In The News

Work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) may resume by July 1. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said during a virtual press briefing Thursday she thinks the compromise deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that passed the House will also pass the Senate, and it includes provisions to speed up MVP construction. Not only will the compromise prevent a default, she said it will curtail spending “for the first time in many years,” “claw back”... Read More

CHARLESTON — Both of West Virginia’s U.S. Senators praised an update released earlier this week to the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband maps, calling it another step to ensuring federal broadband funding reaches unserved and underserved parts of the state. On Tuesday, the FCC announced an update to the National Broadband Map, adding an additional 1 million locations, including 330,000 new homes and businesses. The additions to the map now show more than 8.3 million... Read More

MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Timothy Kennedy, the suspect in a shooting that killed a West Virginia State Police trooper and injured another person in the Matewan area of Mingo County, is in custody late Friday night, according to West Virginia State Police. A West Virginia State Police trooper was fatally shot Friday afternoon in what appears to be an ambush-type situation in the Beech Creek area, WVSP and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said earlier. The governor identified the victim as Sgt.... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Reactions from across the state are pouring in following a deadly exchange of gunfire in Mingo County that killed West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard. Maynard, 37, originally from Belfry, Kentucky, was a 15-year veteran. He became a member of the State Police in October 2007, is married and is the father of two children, ages 9 and 13. Dozens of law enforcement officers escorted Maynard to the Medical Examiner's Office in Charleston from... Read More

A bipartisan bill proposed on May 30 by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) aims to help communities attract workers having the career skills that are most needed in their particular regions. “A strong workforce is an essential component to the success of our state,” Sen. Capito said. “I’m proud to put forward a bipartisan solution that incentivizes recent graduates to stay in West Virginia and fill vital workforce needs by cutting burdensome taxes.” The Workforce... Read More

The U.S. Senate passed a debt ceiling bill, addressing the issue just before the country would have defaulted on its debts. Senators voted 63-36 to pass the bill. Both senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, voted yes. The bill now goes to President Biden, who has said he will sign it.  Federal officials had said the United States would reach the x-date, representing the day the federal government runs out of means to pay its existing debts,... Read More

Legislation to boost development of nuclear technologies is heading to the U.S. Senate with “widespread bipartisan support.” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., introduced the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023, in March, and on Wednesday the bill passed out of the EPW (Environment and Public Works) Committee by a vote of 16-3. Capito, Ranking Member of that committee, said the bill would “help position the United... Read More

WASHINGTON (WV News) — A West Virginia company is one of eight that will receive federal funding for nuclear fusion energy production facilities. Tokamak Energy, Inc., a nuclear fusion energy technology company based in Bruceton Mills, and seven other firms will receive grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE has awarded $46 million across the eight firms to develop pilot fusion energy power plants, aiming to be complete in the next 5 to 10 years. The funding was announced Thursday... Read More

MORGANTOWN – Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told West Virginia reporters on Thursday that she believes the debt ceiling bill would pass the Senate. And work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline could begin by July 1. “We are not going to default on our national debt,” she said. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 suspends the debt ceiling for two years, imposes some spending limits and enables completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline that crosses West Virginia into Virginia. The bill... Read More

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — For years, West Virginia had among the worst cell phone and broadband service in the nation, but now that may change in a big way. And it could mean big money coming from Washington, D.C. For years the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been trying to get a handle on broadband and cell phone gaps in the United States. In part, due to rugged terrain, West Virginia often underperformed most states. Now, the newest FCC maps, indicate more than 271,000... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC (LOOTPRESS) — U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to help communities attract workers who possess career skills that are most needed in their regions. The legislation, known as the Workforce Development through Post-Graduation Scholarships Act, would mandate that scholarship recipients of post-graduation grant programs are not required to pay income taxes on awarded funding, similar to... Read More

WASHINGTON (WV News) — After the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to pass a bill to suspend the country’s debt limit, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., shared her support for the bill and intent to vote in favor of it once it reaches the Senate. Capito spoke about the bill — which would suspend the debt limit through Jan. 1 2025, thus preventing a default — during a press conference Thursday. She said that she believes the bill will be passed by the Senate,... Read More

WASHINGTON (WV News) — The developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline are “grateful” for the support of Washington leaders who led to the project being included in the debt ceiling deal, according to a spokesperson. Assurances for completing the natural gas pipeline project, which has faced numerous setbacks and delays since it was first announced nearly a decade ago, are a central component of the package negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House over the... Read More

WASHINGTON (WV News) — A bill that aims to promote continued and additional nuclear power capabilities in the United States has been advanced by a U.S. Senate committee. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023 passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a 16-3 vote Wednesday, according to a press release. The ADVANCE Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, including the committee’s ranking member,... Read More

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — 11 projects throughout West Virginia were awarded close to $11 million to help assess, clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. One of the projects in Morgantown that will reap the benefits is White Park. The funding for the project comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Program with $500,000 going towards cleaning up the park. Other awards include: $1,000,000 – West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection $968,438... Read More

CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS)– US Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Gary Peters (D-MI) reintroduced the Workforce Development through Post-Graduation Scholarships Act to help communities find workers and cut taxes for recent college graduates. According to Capito, this legislation would mandate that those with scholarships from post-graduation grant programs would not be required to pay income taxes on awarded funding, like traditional scholarships. The Act would: Exclude... Read More

After several attempts at expediting the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), state congressional leaders say they are satisfied with provisions in the new debt limit deal reached last weekend by Pres. Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that will get the project on a fast track. “After working with Speaker McCarthy and reiterating what completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline would mean for American jobs and domestic energy production, I am thrilled it is included in... Read More

A deal struck by President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to raise the debt limit includes expedited approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The text of proposed legislation resulting from the agreement to avert a default revealed Sunday evening includes a provision that would compel the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue all permits needed to finish construction of the pipeline within three weeks. The deal, which requires congressional approval, would prohibit... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBOY) — West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito joined a group of other Senate Republicans in criticizing a rule change at the U.S.-Mexico border that they say “will enable human smuggling and trafficking,” particularly that of children. In a letter addressed to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the group addressed “recent reports indicating that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will stop using ‘all... Read More

The highly-anticipated debt ceiling package House Republicans and President Biden announced on Sunday includes a provision fast-tracking a massive 303-mile West Virginia-to-Virginia natural gas pipeline project for approval. The unexpected carveout green-lighting the billion-dollar Mountain Valley Pipeline — which is 94% complete, but has been mired in a lengthy permitting process for years — was immediately cheered by West Virginia lawmakers who have touted the project's... Read More