Op-eds

Across the Mountain State, we are in desperate need of infrastructure investments. More than 3,200 miles of highway and 1,545 bridges are in poor condition. At least 258,000 West Virginians have no broadband access. Thirty-two percent of trains and transit vehicles are beyond their useful lives.We rely on these poor roads and bridges to take us to and from home, work and school. The lack of reliable and affordable broadband access makes it difficult for our students to complete their homework,... Read More

Across the Mountain State, we are in desperate need of infrastructure investments. More than 3,200 miles of highway and 1,545 bridges are in poor condition. At least 258,000 West Virginians have no broadband access. Thirty-two percent of trains and transit vehicles are beyond their useful lives.We rely on these poor roads and bridges to take us to and from home, work and school. The lack of reliable and affordable broadband access makes it difficult for our students to complete their homework,... Read More

Across the Mountain State, we are in desperate need of infrastructure investments. More than 3,200 miles of highway and 1,545 bridges are in poor condition. At least 258,000 West Virginians have no broadband access. Thirty-two percent of trains and transit vehicles are beyond their useful lives.We rely on these poor roads and bridges to take us to and from home, work and school. The lack of reliable and affordable broadband access makes it difficult for our students to complete their homework,... Read More

Across the Mountain State, we are in desperate need of infrastructure investments. More than 3,200 miles of highway and 1,545 bridges are in poor condition. At least 258,000 West Virginians have no broadband access. Thirty-two percent of trains and transit vehicles are beyond their useful lives.We rely on these poor roads and bridges to take us to and from home, work and school. The lack of reliable and affordable broadband access makes it difficult for our students to complete their homework,... Read More

President Joe Biden has joined world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow to boast about what he calls his “historic” environmental agenda.Exactly how the U.S. will cut its 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030—as President Biden has already promised—remains to be seen. In a document submitted to the United Nations, the Biden administration stated that it had “conducted a... Read More

On August 18, President Biden sat down for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. He was asked directly if U.S. troops would stay in Afghanistan until every American who wanted to leave was able to do so.“Yes,” the president responded.As we found out just days later, our commander-in-chief broke his promise and left hundreds of Americans and thousands of our Afghan allies behind.They were stranded — despite what the White House unconscionably claims — left... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched the capacity of our country’s health system and prompted a re-examination of our public health infrastructure. It has also exacerbated the stark disparities in the delivery of health care and health outcomes for patients.Among these disparities are the health challenges disproportionately affecting those in rural America. A high quality health system is one in which those living in rural areas, including many parts of West Virginia, have the same... Read More

When I walk into our local Kroger in Charleston, like most everyone else, I usually bring with me a grocery list of items to buy. I grab the items I need and then head to the checkout line to pay for it.What I don’t do is set a random dollar amount I intend to spend, of someone else’s money, and then fill up my cart with various items just trying to reach my spending goal, not really caring at all about what exactly I just purchased.While this sounds like a backwards way of doing... Read More

Ronald Reagan famously said, “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.”While this can be applied to many examples of harmful overreach from Washington, D.C., it seems more pertinent now than ever given the latest partisan attempt to federalize one of America’s most sacred functions: our elections.Advocates claim this sweeping effort, which comes in the form of legislation ironically called the “For the... Read More

Infrastructure is on everyone’s mind these days.How do we define infrastructure?How much should we spend?How do we pay for it?These are some of the many questions that are on people’s minds, but the biggest question is, can Republicans and Democrats actually work together and cut a bipartisan infrastructure deal?This past week proves that the answer is a resounding yes.Last Thursday, the Senate passed the bipartisan Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA).As the top... Read More

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if the Appalachian region were an independent country, it would be the third-largest natural gas producer in the world. Job creation and economic growth through the natural gas industry cannot be overstated. It’s why I’ve pushed so hard to create a natural gas storage hub in West Virginia.Sadly, natural gas growth faces tremendous headwinds over the next four years.Despite calls for “unity,” in some of his first actions President Biden managed to... Read More

President Joe Biden has nominated an individual who has advocated and advanced views to the left of most of the country to be the third most senior person at the U.S. Department of Justice.Whether it’s decriminalizing drugs, eliminating qualified immunity, rolling back the Second Amendment, or defunding the police, Vanita Gupta has a long track record of promoting radical policies that do not align with West Virginia values.I have serious policy disagreements with her, and I believe that... Read More

Hundreds of children in overcrowded spaces. Looks of exasperation on the faces of those working on the ground. A porous border susceptible to trafficking of all kinds.These were some of the sights I witnessed during my recent trip to El Paso, Texas, to see the border crisis firsthand with a bipartisan group of senators, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the alarming numbers. Temporary housing facilities are averaging close to 300% and 400% capacity,... Read More

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if the Appalachian region were an independent country, it would be the third-largest natural gas producer in the world.Job creation and economic growth through the natural gas industry cannot be overstated.It’s why I’ve pushed so hard to create a natural gas storage hub in West Virginia.Sadly, natural gas growth faces tremendous headwinds over the next four years. Despite calls for “unity,” in some of his first actions, President Biden managed to kill... Read More

Playing a sport is rewarding, and can be a grind.The time spent at countless meets, matches and games pales in comparison to the days, months and years of preparation put in by athletes when no one is watching.This is true for men’s and women’s athletics alike.A mile an hour or two on a tennis serve, a half second in a 200m race, and an inch on a vertical jump in volleyball may not seem like much, but they can be the difference between winning and... Read More

Transportation infrastructure matters. It matters to our economy, our communities, our health and our safety.Our nation’s surface transportation system brings jobs and new opportunities, enables communities to grow, connects us to our friends and family, and joins all sectors of the economy to customers at home and abroad.That is why one of my top priorities as ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is to develop a bipartisan surface... Read More

We all know the history and we’ve heard the names in documentaries or read about them in the history books.Suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and so many others. Their deeds were certainly great, and the outcome, monumental.I’m constantly inspired by these women’s words and the images of their fight for equality in our democratic process.These suffragists and leaders paved the way for women to exercise the right to vote. This changed... Read More

The pandemic has hit West Virginia small businesses hard, hammering restaurants and coffee shops like The Black Dog Coffee Company in Shenandoah Junction. Concerned about continuing operations in the changing economic landscape, owners Jennifer and Brian Bircher received a financial lifeline from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).“The Payroll Protection Program (PPP), covering our payroll costs, has allowed us to use the revenue from our daily sales to pay local vendors who are... Read More

Improving West Virginia’s infrastructure is one of my top priorities.No project is more important to our state’s future than completing Corridor H. Once finished, that four-lane highway will link Interstate 79 with the Washington, D.C. area, creating tremendous opportunities for economic growth.Building a road in West Virginia is expensive and takes time, but the benefits to our state are well worth the costs. That is why I champion federal funding for Corridor H at every possible... Read More

Improving West Virginia’s infrastructure is one of my top priorities.When I was first elected to Congress, I joined the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and identified the construction of a four-lane U.S. Route 35 from Interstate 64 in Putnam County to the Ohio River in Mason County as my highest goal. That goal will soon become a reality.Today, I am joining West Virginia Secretary of Transportation Byrd White to examine progress on this vital link between the Kanawha... Read More