Capito Highlights West Virginia Initiatives in Newly Released Appropriations Bills

WASHINTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today made a statement on the release of the Chairman’s Marks of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills. The 12 bills and reports that direct funding for the federal government did not undergo the regular appropriations process this summer. Instead, a stopgap funding measure was signed into law on September 30, 2020 to avoid a government shutdown through December 11, 2020.  Included in these marks is Senator Capito’s FY21 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

“The release of the bills today by the Appropriations Committee is a critical step in working towards completion of the FY21 funding process,” said Senator Capito. “Congress’s ability to pass all 12 appropriations bills last year makes me optimistic we can do so again. It is our crucial Congressional duty. As previous years, this legislation supports numerous important initiatives and programs in West Virginia that I have prioritized since my first day in the Senate. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the committee, and then in the full Senate to ensure we deliver for the state and the American people.”

In August 2019, with Senator Capito’s support, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. That legislation enabled Congress to set appropriations funding levels over the next two years and made it possible for the Senate Appropriations Committee to pass FY20 funding legislation and work towards doing the same for FY21.

Highlights of the Senate Chairman’s mark of the appropriation bills are listed but not limited to: 

• $400 million for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Broadband ReConnect program, which Senator Capito helped create and secured funds for in the past three budget cycles. If enacted, this year’s funding will total over $2 billion for the program since its creation.

• Both a $354 million increase for Alzheimer’s research through National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a $5 million increase for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research through the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act.

• Funding is maintained for both Community Health Centers, vital players in the state, and State Opioid Response (SOR) grants, with language Senator Capito authored enabling West Virginia to receive over $100 million since the establishment of the program in 2018.

• Also included is a three percent pay raise for our service members and language instructing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a study on security infrastructure at VA medical facilities.  

• Full funding is provided for Fossil Energy Research, supporting the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) in Morgantown as they work to create clean, affordable, and efficient energy production through engineering and supercomputing.

• Furthermore, the committee continued to fund competitive academic research opportunities, which institutions in the state are increasingly awarded for their unique interdisciplinary studies.  

• Additionally, $180 million was marked for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) a driver of economic development, workforce training, and entrepreneurial support in the region. Funding was maintained for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grants, an extremely competitive program West Virginia, which has received $80 million since 2018 and $100 million for the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS).

More information for the FY21 appropriations bills can be found here.

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