Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Capito’s floor speech.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, delivered remarks on the Senate floor highlighting the problems most affecting West Virginians and the solutions Republicans have to address them.
Senator Capito’s floor remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below:
“Mr./Madame President,
“A few weeks ago, the American people spoke loud and clear.
“They rejected the failed policies that we’ve been seeing through this current administration.
“But today, I rise to talk about the vision my Republican colleagues have for the future and the many solutions we are eager to get to work on that will help get our country back on track.
“But first things first. This newly-formed Republican Senate majority is ready to close the Biden-Harris chapter.
“It’s a chapter neither I, nor the people of West Virginia, want to revisit ever again.
“Soon, the Resolute Desk will change hands and the Senate—under the guidance of my friend and colleague, soon-to-be-Majority Leader John Thune—will get to work.
“And, we have the full support of President-elect Trump.
“The American public wants to see real action.
“Back home in my state of West Virginia, people have conveyed to me that they are ready for real representation: a government of, by, and for the people.
“Senate Republicans will deliver responsive solutions for the American people.
“The task ahead is this: unshackling the American economy, securing the border, unleashing American energy, reducing crime and lawlessness, and restoring American strength and deterrence on the world stage.
“These are the issues on which the voters placed their faith in us.
“I also believe that central to the mandate for new American leadership is the idea that people preferred their lives under President Trump. I know I did.
“So, as the Senate fulfills its responsibility to pass legislation that gets this country back on track, look no further than the previous Trump administration for the roadmap.
“Trump unleashed American energy production, rolling back burdensome permitting rules and red tape.
“Republicans slashed regulations that canceled pipelines. We erased barriers to new ones.
“America sits on the greatest treasure trove of natural resources in the world and a Republican-led energy policy will not squander it.
“West Virginia knows the difference between good and bad energy policy all too well.
“We are an energy state, meaning a sizeable chunk of the West Virginia economy comes from mining and drilling.
“The jobs that President Trump saved? Those are West Virginia jobs.
“We can get back to a cheaper, more secure, more reliable world by unleashing American energy once again.
“The Republican solution is America First Energy policies that can result in energy dominance and self-reliance.
“No more depending on fuel from dictators who hate America. No more reliance on ‘green’ energy from Chinese Communist Party-backed supply chains.
“It’ll take an all-of-the-above approach, including opening up projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline so we can deliver needed energy to markets, promoting carbon capture and sequestration to use our vast coal resources, nuclear energy, and renewables as the market sees fit.
“In a few months, I will be the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
“I’m excited for this opportunity and I cannot stress enough how important these items are to the Republican agenda.
“My Senate Republican colleagues and I are prepared to bring forward legislative solutions to help fuel American growth.
“I hope our Democrat colleagues will join us in moving these solutions forward in the next Congress.
“On the economy, residents across my state, and the entire country, are still reeling from elevated costs on all things from housing, energy, food, and other every-day essential items.
“Personal finances are still stretched so thin right now. West Virginia families are spending, on average, an extra $903 a month, or more than $25,357 due to inflation since January 2021.
“The plan to get the American economy back on track is the tried-and-true formula of energy dominance, repealing burdensome regulations, and lower taxes.
“It’s simple. You should keep more of your paycheck and the government should stay out of the way.
“I’m looking forward to taking up legislation proposed by me and my Senate colleagues towards these ends, including an extension and reauthorization of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act we passed in 2017, including some of the most pro-growth tax reform policies Americans have seen–, as well as other potential budget solutions.
“Crime and the border go hand in hand.
“Under President Trump’s first administration, both were managed. Now they aren’t.
“Look no further than the example of the addiction crisis, a direct product of lawlessness and the free rein of Mexican cartels.
“Just a few days ago, on Friday, I convened state and community leaders in West Virginia for a summit focused on combatting the addiction crisis.
“The correlation between the wide-open borders and the raging drug crisis was mentioned repeatedly, especially during the presentation and discussion with our law enforcement panel.
“Here is the fentanyl crisis by the numbers: [Customs and Border Protection] seized 27,000 pounds of fentanyl in Fiscal Year 2023.
“That’s only a fraction of the real amount that crosses our border.
“Of the over 107,000 drug overdose deaths that occurred in the United States in 2023, almost 75,000 of them involved fentanyl.
“This out-of-control drug trafficking must end.
“It’s a lawless scourge that takes more West Virginians per capita than any other state.
“In sheer numbers, the death toll and calamity eclipses any other modern drug epidemic.
“We know what works because the rise in fentanyl overdose deaths stalled under Trump.
“Bottom line: We have to close the border and end the lawlessness.
“Yet again, Republicans have the roadmap. We did it once and we’ll do it again.
“A heightened sense and appreciation for law and order from the border to the inner cities to back at home in West Virginia will feature prominently in the next Republican government.
“President Trump presided over a relative peace unmatched in modern history.
“After crushing ISIS, the Trump-led world order went largely untested by the world’s dictators and demagogues.
“The same cannot be said of the world today.
“China manipulates the Biden Administration every day while burrowing deep into our critical infrastructure and growing its military, Iran and its terrorist proxies wage war against our ally, Israel, and, of course, the ongoing war in Ukraine. This is the world under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch.
“In what seems like the most trying confluence of geopolitical struggles in a generation, America must lead through strength.
“Indecision and weakness have emboldened our adversaries.
“Republicans can start the next Congress by restoring deterrence against Iran and reinstating Trump’s maximum pressure campaign.
“We should cut off Iran’s funding sources so they can’t continue to support brazen attacks against U.S. servicemembers.
“Last week, the Houthis fired at least eight drones, five ballistic missiles, and three anti-ship cruise missiles against U.S. Navy ships.
“It was barely even news because this is now just a regular occurrence under this current administration.
“This administration apparently has no clue that our troops are under near-constant attack on land and at sea, since our current Vice President thinks we don’t have any U.S. forces in combat.
“America must protect our service members and put Iran on notice that their weapons-dealing business is over.
“More broadly, a unified Republican government will be prepared to restore our military strength, refocus our Department of Defense on lethality, and restock our critical munitions.
“I’ve detailed but a few Republican solutions to the dangerous, costly, disordered world that the next government inherits.
“It’s a challenge fit for a strong government and even stronger leadership, and it’s good we’ll have Republicans in charge.
“Until then, I suggest the best course of action this body can take is to work diligently on the outstanding priorities we have in front of us.
“I’m talking about the National Defense Authorization Act, the government funding bill, and the Farm Bill.
“That way, the next Congress can stand at full attention ready to advance policies to make our country a safer, stronger, and more resilient place.
“With that, I yield the floor.”
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