In The News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The closure of the “homework gap” must be a priority in broadband development in the view of one the commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission.“For those students in households without broadband, just getting homework done is hard,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel during a Tuesday Capitol Hill event the U.S. Senate Broadband Caucus organized.She estimated seven in ten teachers across the U.S. are regularly assigning... Read More

CHARLESTON — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., thinks tax reform will be one of the key issues that help keep her party in power after the November mid-term election.“I’m going to keep talking about tax reform, and I bet everyone who voted for it will keep talking about it,” Capito said in an interview. “Now the people who voted against it? They don’t want to talk about it, because they know the good effects of it. I think you’ll see the Democrats try... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Senator Shelley Moore Capito is looking for West Virginians to share their stories on positive changes they're seeing across the state.On Thursday, Sen. Capito (R-WV) launched "Share Your Stories" a new initiative inviting West Virginians to share information on positive changes they've seen in their communities. These changes can be from efforts like tax reform or other solutions that could be implemented all over the state."From bigger paychecks and business... Read More

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators have introduced legislation to help boost hospitals’ resources in the fight against opioid addiction.The Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) in the Emergency Department Act would establish a demonstration program to test alternative pain management protocols to limit the use of opioids in hospital emergency departments. The legislation also provides grant funding to implement these programs.Following the completion of the program, the Secretary of... Read More

In case you missed it, a new survey by NFIB found a record number of the country’s small-business owners say now is a good time to expand.What makes that so interesting is that small-business owners are notoriously wary about spending money. You can’t blame them. Small-business owners usually aren’t sitting on piles of cash. Their life’s savings are tied up in their businesses. They’re not going to spend a penny unless they’re pretty sure they’ll make it... Read More

As much as we might hope and pray an easy answer could be found to preventing mass killings in our schools, it will not happen. Tackling the threat will require real, thoughtful effort.Good for U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and a bipartisan group of other lawmakers who have stopped talking and begun doing something to protect our children.Capito, R-W.Va., is among co-sponsors of the proposed Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018, or STOP. Their plan would... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a bipartisan group of 21 other senators on Monday announced support for a school safety bill in response to the Valentine's Day mass shooting at a Florida high school.The legislation funds school security improvements and invests in early intervention and prevention programs aimed at stopping school violence. But it does nothing to expand background checks or curb access to weapons — gun-control measures Marjory Stoneman... Read More

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has unanimously passed legislation to advance pediatric cancer research and child-focused cancer treatments.The Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act also aims to improve childhood cancer surveillance and provide resources for survivors and those impacted by childhood cancer.The bipartisan bill was written by U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., and was introduced... Read More

A bipartisan group of senators introduced new legislation on Tuesday that would create new restrictions on opioids and increase funding levels for grant programs to fight opioid abuse in anticipation of more funding coming next month.The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act 2.0 aims to complement legislation of the same name that was signed into law in July 2016. It would raise the funding authorization levels for CARA grant programs enacted that year to fight opioid abuse, and create new... Read More

Hundreds of jobs are expected to be shifted to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) facility in Clarksburg as part of the FBI Headquarters Consolidation Project.The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works held a hearing Wednesday morning to discuss that project with representatives of the FBI Finance Division and the General Services Administration (GSA) Public Buildings Service.“In the revised plan, there is a plan if consolidation occurs... Read More

CLARKSBURG — The field of biometrics — the study and identification of characteristics or information specific to one individual — has existed for more than 100 years.While speaking at Friday’s opening ceremony for the Department of Defenses’s new Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency, which is located on the FBI’s Clarksburg campus in the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Maj. Gen. David Glaser told a story about how the discipline... Read More

HUNTINGTON – Recently passed federal legislation is already benefiting small businesses, workers and their families, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told local leaders Wednesday.Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., spoke with small business owners and local leaders in Huntington during an invitation-only roundtable discussion.According to a news release, Capito said the discussion focused on how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefits, as well as other solutions that could... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Middle school students in Charleston are learning about the dangers of drugs and what to do about peer pressure before they enter high school.U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined Chad Napier with the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area during an assembly at John Adams Middle School Wednesday to talk to students about drug prevention.“I think the students know a lot more than what we think, but I think they need to know that they can... Read More

WASHINGTON – West Virginia has become the first state to receive federal funding to treat babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va.Through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal policy allows the West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services to fund centers like Lily's Place, where first lady Melania Trump visited in October to meet staff and newborn patients face to face."This designation will allow us to... Read More

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) introduced a bill on Tuesday aimed at promoting internet access in rural communities.The Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Act would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement a benchmark for rural internet access that is "reasonably comparable" to urban areas.“Now, more than ever, broadband is a powerful tool that students and businesses need to compete in a global digital economy,” Capito... Read More

The Trump administration approved a waiver Tuesday to allow West Virginia to offer treatment for newborns suffering from opioid withdrawal.West Virginia is the first state to get a waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to treat Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome through Medicaid. The state has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic, which federal data show killed more than 42,000 Americans in 2016. In 2016, 884 West Virginia residents died from an opioid overdose, according to the... Read More

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. told students at Wildwood Middle School Monday the importance of leadership and getting involved in the community, her journey to the Senate and important items currently facing the Senate.When asked why she decided to get into politics, she said the decision stemmed from her childhood.“I was raised in politics, and I grew up going to parades, listening to political talks and going around the table with my family talking about... Read More

While much has been said in recent weeks about the new federal tax overhaul bill, the one thing that ultimately matters to taxpayers is the level of additional take-home pay they will receive.According to the IRS, about 90 percent of all American workers should see bigger paychecks beginning this week. Those who have not yet seen an increase in take-home pay shouldn’t panic, as employers have until Feb. 15 to implement the new federal withholding guidelines.The amount of extra cash workers... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s public employees, not including teachers, will see at least $50 million more collectively in their paychecks in the coming year under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the federal tax overhaul, according to an analysis from the West Virginia Auditor’s Office.Starting last Friday, changes to tax withholding tables were in effect for state paychecks.Among the more than 40,000 state workers and employees of West Virginia University and Marshall... Read More

Much of the credit for a rejuvenated U.S. economy seems to be going to Congress and President Donald Trump for their efforts to reform the job-killing federal tax code. Indeed, news of the change seems to have been the catalyst for decisions by many companies to build new facilities and pay employees more.But an unseen tax, the cost of complying with unnecessarily burdensome regulations, is being reformed, too. Sometimes, all it takes is for someone to ask.On Jan. 9, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito,... Read More