In The News

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

With her father’s Bible in hand and her husband, Charlie, at her side, Shelley Moore Capito took an oath on January 6 to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. The moment was a culmination of a lifetime of service and a continuation of her parents’ legacy. Capito is proud to be a Mountaineer. She chooses Charleston as her home over Washington, D.C., where other members of Congress reside, and every Friday, she returns home to her beloved mountains where she is surrounded by the... Read More

When the Environmental Protection Agency held hearings last year on its proposed regulations for coal-fired power plants, organizers skipped the areas that would be most affected by the new rules. Meetings were held in Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Kansas and Washington, D.C. Pittsburgh was the only location near eastern coal states, such as West Virginia and Kentucky. U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., asked about that last... Read More

MORGANTOWN — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., visited WV’s campus Friday, Feb. 20, to talk tax returns and make sure people know that some qualify for free assistance. The Free File program is a public-private partnership. Through the program, those who earn $60,000 or less can use brand-name tax preparation software products to file federal and state returns for free. West Virginia is one of 20 states, and the District of Columbia, that participate in the program. “In the... Read More

Federal lawmakers representing West Virginia traveled to the site of Monday’s massive oil train derailment and explosion to help residents and officials recover from the incident. Sen. Joe Manchin (D) and Rep. Evan Jenkins (R) said on Twitter that they went to Mount Carbon, where a train carrying more than 100 tank cars full of crude oil derailed and exploded Monday. The incident caused no deaths and only one person was injured. But hundreds of residents of two towns were evacuated, and... Read More

Capitol Hill adage: Freshman senators should be seen and not heard. That idea has been in decline for a while, and it was definitely not part of the orientation packet for the big GOP class of 2015. Less than six weeks into their new terms, the dozen newest Republican senators have quickly made a mark on Capitol Hill, both in front of the cameras and behind closed doors. Republican leaders have enlisted them to rebut President Obama and to try to break a logjam with the House GOP. One flashed... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., grew defensive about her home state when asking an administrator with the Environmental Protection Agency why the Mountain State was excluded from public hearings on climate rules. During a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, Janet McCabe, told Capito West Virginia was excluded from hearings on the EPA's proposed climate... Read More

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The preparation for luring a large company like Procter & Gamble began in 2012 when the Berkeley County Development Authority opted to expand the Tabler Station Industrial Park along I-81 to 600 acres. “There are plenty of sites all over the mid-Atlantic that will accommodate the average 50- to 100-acre industrial project, but there are very few that will accommodate a mega-manufacturer project,” executive director Stephen Christian told... Read More

The trend is alarming: sharp increases in illegal drugs flowing northward into the U.S. from Mexico. Since 2011, there has been a 50 percent increase in the volume of heroin seized by border officials, and a 105 percent increase in the volume of methamphetamine. The drugs that evade detection go on to infect American communities. Two U.S. senators, West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito and Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, would like the federal government do more to stem the tide. Capito, a... Read More

MARTINSBURG - U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has taken what she considers an "important first step" towards further addressing the nation and state's growing illegal drug problem - especially increasing heroin addiction and related overdose deaths. On Thursday, Capito joined with Sen, Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and introduced bipartisan legislation seeking to help combat heroin and methamphetamine trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border. Known as "The Stop Drugs at the Border Act of... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has introduced legislation she says will combat heroin andmethamphetamine trafficking between the United States and Mexico. The Stop the Drugs at the Border Act of 2015 was introduced Thursday. Capito, a Republican, joined with Sen. Joe Donnelley, D-Ind., to introduce the bill. The legislation includes a few key components, including requiring the Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy to respond to the increase in heroin and meth trafficking along the border, U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate passed the Keystone XL pipeline bill Thursday. The bipartisan bill would clear construction for the pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Both U.S. senators from West Virginia, Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, voted in favor of the bill. It passed 62-36. “I am so pleased that bipartisan legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline has finally passed in the Senate, especially after we had the opportunity to extensively debate... Read More

Despite significant strides to improve equality in business and education, women and minorities still lag significantly behind their white male colleagues in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Lawmakers and representatives from the technology industry gathered Monday on Capitol Hill to launch a new bipartisan caucus to address those issues head-on, encouraging more women and minorities to get into STEM fields and to promote equal opportunities for them. Just 3 percent of startups... Read More

Members of both chambers of Congress on Monday launched a bipartisan caucus aimed at getting more women, minorities and veterans into the tech sector. The eight leaders of the new Diversifying Technology Caucus said that the effort will work with the startup advocacy group Engine to push for greater inclusiveness and diversity in the industry, which has been criticized for being overly male, white and Asian-American. “If our country’s tech industry is going to stay at the... Read More

We’ve seen very little progress in recent years when it comes to the construction of the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway. Both projects remain absolutely critical to the future of southern West Virginia — and Mercer and McDowell counties in particular. Unfortunately, construction on the King Coal Highway has been largely stalled for several years now. Yes, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin did place the Bluefield segment of the King Coal Highway into the state’s six-year... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has announced that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., will serve as chair of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee. The subcommittee oversees Environmental Protection Agency regulations established under the Clean Air Act, including rules to curb carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. “I am honored to welcome Senator Shelley Capito to serve as the chairwoman of the... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, this week announced Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) will serve as the chairman of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee. The subcommittee oversees EPA regulations established under the Clean Air Act, including rules to curb carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. “I am honored to welcome Senator Shelley Capito (R-WV) to serve as the Chairwoman of the... Read More

West Virginia's delegation in Washington, D.C., had mixed reactions to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, but each representative tended to disagree with the President.Obama started off his speech talking about improvements he has helped make for the economy. He only mentioned the energy sector twice, noting the Keystone XL pipeline bill and lower gas prices."We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet," he said. "And today, America is... Read More