In The News

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) has introduced a bill to speed up the pipeline approval process.  Capito's bill looks to reform the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's pipeline permitting process by pushing for more coordination between the federal and state agencies charged with approving them, and setting firm deadlines for permitting. The bill would allow simultaneous review between federal and state agencies considering a pipeline application, give pipeline applicants the option... Read More

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., are taking renewed and necessary steps to address the continued overreach of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The “Water Quality Protection Act” supported by Manchin, Capito, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., seeks to... Read More

The Obama administration's far-reaching plan to address climate change would cause job losses and lead to higher electricity prices and even power outages, attorneys general from two energy-producing states said Tuesday.  West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt told a Senate panel that the administration's plan to cut heat-trapping pollutants from coal-fired power plants would cause existing plants to retire early and prevent new ones from... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito will be introducing legislation next week to allow states to avoid the "devastating impacts" of the Environmental Protection Agency's power plant emission rules that are at the center of President Obama's climate change agenda. The West Virginia Republican briefly discussed the legislation during a Tuesday hearing she ran in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where she heads the clean air and nuclear safety panel. The hearing focused on the legal hurdles... Read More

As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit weighs whether to block U.S. EPA's proposed carbon limits for existing power plants, the legal tug of war is taking a road trip to Capitol Hill. West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's clean air subpanel, will head a hearing this week on the legal issues surrounding the so-called Clean Power Plan. Capito ran for the Senate promising to fight the Obama... Read More

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Next week, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, police and local officials will gather at the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office for a drug prevention summit, in an effort to lower the number of drug overdoses in the area. "Well we have a real problem in West Virginia and in the eastern panhandle most especially, with the rise in heroin overdoses drug-related poisonings," said Capito. According to the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violence Crime Task Force,... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., questioned Veterans Administration Secretary Robert McDonald about the plagued Community Based Outpatient Clinic at Maxwelton during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday. McDonald responded that many veterans facilities are "too old" and that HVAC systems need to be replaced; however, he said, the VA budget has been marked down by $1.4 billion, with the major construction portion "gutted by almost half." The CBOC, closed three times in the past... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The head of the federal Department of Transportation vows new rules are coming which will tighten up on the safe transportation of crude oil as well as other combustible materials across the United States.  Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Wednesday. “The reduction on the final rule, not only on these tank cars,... Read More

A measure to reform the Medicare physician payment system and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program passed the U.S. Senate almost unanimously. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito both voted in favor of the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015. The legislation permanently replaces the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate Formula and ensure seniors in need of outpatient rehabilitation services have access to affordable care. It... Read More

It’s the unthinkable crime that is nearly unknown to many law-abiding citizens. But human trafficking, unfortunately, is alive and well in the world, the United States and even West Virginia. “When I began to learn more about human trafficking and saw the statistics, I was shocked that this horrific industry was making a fortune right here in our own backyard,” U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., told a summit she hosted at West Liberty University in Wheeling last... Read More

Human trafficking, often making children and women serve as sex slaves, occurs right here in West Virginia and Ohio. As Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., points out, more needs to be done to prevent it. Local and state authorities play a major role in that, obviously. Often, it is they who make arrests after being tipped off to the presence of human trafficking in their communities. Such arrests often only nip at the periphery of human trafficking rings, however. Meanwhile, the kingpins remain... Read More

Female student-athletes are more likely to graduate college with fewer professional connections than their male counterparts, disadvantaging them before they even start their careers, says Bren Stevens, athletic director for the University of Charleston. Having made that observation with her own students, Stevens is hoping to connect female student-athletes at the University of Charleston and set them on a path to success that doesn’t necessarily depend on their athletic abilities. On... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito met with a number of U.S. military personnel from West Virginia when she visited the Middle East last week. “Our military is just awesome,” Capito said on MetroNews Talkline Monday. “Their professionalism, intellect, courage, it just strikes you. I wish every American could visit.” Capito traveled with a congressional delegate to Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq. She said it’s also not difficult... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has returned from a congressional delegation’s visit to Afghanistan and parts of the Middle East. The West Virginia Republican joined six other GOP senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on the trip that concluded Saturday. The senators met with U.S. troops, military officials and political leaders. Other countries on the trip included Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. Capito says she got to see firsthand the... Read More

No doubt many members of the U.S. Senate, sometimes referred to as the world's most exclusive club, have become acquainted with freshman Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., since she was sworn in just a few weeks ago. But they learned much more about her this week, when Capito delivered her maiden speech as a senator. Capito's speech, clearly written with great care, was splendid - at least, from the standpoint of West Virginians and people of like mind in other states. Capito paid appropriate... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., stepped into the limelight Tuesday, highlighting her new role as head of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Capitol complex and introducing herself on the floor with her maiden speech. “This is our first run at the show,” Capito said at the start of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, referring to herself and new ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “And I speak for myself, and I think I... Read More

The United States Senate has a long tradition of granting special attention to each new Senator for his or her first major speech on the floor. Yesterday, in her maiden speech, Senator Shelley Moore Capito advanced a worthy agenda for this state and the nation. “I have heard a clear and consistent message from West Virginians,” Capito said. The message: “Improve the economic opportunities for our state, stop the bickering and fight for our jobs.” Citing Route 35, the... Read More

The first woman to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate gave her inaugural floor speech today Tuesday, March 10. Energy policy was a big part of Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito’s address.  Capito said she will focus on improving the state’s roads, broadband access and health care for veterans and children during her time in the Senate. But during her 15-minute speech, U.S. energy policy became a real point of emphasis.  “We need an affordable, reliable... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito plans to use her first floor speech in the U.S. Senate to advocate for infrastructure improvements, health care programs for veterans and children and energy policies that are favorable for the state’s coal and natural gas industries. Capito, R-W.Va., is set to deliver her maiden speech at 11:30 a.m. today. The speech is a tradition for freshmen senators, who use it as an opportunity to detail some of the priorities they would like to tackle in Congress. In a... Read More

You might think that young women in college would be more likely to report sexual assaults than other women of the same age. Typically, they are more educated and should be more likely to know their rights and options. But just the opposite is true, according to recent study by the U.S. Department of Justice. Women ages 18-25, not surprisingly, have the highest rate of rape and sexual assault victimization of any age group. Sadly, most of those crimes are never reported, but students enrolled... Read More