Op-eds

For too long, bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. have ignored West Virginians while they make decisions that fundamentally reshaped our state’s economy and everyday way of life. As a candidate, President Biden promised that he would be a “President for All Americans.” I had hoped that President Biden would stay true to his word and steer us away from that harmful past. A year and a half into this administration, it is clear the president instead wants to double down on a... Read More

The United States has a permitting problem.At a time when energy and natural resource security is more important than ever, we need an all-of-the-above approach to unleash American energy. However, that will not be possible until the Biden administration supports our drillers, miners, and energy innovators with tools to help do their jobs. For now, the administration seems focused on the opposite — shutting down domestic production in the long term and placing ill-suited measures on a much... Read More

Our veterans deserve the best medical care that we can provide. That is one principle we can all agree on, even in these challenging times. But recent actions by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have put that principle into question, and that action has not gone unnoticed by the many constituents I have heard from on this issue, or by me.In March, the VA released its initial Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) recommendations, which were required as part of the 2018 VA MISSION Act. The... Read More

Our veterans deserve the best medical care that we can provide. That is one principle we can all agree on, even in these challenging times. But recent actions by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have put that principle into question, and that action has not gone unnoticed by the many constituents I have heard from on this issue, or by me.In March, the VA released its initial Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) recommendations, which were required as part of the 2018 VA MISSION Act. The... Read More

Our veterans deserve the best medical care that we can provide. That is one principle we can all agree on, even in these challenging times. But, recent actions by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have put that principle into question, and that action has not gone unnoticed by the many constituents I have heard from on this issue, or by me.In March, the VA released its initial Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) recommendations, which were required as part of the 2018 VA MISSION Act.... Read More

Our veterans deserve the best medical care that we can provide. That is one principle we can all agree on, even in these challenging times. But, recent actions by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have put that principle into question, and that action has not gone unnoticed by the many constituents I have heard from on this issue, or by me.In March, the VA released its initial Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) recommendations, which were required as part of the 2018 VA MISSION Act.... Read More

When the Biden administration announced on Day One that those claiming asylum at the southern border would no longer be forced to stay in Mexico until their court date, it signaled to the entire hemisphere the United States was taking a new, more lax approach to its stance on immigration.It began with phasing out that effective “Remain-in-Mexico” policy, which was later reinstated by court order, and has marched steadily on each day since. It continued with the reversal of... Read More

According to AAA, the average gas price in West Virginia today is $4.07. Some parts of the country are paying more than $5.00—or even more than $6.00!—per gallon of regular unleaded gas. As a country, we’ve surpassed the highest recorded average gas price ever.Unfortunately, this was all too predictable given the Biden administration’s domestic energy policy actions.On Day One of his presidency, President Biden managed to immediately kill thousands of union jobs and paralyze America’s energy... Read More

Many West Virginians suffered greatly—and unfairly—from a regulatory and cultural war on coal over the last 15 years. However, despite this war on coal, West Virginians have done as we've always done and displayed a tremendous amount of resiliency. The environmental extremists have been unable to enact the progressive Green New Deal, but they have discovered a new way to try and curtail coal and natural gas use: de-banking energy companies. Some administration officials want banks to... Read More

WASHINGTON – As we begin 2022, I wanted to share with you a key priority of mine in the U.S. Senate, and also, ask for your help.Access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet continues to be a problem for many West Virginians. It impacts everyone in our state: employers looking to expand their business, students completing assignments, and seniors seeking medical care through telehealth.More broadly, it impacts the future of West Virginia. Among other things, we cannot attract and... Read More

As we begin 2022, I wanted to share with you a key priority of mine in the U.S. Senate, and also, ask for your help.Access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet continues to be a problem for many West Virginians. It impacts everyone in our state: employers looking to expand their business, students completing assignments, and seniors seeking medical care through telehealth.More broadly, it impacts the future of West Virginia. Among other things, we cannot attract and retain businesses if we... Read More

As we begin 2022, I wanted to share with you a key priority of mine in the U.S. Senate, and also, ask for your help.Access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet continues to be a problem for many West Virginians. It impacts everyone in our state: employers looking to expand their business, students completing assignments, and seniors seeking medical care through telehealth.More broadly, it impacts the future of West Virginia. Among other things, we cannot attract and retain businesses if we... Read More

As we begin 2022, I wanted to share with you a key priority of mine in the U.S. Senate, and also, ask for your help.Access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet continues to be a problem for many West Virginians. It impacts everyone in our state: employers looking to expand their business, students completing assignments, and seniors seeking medical care through telehealth.More broadly, it impacts the future of West Virginia. Among other things, we cannot attract and retain businesses if we... Read More

As we begin 2022, I wanted to share with you a key priority of mine in the U.S. Senate, and also, ask for your help.Access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet continues to be a problem for many West Virginians. It impacts everyone in our state: employers looking to expand their business, students completing assignments, and seniors seeking medical care through telehealth.More broadly, it impacts the future of West Virginia. Among other things, we cannot attract and retain businesses if we... Read More

As we begin 2022, I wanted to share with you a key priority of mine in the U.S. Senate, and also, ask for your help.Access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet continues to be a problem for many West Virginians. It impacts everyone in our state: employers looking to expand their business, students completing assignments, and seniors seeking medical care through telehealth.More broadly, it impacts the future of West Virginia. Among other things, we cannot attract and retain businesses if we... Read More

We are at a critical moment in history.With the slimmest of majorities, Democrats haven’t been able to pass their wildly unpopular and dangerous agenda. As a result, they are considering using the nuclear option to eliminate the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for legislation. And, they are doing it under the guise of “protecting voting rights.”Make no mistake, this power grab is not about voting rights. Instead, it’s about advancing one party’s radical agenda.Even... Read More

We are at a critical moment in history.With the slimmest of majorities, Democrats haven’t been able to pass their wildly unpopular and dangerous agenda. As a result, they are considering using the nuclear option to eliminate the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for legislation. And, they are doing it under the guise of "protecting voting rights."Make no mistake, this power grab is not about voting rights. Instead, it’s about advancing one party’s radical agenda.Even... Read More

The United States passed grim milestone after grim milestone over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. People were forced to live in the shadows, exist in isolation and were oftentimes driven to the brink of despair.As a result, our nation passed a different, albeit equally heartbreaking milestone: a record number of Americans dying as a result of a drug overdose.Between April 2020 and April 2021, drugs – mostly synthetic opioids such as fentanyl – took the lives of more... Read More

The coronavirus vaccines developed under the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” are medical miracles, but the decision to get vaccinated should be a personal health choice. It shouldn’t be up to President Joe Biden.A year ago this week, Biden said of the COVID-19 vaccines, “I don’t think they should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand it to be mandatory.” Then he went back on his word, mandating vaccines for private sector... Read More

Across the Mountain State, we are in desperate need of infrastructure investments. More than 3,200 miles of highway and 1,545 bridges are in poor condition. At least 258,000 West Virginians have no broadband access. Thirty-two percent of trains and transit vehicles are beyond their useful lives.We rely on these poor roads and bridges to take us to and from home, work and school. The lack of reliable and affordable broadband access makes it difficult for our students to complete their homework,... Read More