In The News

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. – Senator Shelley Moore Capito visited Harpers Ferry Morning to highlight all the ways she believes the National Park Service makes West Virginia shine -- but she also has some ideas on how to improve it. After a fire ripped through nine businesses last year in Harper's Ferry, the community is still recovering. Capito said, "when I was here a year ago about three or four days after it happened, we weren't really sure what was going to happen." Since the incident the... Read More

LANSING — On Tuesday, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., hosted Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai at Adventures on the Gorge in Lansing to draw attention to West Virginia’s broadband challenges. Sen. Capito and Commissioner Pai were joined by several local business owners and officials from Fayette County for a roundtable discussion about the importance of expanding broadband access to rural parts of the state. Several businesses in the area have struggled to attract... Read More

HUNTINGTON — Back from Cleveland where she spoke during the Republican National Convention, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is setting her focus on exploring the state she calls home. Capito, R-W.Va., made two stops in Huntington and one in Hurricane Thursday as she continued her statewide small-business tour. First, she visited with the Perry family and toured Heritage Farm Museum and Village in Huntington, a Smithsonian-affiliated living history museum dedicated to telling the story of... Read More

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is one of several prominent West Virginians who wants to see improved broadband access in the Mountain State. Yesterday, she toured parts of Fayette County with business owners, local leaders, and FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai to highlight the difficulties facing West Virginia’s economy while it remains near the bottom for residential access to broadband internet. The group also engaged in a round table discussion. “56 percent... Read More

LANSING — Business owners, residents and county officials met with Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Tuesday to share the frustrations they feel living, working and driving tourism in a state that ranks 48th in broadband accessibility. Just north of the New River Gorge Bridge, the image chosen for the official West Virginia State Quarter, Lansing is home to rafting companies and substantial residential development. But lack of... Read More

LANSING – A U.S. senator visited a popular attraction in our area today. Senator Shelley Moore Capito stopped by the Bridge Walk attraction this morning. The senator made the stop as a part of her small business tour. She brought along FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai to take in the sights on the bridge. Capito not only visited and met with the staff, she also put on a harness and walked the attraction. This was a very special trip for Capito, her father Governor Arch Moore, was integral in... Read More

Despite the political rhetoric we hear this election season, even some our region's biggest advocates for coal do not expect the industry to return to its glory years. Where coal once accounted for almost 60 percent of the electric power generation in the United States, today that figure is about 32 percent. Forecasters say that even if the U.S. Supreme Court finds unconstitutional the Clean Power Plan, which puts greater restrictions on coal-fired power plants, coal usage will continue to... Read More

WHEELING — Bringing high-speed internet access to even the most remote corners of West Virginia is crucial to rebuilding the state’s economy, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told a group of business leaders Thursday in Wheeling. Capito, R-W.Va., traveled around the Northern Panhandle Thursday, speaking with area leaders and community members in Wheeling and Marshall County. For her morning stop at the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, Capito touched on her opinions regarding West... Read More

To help children up to age 5 prepare for a successful academic experience, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $6.53 million in grants to Northern Panhandle Head Start Inc. Executive Director Cathy Williams said the Wheeling-based organization usually serves about 600 children in Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock counties. There are centers as far south as Jacksonburg and as far north as Newell. Parents within the district can send youngsters to head start free... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation that a member of West Virginia’s Congressional delegation characterized as “turning the tide” in the fight against drug addiction in the Mountain State and across the U.S. is packed with actions on multiple fronts. “There’s probably no issue that’s more challenging to our public health and public safety in our time than the drug crisis,” said 3rd District Congressman Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.). Of the passage of the... Read More

For the first time in more than a decade, Congress is considering a common sense, all-of-the-above energy bill that includes a renewed focus on clean-coal technology. Area lawmakers argue that the comprehensive legislation will lead to more jobs and revenue in energy-producing states like West Virginia and Virginia. The Senate’s Energy and Policy Modernization Act was advanced last week to a House-Senate conference committee.The bill includes several provisions that U.S. Senator Shelley... Read More

WASHINGTON — Congress sent President Barack Obama a compromise bill Wednesday aimed at curbing abuse of heroin and other drugs, a nationwide epidemic that kills more than 100 Americans every day. The overwhelming 92-2 Senate vote comes just days before the seven-week congressional break. The legislation, called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, creates grants and other programs aimed at addressing drug abuse, especially heroin and opioids, a crippling problem that claims... Read More

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is among five senators banding together to push for better internet access in underserved parts of the country. The Senate Broadband Caucus was scheduled to host its first meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, according to a news release from Capito's office. The caucus will focus on improving internet access for Americans, particularly in rural areas. Other members of the caucus include Sens. Angus King, I-Maine; Amy Klbuchar, D-Minn.; Heidi... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito joined with several Senate colleagues Tuesday to form the Senate Broadband Caucus, a group that hopes to expand broadband internet access to rural areas across the country. The group, started by five senators -- two Republicans, two Democrats and an independent -- does not have a specific legislative agenda, but will work to help coordinate federal efforts to expand broadband and come up with new ideas to do so. West Virginia ranks 48th in the nation in broadband... Read More

Five of the Senate's most prominent voices on rural issues are joining forces for a new caucus dedicated to bringing high-speed internet access to the country's underserved regions - and overcoming logjams that have long hindered progress on that front. Roughly 40 percent of Americans in rural areas still lack speedy web connections, according to the FCC, and the new Senate Broadband Caucus unveiled on Tuesday promises to focus more attention on remedying that "system of haves and have nots,"... Read More

MARTINSBURG – Local officials claim success with High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program which launched in June for Berkeley and Jefferson counties.Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said the program is important to combat heroin because "every person in the panhandle probably has experiences or knowledge of a personal event or person who's been lost to this.""I'm worried it's taking away a generation of West Virginians," Capito said. "We're seeing a lot of overdoses and deaths. We... Read More

A GOP senator is racing against the clock to pass a bill that would push back compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's strict smog rules, though it's not clear the Senate will move to pass it in an election year. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., chairwoman of the environment committee's clean air panel, is working to find time to markup the bill before the August recess, because she suspects nothing will get done in the fall. "My bill already passed the House. I think we will... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito announced $5.7 million in U.S. Dept. of Transportation funding for road work necessary in the wake of last week’s floods. The money was made available through the DOT’s Quick Release program to clear federal highways and perform other emergency work. “Last week’s thunderstorms devastated parts of central and southeastern West Virginia, destroying and severely damaging many roads, bridges and... Read More

The United Mine Workers union is praising an agreement in the U.S. Senate that may pave the way for action on legislation aimed at rescuing troubled union pension and retiree health-care plans that cover tens of thousands of retired miners and family members. UMW President Cecil Roberts said that he was encouraged by the agreement — secured with work by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. — but also called on Congress to move forward quickly with a vote on... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., along with U.S. Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Evan Jenkins, sent a letter to President Barack Obama to express their full support for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's new request to expand the major disaster declaration to include Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Pocahontas, Roane, Summers and Webster counties. In the letter, the delegation thanked the Obama Administration and FEMA for their quick response, and... Read More