Both of West Virginia’s U.S. senators are in key positions to aid the state’s energy industries.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was recently formally named chair of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Former Gov. Jim Justice has been assigned to serve on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Capito has served on the EPW committee since she was first elected to the Senate 2015 and has served as the committee’s ranking member for the past two congresses.
“It is an honor to serve as chairman of the EPW Committee, and I am deeply humbled by the trust my colleagues have placed in me to lead the Committee,” Capito said.
“EPW was among my first committee assignments when I was sworn into the U.S. Senate in 2015, and serving as ranking member for the past four years has provided me great experience with the issues within our jurisdiction and how to achieve bipartisan solutions. I am dedicated to getting things done and delivering for the American people.”
Capito is committed to promoting a “commonsense regulatory strategy” and protecting “affordable, reliable energy production; building the nation’s infrastructure; and encouraging economic development,” according to a press release.
“I am confident in the EPW Committee’s ability to work together in the upcoming Congress, continuing to be one of the most productive committees in the U.S. Senate,” she said. “Let’s get to work.”
Additionally, Capito is the No. 4 Republican in the Senate, having recently been elected to serve as Senate GOP Policy Committee chair.
“With me leading the policy issues and all of us working together, we’re going to have a united voice,” Capito said during a press conference following her election.
Justice, who was elected to succeed Sen. Joe Manchin, said he was pleased to be assigned to the committee Manchin previously chaired.
“Without any question, I really need to be on the Energy Committee,” Justice said. “That’s all there is to it, because I’ve got a wealth of knowledge in regard to energy.”
He and President-elect Donald Trump share the view that “energy is everything,” Justice said.
“If you solve the energy dilemma, it is everything — it solves inflation, it drives manufacturing — it does so many things that it’s off the chart,” he said. “We’ve got to raise revenue in this great country, and energy is the very thing that will drive revenue our way.”
Manchin and Capito each repeatedly backed efforts to overhaul the process of issuing federal permits for energy projects, a cause Justice has said he plans to champion as well.
“Absolutely, it will be a priority from my standpoint that we’ve got to have an energy policy,” Justice said. “I’m going to carry the banner as strong as I can possibly carry it — that’s for absolute dadgum sure.”
Numerous notable names from the state’s energy industry applauded Justice’s appointment to the Energy and Natural Resources committee.
“Gov. Jim Justice has been an energy leader in West Virginia and a strong oil and gas industry supporter,” said Rusty Hutson, co-founder and CEO of Diversified Energy. “He understands that we are energizing our country, providing a desperately needed energy source, and providing our national security.”
“Our industry could not get a stronger advocate for American energy, our energy industry, and our thousands of American employees than we have in Gov. Jim Justice,” said Kevin Ellis, regional senior vice president for Antero Resources.