WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee, today voted in favor of a procedural measure to move forward with consideration on four FY2020 government funding bills: the Department of Defense Appropriations Act; the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act; the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act; and the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act. The measure did not advance by a vote of 51 to 44.
 
“The bills we had hoped to proceed to today contain so many resources that would have such a positive impact on our national security and on the lives of West Virginians,” Senator Capito said. “I can point to any number of provisions that would have made a real difference in our state—from a pay increase for our troops and continued resources to fight the opioid epidemic to increases in fossil energy funding and support for the ethane storage hub and expanded broadband through the work of the Appalachian Regional Commission. The measures the Senate would have considered also include millions of dollars in research funds that would go to West Virginia’s institutions of higher learning, continue record levels of funding for Alzheimer’s research, and help combat childhood cancer. It’s a shame to see politics get in the way of moving forward with this critical process, but I will continue to advocate for the things that are important to West Virginia through these government funding bills.”
 
The FY2020 Department of Defense Appropriations Act:
  

  • Includes $694.9 billion, an increase of $20.5 billion above the FY2019 enacted level.
  • Supports a pay raise of 3.1 percent for our service members.

 
The bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee last week by a vote of 16 to 15 with Senator Capito’s support.
 
The FY2020 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act includes:
 

  • $800 million for Fossil Energy Research, an increase over the enacted level—including specific increases for the National Energy Technology Lab for facilities and research, continuing the investment Senator Capito was able to provide for the supercomputer Joule and to address deferred maintenance and a potential sensitive compartmented information facility and for the Computational Science and Engineering Center.
  • Language supportive of continued efforts for the Appalachian Storage Hub, including funding for the Title XVII Loan Program.

 
The bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee last week unanimously with Senator Capito’s support.
 
The FY2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act includes:
  

  • $55 billion to strengthen and advance the promotion of democracy and assistance to our allies.
  • Senator Capito-authored language encouraging the State Department to continue all training programs at Summit Point in the Eastern Panhandle.
  • $3.3 billion for assistance to Israel, including for the new embassy compound in Jerusalem.

 
The FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act includes funding to support:
  

  • Health research at National Institutes of Health (NIH).
  • Continued efforts to combat the opioid epidemic at an increase of $70 million over FY2019—including $1.5 billion for State Opioid Response (SOR) grants, maintaining the set-aside for highest impacted states.
  • An increase to the maximum Pell Grant award based on inflation, from $6,195 to $6,330.
  • The third year of support for the dislocated worker training initiative in Appalachia.
  • Youthbuild, Job Corps, and Apprenticeships.
  • The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
  • President Trump's HIV initiative.
  • Implementation of Senator Capito’s Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act, including $50 million at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Childhood Cancer Data Initiative.
  • Rural Health Care and Community Health Centers
  • $10 million for the Alzheimer's BOLD Initiative, which Senator Capito supported.
  • $5 million to study adverse childhood experiences at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as authorized in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
  • The NIH IDeA program, which has been critical to the research efforts at WVU and Marshall.
  • A $350 million increase for Alzheimer's disease research.

 

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