In The News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency received positive marks from West Virginia senators this week, with one inviting him to the state to discuss issues related to Wood County communities. In a release from Trump’s transition team, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he believes Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has the right experience to be the next EPA administrator. “We both come from energy producing... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to offer a drastically different approach to the job. Scott Pruitt comes to the position having served as the Oklahoma Attorney General. Pruitt has been part of the multi-state team which has battled recent regulations from the federal agency like the Clean Power Plan. He faces confirmation in the Senate and U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin... Read More

Throughout the week Senator Shelley Moore Capito met with three of President-Elect Donald Trump's Cabinet Nominees, each of which she says will benefit the State of West Virginia. Capito says that Governor Rick Perry, who is the energy secretary nominee, understands the production and use of energy. In West Virginia, she says that energy production is one thing that the state needs to get up and moving again. She also met with nominee for EPA, Scott Pruitt. She says the Oklahoma Attorney... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has been added to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which handles many broadband issues. Capito received her committee assignments for the 115th Congress on Tuesday, according to a news release. Capito also will continue to serve on the Senate committees on Appropriations, Environment and Public Works, and Rules and Administration."From repealing burdensome EPA regulations to advancing critical infrastructure... Read More

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito will continue to serve on three Senate committees along with a new assignment of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. She will continue serving on the U.S. Senate Committees on Appropriations, Environment and Public Works, and Rules and Administration. Capito was chairwoman of the appropriation committee's legislative branch subcommittee during the 114th Congress and said she is expected to continue to lead an appropriations subcommittee in the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDTV) – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, the nominee for EPA administrator, met in Senator Capito’s office Wednesday to discuss EPA priorities in the Trump Administration and environmental policies that impact West Virginia. Senator Capito issued this statement following the meeting: “Today’s meeting was very productive and it underscored our shared commitment to reining in federal... Read More

One of four new GOP additions to the Senate Commerce Committee brings with her the goal of making high-speed internet available to more Americans, especially in rural areas. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined the committee in the 115th Congress that convened Jan. 3, Republican leaders announced. Capito has championed the cause of expanding broadband availability in underserved areas. Setting telecommunications policy is a pillar of the committee’s jurisdiction. Capito plans to... Read More

Most people don’t realize eating disorders are a severe problem affecting 30 million Americans (60,000 estimated in West Virginia). Victims include 20 million women and 10 million men. Teen girls are especially vulnerable because the culture pressures them to look slim — thus, some starve themselves obsessively. One report says: “Eating disorders result in about 7,000 deaths a year as of 2010, making them the mental illness with the highest mortality rate.”Sen. Shelley... Read More

The nation's lawmakers in Washington and President Obama earlier this month hailed the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act. They focused much of the fanfare on stepping up efforts to cure cancer and Alzheimer's disease, devoting resources to battling the opioid epidemic and improving access to mental health treatment. All of those are important elements of the act. The increase in resources to combat and prevent addiction to drugs is especially important for our region - one of the hardest-hit... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s top officials have high hopes for 2017 as both President-elect Donald Trump and Governor-elect Jim Justice prepare to take office. “I’m really excited about working with the Trump administration,” said U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). “We all are pledging to work with Governor-elect Justice and making sure that, again, that we’re moving forward on policies that are going to get people back to... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) says recent passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation will modernize water infrastructure and address flood prevention. “Of particular importance to West Virginia, this bill gives states authority and certainty when regulating coal ash, calls for a study of flood-risk management projects within the Kanawha River Basin, authorizes funding for the high hazard dams across West Virginia that are... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Friday night will mark six months since historic flood waters ripped through parts of central and southeastern West Virginia, washing away homes and claiming nearly two dozen lives. Not one West Virginian can say they don’t remember that devastating day on June 23, 2016, including U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). “West Virginia has had a really rough time,” she said. With the new year approaching, Capito said, “It should be our... Read More

The Stream Protection Rule, recently released by the Obama administration, is yet another indication that governing under President Barack Obama has been more about preening before constituency groups than actually accomplishing much for the public. Thrown into the mix in the last days of the Obama Administration, this new environmental rule is viewed with skepticism by many, including U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who has vowed to block its effects. “The Stream Protection Rule... Read More

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) won’t be alone in protesting the recently released final iteration of the Obama Administration’s Stream Protection Rule. “I joined with 22 other Senators to ask the Administration to please not move forward with any more rules and regulations as you are going out the door,” she said Monday morning on MetroNews “Talkline” with Hoppy Kercheval. “And obviously, that’s not what... Read More

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