CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — U.S Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., in the capital city Monday to deliver remarks to the West Virginia County Commissioners’ Association, spoke with Eyewitness News about a number of topics.
Anchor Jenifer McAndrews asked the senator how important it is for her office to keep in touch with county governments. She said it is important, and she has representatives at commission meetings every month.
“They are on the ground - boots on the ground,” Capito said. “They know the water projects, the broadband projects. They know how to secure their courthouses and take care of other public safety issues. It’s not just funding issues, but legislative issues.”
Capito said it's going to be an interesting two years coming up on in Washington, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy having such a slim majority. She believes McCarthy will be a great leader, but there are many issues to tackle.
“I still think it's going to be very difficult. We may end up doing a lot of oversight, hopefully controlling our spending and looking at some fiscal issues. So, it could be all the action is over on the House side. We just have so many challenges - immigration and other challenges - that we really need to face,” Capito said.
Capito also shared her thoughts on whether any form of meaningful overhaul to the nation’s immigration could be coming in from Washington.
“I don't think we'll go to immigration until the president gets serious about border security. Obviously, we had 240,000 people come across the border - a record number in December. It's usually a lower number in that month. But they're not serious about security - securing our border and deterring people from coming in. Until we do that, I don't think we can get a comprehensive infrastructure package,” Capito said.
Capito told Eyewitness News she expects to see come constraints in spending on Capitol Hill.
At the county commissioners' association meeting, she addressed several topics, including the expansion of broadband access and the amount of federal funding coming in to the state to be used for various projects.
The senator is now on her way to Washington, D.C., to get back to work. She expects a slow week, with nominations and committee assignments.