In The News

The Biden administration’s top environmental regulator was in the hot seat Wednesday as Republican senators, in a preview of spending battles to come, questioned his request for more money for the Environmental Protection Agency in the president’s budget.Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee pressed EPA Administrator Michael Regan during an appearance before the panel about why the agency needs $12.1 billion for 2024 — an increase of roughly $2 billion, or 20% — when... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBOY) — West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R) highlighted several concerns during the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s questioning of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan over the agency’s proposed budget for FY 2024 on Wednesday.The budget totals $12.083 billion, marking a $1.9 billion or 19% increase over FY 2023, and calls for the agency to be able to hire just under 2,000 more employees.“Well, I think one of the issues... Read More

A bipartisan delegation that included Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., returned from a weekend trip to Mexico Monday after meeting face-to-face with Mexico President López Obrador.Capito has been an outspoken critic of how the southern border situation is being handled by the Biden administration and by Mexico.“As a neighbor and as the top destination for U.S. travelers, Mexico’s security and stability has major implications for our own safety and prosperity,” Capito said after the trip. “The... Read More

WEST VIRGINIA (LOOTPRESS) – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority will be awarded $125,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). Specifically, the funding supports fair housing activities that educate the public and housing providers about equal opportunity in housing and compliance with the... Read More

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s budget blitz is beginning.The nation’s top federal health official is gearing up to defend President Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget in front of two key Senate committees today and other House panels next week. He’s likely to face criticism and tough questions from Republicans who have already hammered the administration over a recent Medicare Advantage proposal, its pandemic response and the fentanyl crisis.On the other side of the aisle,... Read More

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — A research project at West Virginia University was awarded $748,564Specifically, the funding will allow WVU to focus on a range of high-priority research needs, including deep space exploration, manufacturing in space, and advancements in technology and science that will also benefit humanity here on Earth, according to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who announced the funding on Monday.Sen. Joe Manchin also announced the funding which came from the National Aeronautics... Read More

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — A research project at West Virginia University was awarded $748,564Specifically, the funding will allow WVU to focus on a range of high-priority research needs, including deep space exploration, manufacturing in space, and advancements in technology and science that will also benefit humanity here on Earth, according to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who announced the funding on Monday.Sen. Joe Manchin also announced the funding which came from the National Aeronautics... Read More

ELKINS — The chief of the Elkins Police Department said officials are moving forward with the implementation of a street camera system that will utilize license plate reader technology in an effort to detect and prevent crime.“Today we did have all of our partners on site for the street camera project, with all the different entities that are helping out on that,” EPD Chief Travis Bennett told Elkins City Council during their most recent meeting.“Several representatives from the city are going... Read More

For those who like to believe the boilerplate arguments that Democrats are for protecting Social Security and Medicare while Republicans are for dismantling the key programs that provide a social safety net for millions of Americans, you might want to read up on proposed changes championed by the Biden administration.President Biden’s team has proposed two rules for the Medicare Advantage program. That is a health insurance option where a retiree receives benefits through a private... Read More

The Senate this week could vote on a resolution that seeks to overturn a Biden administration water regulation, following House passage earlier this month.Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the vice chair of the Republican conference, had initially said the measure would be voted on last week, but it never came to the floor for a vote. A GOP aide said the measure could receive a vote this week.The resolution, which the administration has said Biden would veto, would overturn a regulation that... Read More

West Virginia was one of 15 states selected to receive a $1 million, one-year Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) planning grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).In 2024, up to 10 of the 15 states selected will participate in the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration program and receive enhanced Medicaid reimbursement. The funding for the expansion of the CCBHC demonstration program was... Read More

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told U.S. lawmakers over the weekend that he would personally work with China to quell trans-Pacific shipments of fentanyl precursors that are processed into the deadly drug in Mexico, according to two of the American representatives.The commitment was made in a long meeting in Mexico City over the weekend, where López Obrador discussed an array of issues with a bipartisan group of eight senators and four House members.“One of the interesting parts... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC (LOOTPRESS) – This week, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), along with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-W.Va.-01), sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to ensure the protection of domestic hardwood plywood manufacturers, following concern that manufacturing in this sector has been disrupted in recent years due to China’s unfair import practices.“The Coalition’s five-member companies employ thousands... Read More

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she continues to be a strong supporter of Ukraine regardless of what some Republicans are saying, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Trump has already declared his candidacy for the GOP nomination to run for president in 2024, and DeSantis is expected to join the race.At the recent CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), Trump said he would end the war in one day and emphasized he had always “got along very well... Read More

CHARLESTON — While Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill Friday to address future solvency issues for the health insurance plan for public employees, the plan that provides healthcare for retired public workers could be facing cuts.President Joe Biden’s administration has proposed two rules for the Medicare Advantage program, a health insurance option where a private company contracts with Medicare to offer specific Medicare health plans.The first rule would require health insurance companies... Read More

CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $355,372 for West Virginia International Yeager Airport from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through the Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) Program.This funding was made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and supports erosion control and improved drainage on... Read More

The U.S. Comptroller General would be required to investigate the capacity of airlines to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters under bipartisan legislation introduced on March 14 by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).The Airline Operational Resiliency Act of 2023, S. 787, would ensure that Congress receives information about airlines’ operational investments, staffing levels and safety policies, mitigation strategies, and other resiliency planning, as well... Read More

CHARLESTON — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said a budget proposal for the next fiscal year from President Joe Biden is likely “dead on arrival” in Congress.Speaking during a virtual briefing with West Virginia reporters from her offices on Capitol Hill Thursday, Capito, R-W.Va., called Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2024 a stealth tax increase on small business owners while ignoring the military support or funding for the southern border.“The presidential budget is pretty much dead on arrival... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LOOTPRESS) – 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, today announced a total of $26,484,023 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funds for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Programs in West Virginia through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The HIDTA program supports Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies... Read More

CHARLESTON — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said a budget proposal for the next fiscal year from President Joe Biden is likely “dead on arrival” in Congress.Speaking during a virtual briefing with West Virginia reporters from her offices on Capitol Hill Thursday, Capito, R-W.Va., called Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2024 a stealth tax increase on small business owners while ignoring the military support or funding for the southern border.“The presidential budget is pretty much dead on arrival... Read More