In The News

A measure enacting major nuclear regulatory reforms cleared the Senate on Tuesday, marking one of the few major regulatory overhauls to pass Congress before the November election. The Senate passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan manner, 88-2, a package of measures meant to strengthen the agency overseeing the nuclear sector, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and streamline the process of approving projects, especially for newer generations of advanced reactor technology. The legislative... Read More

The Senate passed a major piece of pro-nuclear energy legislation on Tuesday, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk. The legislature’s upper chamber passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act — a bill containing the text of the pro-nuclear ADVANCE Act — by a strong 88-2 bipartisan vote. The bill represents one of the most significant efforts undertaken in recent years by Congress to spur the country’s nuclear energy infrastructure and capacity, as well as a rare moment of consensus among... Read More

The West Virginia State Fire Academy’s National Junior Firefighter Camp had a visitor in Weston Monday. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore-Capito toured the academy and addressed campers. The Fire Academy is operated by West Virginia University Fire Service Extension and is host to the national camp, which started in 2006. The camp is used to encourage a new generation of volunteer firefighters and is the only one of its kind nationally. “The National Junior Firefighter Camp is incredibly unique, and... Read More

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy capacity, including by speeding permitting and creating new incentives for advanced nuclear reactor technologies. Expanding nuclear power has broad bipartisan support, with Democrats seeing it as critical to decarbonizing the power sector to fight climate change and Republicans viewing it as a way to ensure reliable electricity supply and create jobs. A version of the bill had already passed in the House of... Read More

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) and a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, recently joined a group of senators — led by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa — to introduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval in an attempt to strike down a Biden administration’s rule that Capito says is... Read More

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation that includes a bill to advance deployment of nuclear power led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and two Democratic colleagues. Capito’s bill is the ADVANCE Act: Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy. The act is included in S. 870, the Fire Grants and Safety Act, which passed the House 393-13 last month. It passed 88-2 on Tuesday and heads to the president’s desk for his signature. Speaking on the Senate floor before the... Read More

The Senate is poised to send a major energy bill to President Biden’s desk this week that could allow for more nuclear power to be built throughout the U.S. The bipartisan bill is seen as a win for the nuclear power industry, as it would make nuclear plants quicker and less expensive to build.  The legislation seeks to reduce fees for companies that are proposing to build nuclear reactors and establish a prize that aims to incentive nuclear deployment. It also seeks to speed up the process for... Read More

The State Fire Academy had a special visitor Monday as U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito stopped by to show her support for the students and see how their training is paying off. Capito, R-W.Va., said she was happy to visit and see the work being done at the academy. “We rely so much on our firefighters for so many things,” she said. “It’s not just house fires, but also chemical fires, fires on the road and all kinds of rescue missions.” Academy Director Mark Lambert said there was a lot of... Read More

For its 17th year, WVU Extension’s Junior Fire Camp kicked off over the weekend, bringing in 140 students from all over to the West Virginia Fire Academy in Weston with the goal of increasing the rate of firefighter participation nationwide. The Junior Fire Camp is a nationally recognized program for students ages 14 through 17, with only a few held throughout the country. During the week, students learn the techniques and requirements to fight fires, including ladders & truck company... Read More

The Biden administration quietly funneled $50 million in taxpayer funds earmarked for clean energy to two groups that oppose immigration enforcement.   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tapped the New York Immigration Coalition and New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice as partners to distribute $50 million of $3 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for environmental and climate block grants, the Wall Street Journal reported. Both groups’ missions have nothing to do... Read More

The Mountain Valley Pipeline entered service on Friday. The company said MVP had satisfied all applicable legal and regulatory requirements, including those of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s Consent Agreement. MVP also received all remaining approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “This is an important and long-awaited day for our nation and the millions of Americans who now have greater access to an abundant supply of domestic natural gas for... Read More

The Inflation Reduction Act is the political gift that keeps on giving—especially if you’re a lobby for progressive causes. We recently told you that the Environmental Protection Agency handed IRA money to an outfit backing anti-Israel protests. Turns out EPA is also funding groups that oppose immigration enforcement. That’s the latest discovery by West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito’s office, which is probing IRA spending. The law appropriated $3 billion for Environmental and Climate... Read More

With the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s third nominee on Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now has a full slate of five commissioners. In addition to Judy Chang, former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts, the new commissioners include former West Virginia Solicitor General Lindsay See and David Rosner, an energy industry analyst who served as an adviser to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., in Manchin’s role as chair of the Senate Energy and... Read More

The Mountain Valley Pipeline, which received final approval to operate earlier this week from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, began operations Friday transporting natural gas from northern West Virginia southeast to eastern markets. “After 10 years of hard work, unprecedented regulatory oversight, & billions of dollars into #WV, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is officially online,” U.S. Senator Joe Manchin posted on X. Manchin joined Tom Karam, executive chairman of Equitrans... Read More

The U.S. Senate confirmed three new nominees for the nation’s regulator of major energy projects, including West Virginia’s solicitor general who won a recent victory before the U.S. Supreme Court blocking a major environmental rule. On Wednesday, Senators approved of two nominations by President Joe Biden to the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Those approved nominations were Democrat David Rosner for a three-year term and Republican Lindsay See for a four-year term. Senators... Read More

WASHINGTON (WV News) — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., voted to confirm a native West Virginian to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday, but said she planned to oppose a nominee Thursday who is “anti-pipeline.” Former West Virginia Solicitor General Lindsay See was confirmed to the regulatory body by the U.S. Senate on an 83-12 vote. David Rosner was also confirmed Wednesday, and a vote on President Joe Biden’s third FERC nominee, Judy Chang, was slated for Thursday... Read More

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) led a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the Preserving JROTC Programs Act, legislation that would reduce the statutory enrollment requirement for JROTC programs from 100 to 50 students to prevent programs from shuttering. With the U.S. military facing a historic recruiting crisis, JROTC plays an increasingly important role in instilling values of service and civic participation in young people. According to U.S.... Read More

Since 1975, the “Pride of West Virginia” moniker has been bestowed upon the West Virginia University Marching Band. But the true pride of our beloved state — arguably its most famous and acclaimed son — was born 37 years earlier in small Chelyan, W.Va., in Kanawha County. On May 28, 1938, Jerome Allen West — known in his adult years as “Mr. Clutch,” “The Logo,” “Zeke from Cabin Creek” and more — came into this world, and over the ensuing 86 years he made just about every Mountaineer proud. West... Read More

A decorated area basketball coach said West Virginia lost its greatest hero on Wednesday with the passing of Jerry West. “I got a lump in my throat and my heart swelled up,” said former Williamstown girls basketball coach Fred Sauro, who retired in April after 54 years coaching, 38 at Williamstown, and a state record 557 victories. Sauro said West was his favorite player growing up and he remembers watching West and the West Virginia Mountaineers lose the 1959 National Championship game to... Read More

We join state and industry officials and thousands of natural gas workers who are hailing the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Developers are expected to begin moving natural gas from the Marcellus Shale Appalachian Basin now that federal regulatory agencies have signed off on the pipeline’s completion and deemed it ready for use. That approval came late Tuesday and is considered the final step in the decade-long project, which overcame numerous court challenges and opposition over... Read More