Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced three grants totaling $485,435 from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The funding will be used to improve broadband coverage through technical assistance and engineering studies in three different counties across the state of West Virginia. “High-speed internet service is essential in the 21st century,” Senator... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in requesting guidance from the Department of Treasury for the implementation of the carbon capture utilization and storage tax credit program. The senators were lead sponsors of the bipartisan FUTURE Act, which will encourage technological innovation in carbon capture utilization and storage while reducing carbon pollution. The... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.  –U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—as well as Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Congressmen David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and David Trone (D-Md.)—last night wrote to Verso’s interim CEO Leslie Lederer asking him to meet with the delegation before Luke paper mill operations cease on May 31, 2019. The members expressed their deep concern about the future of the mill, its workers, and the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $6,738,607 for the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Appalachian Council from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This funding will go to support Head Start programs across the state of West Virginia. “A good education opens a lot of doors in life,” Senator Capito... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Appropriations Committee, today announced $194,944 for the Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Access and Mobility Partnership Grants program. Funding will support access to mental and behavioral health care—including treatment for addiction—for seniors and the disadvantaged in southern West Virginia... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) introduced a resolution requesting a state funeral for the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient. There are only three living Medal of Honor recipients remaining from WWII, including West Virginia native and Iwo Jima veteran Woody Williams. This state funeral would not only recognize their individual service and sacrifice, but it would act as a final salute to the Greatest Generation... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Appropriations Committee, today announced $781,100 for West Virginia through the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding will support arts and music programs across the state and assist the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History with its statewide activities.“West Virginia has a rich cultural history filled with food, music, and kinds of beautiful works of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) yesterday reintroduced the bipartisan Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act to help close the rural-urban digital divide and expand access to broadband in rural parts of West Virginia, New Hampshire, and across the country. The bipartisan Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2019 directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a national standard for... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $2,036,921 for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The funding will be used for watershed pollution management efforts--such as watershed planning, monitoring measures, and best management practices (BMPs), as well as education and outreach programs in West... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Appropriations Committee, today announced $757,676 for West Virginia University (WVU) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Funding will support health research into the immune system and responses to bacterial pathogens. “Access to modern health care services informed by the best... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Appropriations Committee, today announced $750,000 over three years for West Virginia University (WVU) through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Funding will support research into the effect of solar activity on Earth and will help enhance WVU’s growing research capabilities in the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Brian Schatz (D- Hawai‘i), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.)—all members of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee—today introduced the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA), legislation to improve the accuracy of broadband coverage maps and better direct federal funds for broadband buildout. The bipartisan bill would require broadband providers to report data in a way that more... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Tom Carper (D-Del.) today introduced the PFAS Release Disclosure Act, legislation that would improve the availability of information related to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The bipartisan bill would provide a clear process for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify and share with the public and policymakers sources of PFAS emissions around the country,... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)—a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee—today voted during a committee markup to advance two pieces of legislation she recently introduced—the Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act and the Building Blocks of STEM Act. The committee approved both bills unanimously. “The [Senate Broadband Caucus] has been working hard to highlight the lack or the difference in... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), members of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today introduced the Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation that would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an enforceable standard under the Safe Drinking Water Act for per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. PFAS are a group of thousands of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) introduced the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act, legislation to improve the way patients receive care for mental illness in emergency departments. The bipartisan bill would establish a competitive grant program for emergency departments to adopt more collaborative and connected mental health care models and deploy new technology to better connect patients with... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—along with U.S. Representatives Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.)—introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill to support family caregivers across the country.“As someone who helped care for both of my parents who passed away following their battle with Alzheimer’s, I saw firsthand the emotional and physical... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Appropriations Committee, today announced $600,000 for West Virginia through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Funding comes through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program and will support planning for prevention and treatment efforts in rural communities across West Virginia.“West Virginia... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $2,225,000 for the Washington Pike Public Service District through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. This rural development investment will be used to upgrade and replace infrastructure that serves approximately 1,383 customers. The funding will help provide an emergency... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today hosted a Senate Broadband Caucus event to highlight the need for better, more accurate broadband coverage maps. In addition to opening remarks by Senator Capito, a co-chair and founder of the caucus, and fellow co-chairs Senators Angus King (I-Maine), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the event featured a panel discussion with public- and private-sector leaders on challenges and solutions related to... Read More