Click here or the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito’s opening remarks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, delivered the following remarks at a committee business meeting. At the meeting, the committee considered the following items:
Ranking Member Capito’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
“Chairman Carper, thank you for your partnership in developing the water infrastructure bill we are voting on today.
“Only two months into this Congress, this committee is passing bipartisan, commonsense legislation through regular order.
“I look forward to the same path that we are working on now for our surface transportation reauthorization bill.
“I want to talk about the two nominees. I don’t think you will be surprised. I strongly support this legislation under consideration today, but I oppose the two nominees: Janet McCabe and Brenda Mallory.
“I do appreciate their willingness to serve, and I certainly don’t question their integrity.
“The problem is I have concerns about their policy vision as it relates to my state and our country.
“As the architect of the Clean Power Plan, Ms. McCabe has not shied away from her support for this overreaching policy.
“Just the opposite, Ms. McCabe has doubled down.
“In 2019, McCabe wrote an op-ed with Gina McCarthy and Joe Goffman, who is now running the Air Office at EPA.
“She supported rulemaking to ‘deepen and accelerate CO2 reductions…’ a continuation of policies beyond the Clean Power Plan.
“That’s right, in her opinion, the Clean Power Plan didn’t go far enough.
“West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey wrote a letter to Chairman Carper and me in opposition to Ms. McCabe’s nomination.
“As the Attorney General stated: ‘There is a right and wrong path, and a bipartisan rejection of this nomination is one of the ways that we can steer the right course going forward rather than return to the mistakes of the past.’
“I agree with our Attorney General.
“In 2019, my colleagues Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted against reinstating the Clean Power Plan.
“Opposition to the Clean Power Plan was and is bipartisan.
“And I expect policies that would be created by EPA under Janet McCabe’s leadership would also be rejected.
“I think a fresh start with a vision of achieving environmental goals while weighing impacts would be a better start. So, I can’t support Janet McCabe.
“I also cannot support Brenda Mallory. I appreciate her openness—we’ve had several conversations, as I’ve also have had with Ms. McCabe as well.
“Ms. Mallory has stood against long-overdue reforms of environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“She voiced outright opposition to the Trump administration’s NEPA rule, saying: ‘You almost don't have a choice but to remove the whole thing.’
“She has refused to commit to a presumptive two-year time limit for completing environmental impact statements.
“We simply cannot be content with an average of seven years to complete an environmental impact statement for a highway project.
“Most in Congress agree that the NEPA process needs significant improvement.
“The truth is there is broad support for NEPA reform.
“From State governors to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association to North America’s Building Trade Unions.
“Those who want to address our transportation backlogs, grow our economy, and secure financing know certainty and clarity are needed.
“As I have said before, if we want to Build Back Better, we have to be able to actually build.
“My opposition to Ms. McCabe and Ms. Mallory is based in a fundamental differences of opinion I have with them about the right direction for our country.
“Where I do agree with you, Mr. Chairman, is on the legislation we have in front of us today.
“Together, we can be an example for our nation of what bipartisan, thoughtful, and commonsense policies look like.
“During last week’s hearing, we heard from a panel of experts about challenges facing this country’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
“We also received testimony on solutions.
“I want to highlight just a couple of the themes I heard from our witnesses.
“First, continued and additional funding is necessary both for maintenance of existing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and for construction of new projects.
“That said, funding must be targeted so it reaches the communities with the greatest need and maximizes return on the taxpayer’s dollar.
“Second, investment in our nation’s water workforce is vital to ensuring the effectiveness and longevity of water infrastructure investments.
“I am pleased that bipartisan provisions in this bill that I have championed on these two issues are included.
“Also high in importance to me and included in the bill is funding for decentralized wastewater systems. So many rural communities rely on these septic systems.
“This bill also invests in the operational sustainability and physical resilience of our water systems.
“We address the growing challenges posed by cybersecurity vulnerabilities to our drinking water supplies.
“Today’s bipartisan package addresses these themes, and I urge approval by my colleagues.
“I also proudly support—and am a cosponsor of—S. 400, Senator Wicker’s bill to name the main Department of Transportation building in Washington, D.C. after a dedicated public servant, Mr. William T. Coleman, Jr.
“I urge my colleagues to oppose both of the nominees today and strongly support both of the bills.
“Thank you, Chairman.”
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