OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said she believes the Build Back Better bill is reckless spending, and she's not going to vote to approve it as is.
The bill addresses subjects like universal childcare, affordable housing and climate control.
The bill, which will be addressed by the House this week, is about $2 trillion dollars.
Capito believes that's too much, especially with the current inflation.
“It's basically let's spend trillions of dollars and, oh, let's just put all this stuff in,” Capito said. “It was not evaluating the need and deciding what you're going to spend. There’re all kinds of tax increases in here. I know they say that's directed at those who make a lot of money. That goes down to every business, every individual.”
About $555 billion of this bill would go toward clean air initiatives.
Capito believes there's a way to get clean air and clean water, but those ways could be found through innovation and research rather than cutting off industries.
“We are a fossil energy rich state,” she said. “But there are ways through research and development and innovation to capture carbon on coal and natural gas. It is the baseline fuel of our energy sector, our chemical sector, our plastic sector. We can't turn our back on this, and we shouldn't.”
Capito said she doesn't want to sign off on policies that can harm the economic fabric of certain areas.
And while the House could vote on this plan later this week, Capito said there needs to be big changes in order to get her approval.
“I think it has to be reworked,” she said. “You see, obviously, senators, our own senator very active in trying to reshape it and make it better. So, we'll see if that can be done.”