In The News

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today will hold a closely watched hearing on speeding up the permitting process for energy projects. Committee Chair Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) plans to lay out his priorities for a permitting deal that would benefit clean-energy projects, according to a copy of his prepared remarks shared with The Climate 202. “I know we can build infrastructure and create economic opportunity while also protecting the air we breathe,... Read More

LOOKING ABROAD: Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) also introduced a bill Tuesday to raise the safety standards of FAA-certified aircraft maintenance and repair stations around the world to match those of the stations at home, including by requiring technicians to undergo background checks and drug and alcohol testing, and by subjecting foreign stations to surprise inspections. Almost identical legislation passed the House... Read More

LEWISBURG, WV (LOOTPRESS) – West Virginia’s two U.S. senators and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) touted the significance of osteopathic medicine in the Mountain State during a week devoted to promoting the profession. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito were among a group of legislators who introduced a resolution designating April 17-23, 2023, as National Osteopathic Medicine (NOM) Week, recognizing the service and dedication of Doctors of... Read More

President Biden’s choice to lead the Labor Department cleared the Senate Labor Committee on Wednesday, setting up a floor fight with Republicans that will be decided by vulnerable Democrats. In a party-line vote, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions backed Julie Su to serve as secretary of labor. Two moderate Republicans, Sens. Susan M. Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voted against Ms. Su despite being seen as swing votes. “She is extremely... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LOOTPRESS) – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced the Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act, legislation that seeks to level the playing field for foreign repair stations. There are nearly 1,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified maintenance and repair stations operating outside the United States. These stations service American aircraft, but many operate at a far lower safety standard than their... Read More

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday advanced the nominations of Joe Goffman to run the EPA's air office and David Uhlmann to head its enforcement division. The pair had faced difficulty moving forward last year when the Senate and committee were evenly split. But Democrats’ slim new majority will allow the long-stalled nominees to advance. Background: EPW last year deadlocked on Uhlmann in April and Goffman in November as committee... Read More

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia’s first methanol manufacturing plant is up and running in Institute. After touring the $250 million plant, state and local lawmakers seemed confident that U.S. Methanol will be successful at the Institute facility. The site is expected to provide 200,000 metric tons annually of toxic, highly flammable material to customers in West Virginia and surrounding states. “The most important thing for us is to run this plant safely and to... Read More

WASHINGTON (WV News) — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $99,412 for the EdVenture Group in Morgantown, W.Va. through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). “Finding innovative ways to prepare the next generation of West Virginia’s leaders is critical to our state’s future, and it’s great to see the Appalachian... Read More

On Tuesday, April 18, the U.S. Chamber hosted a gathering of influential voices in policy and business to elevate the critical need to reform America’s outdated permitting process—an endeavor at the core of our Permit America to Build initiative. Upon arrival, attendees entered a “maze” built adjacent to the event, where they had to navigate through several “roadblocks” highlighting the permitting challenges across various industries. A... Read More

POCAHONTAS COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $939,500 for the Upper Greenbrier River Watershed Fish Passage, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. “Overseeing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service in the Environment and Public Works Committee gives us an opportunity to identify areas across West... Read More

PARKERSBURG — A U.S. Senator from West Virginia was in Parkersburg on Monday touring a health facility and a farming operation. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., visited Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital and the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Riverhawk Farm to see how both operations work and what support she could provide in Washington, D.C. Encompass Health Rehabilitation helps patients recover from serious brain injuries and other complex neurological... Read More

The Biden administration’s push to speed up the process of getting more electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads is drawing sharp criticism from both West Virginia U.S. senators. Proposed new auto pollution limits through the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) would require that about two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the nation to be electric by 2032. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., called the proposed new standards “misguided,” not reflecting some realities of the... Read More

More and more students are turning away from college and toward apprenticeships. Today, the nation’s colleges and universities enroll about 15 million undergraduate students, while companies employ about 800,000 apprentices. But federal data shows that in the past decade college enrollment has declined by about 15%, while the number of apprentices has increased by more than 50%. Apprenticeship programs are increasing in both number and variety, Robert Lerman, a labor economist at the Urban... Read More

WEIRTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Weirton, once the epicenter of West Virginia’s steel industry, is on the verge of beginning a project that developers say will attract billions of dollars in private investment and ultimately create thousands of new jobs. Officials with the Frontier Group of Companies, the developers behind the planned Weirton Frontier Crossing development, recently celebrated news they had received $1.5 million in congressionally directed spending thanks to U.S. Sens.... Read More

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - US Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R - W.Va.) visited West Virginia University at Parkersburg on April 24. Capito met with WVUP’s President and took a tour of Riverhawk Farm. WVUP operates the farm, where students in its agriculture program help grow potatoes sold to the West Virginia Potato Chip Company, which makes Mister Bee Chips. Senator Capito said she was pleased with the agricultural work she saw at WVUP. “There’s a real focus on American... Read More

West Virginia dignitaries gathered in Institute on Monday to formally christen the US Methanol plant now in service there, which they called the first of its kind in the state. According to company officials, the $250 million plant is now operating at about 95% capacity with 54 employees and has a goal of employing 60 total when it reaches full capacity “later this year.” Sixty percent of its current employees are local. Dubbed “Liberty One,” the plant that now stands in... Read More

Two bills dealing with the nation’s recycling and composting infrastructure have been reintroduced to Congress for a second year, drawing praise from several industry organizations.  The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 were reintroduced on bipartisan lines by Democratic Senator Tom Carper, Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Republican Senator John Boozman.  Last year, both... Read More

A natural gas pipeline under construction in Appalachia got the thumbs up from a Biden administration official. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week in support of fast approval on any further action on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The 300-mile pipeline would transport 2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas from northern West Virginia to the mid-Atlantic. It’s currently held up in federal court. The Fourth U.S. Circuit... Read More

INSTITUTE, W.Va— A project that has been in the works for around six years now, the methanol manufacturing facility in Kanawha County is finally complete, and it’s the first of its kind to get established in the Mountain State. Governor Jim Justice, Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, among other West Virginia and U.S representatives joined officials from KKCG, a Czech Republic and Switzerland-based investment and innovation company to recognize the official opening of US... Read More

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (WV News) — West Virginia officials attended a ceremony Monday celebrating the state’s first methanol production facility. US Methanol have invested more than $250 million into its Liberty Once facility in the Institute Industrial Complex, which will employ 56 workers and produce around 200,000 metric tons of methanol annually. “US Methanol’s investment comes at an integral time for our country as we work to reach our petrochemical, energy and... Read More