Zelensky.“It was an honor to hear directly from President Zelensky... Read More

Regardless of how horrific the bombardment of Ukraine is or how many innocent civilians are slaughtered, it remains unlikely the U.S. or any NATO country will use military force to intervene.Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said during a virtual press conference from her Washington office Thursday she sees no chance of military action.“It is horrifying to watch innocent people in a free country being overrun,” she said. “It’s like I am watching a movie from the 1940s.... Read More

Pres. Joe Biden wants more pandemic relief money, but Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has joined other GOP colleagues in asking how the first $6 trillion was spent.Biden is seeking another $30 billion for COVID-19 relief but senators are weary of the need, especially considering the lack of accountability for the trillions allocated during the past two years.The bulk of that money was given to states for various pandemic services and Capito said during a virtual press conference from her... Read More

Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., joined other colleagues in introducing a bipartisan bill on Thursday to end any oil imports from Russia coming into the United States.The Ban Russian Energy Imports Act would prohibit the importation of Russian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.But even with the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the White House once again on Thursday stuck to its guns on not imposing the... Read More

E&E DAILY | Top lawmakers on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are ramping up their focus on recycling and composting with two new bipartisan pieces of legislation.EPW Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined with another member, John Boozman (R-Ark.), to introduce the two bills yesterday.Both the "Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act" and the "Recycling and Composting Accountability Act" seek to bolster waste... Read More

WASHINGTON – More than 600,000 barrels of Russian oil are bought in America every day, and some lawmakers are pushing to Biden administration to make that stop.“We should stop buying over 600,000 barrels [of Russian oil] a day in America,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said earlier this week. “Can you believe that? No one knew that. No one paid attention to it. And that has to stop.”According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the number actually is about... Read More

A machine grooms a coal pile at Appalachian Power's Mountaineer Plant in Mason County, West Virginia.As Russia wages war on Ukraine, there are increasing calls to block imports of Russian energy. West Virginia could play a role, but there are challenges.U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says the state’s energy producers need a way to get coal and natural gas to coastal export terminals.Right now, she says, coal producers are coming up short on railcars to move coal for export. West Virginia... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to discuss the implementation of the federal infrastructure law.The hearing also provided an opportunity for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., to press Buttigieg about a memorandum about projects and using funds.President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November. Capito led early negotiations between the White... Read More

DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday said flatly that states are still able to spend their federal infrastructure dollars on highway expansions, despite a Federal Highway Administration memo saying states should prioritize fixing existing assets first.Buttigieg's answer came during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing where Republican senators repeatedly pressed him about the memo, including suggesting it was an attempt to circumvent the will of Congress when it enacted... Read More

Republican lawmakers sounded the alarm on Wednesday over the White House attempts to strong-arm state and local governments into spending infrastructure money on progressive pet initiatives.They accused Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg of crafting new byzantine rules and regulations governing how money from President Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package can be spent. The directives reflect Mr. Biden’s political interests, instead of those laid out... Read More