Shelley Moore Capito Story Archives - Page 2 of 40 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Capito Receives Award For Senate Support Of Public Broadcasting

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has received an award for her support of public broadcasting.

Capito accepted the Champion of Public Broadcasting Award from America’s Public Television Stations on Wednesday.

The two-term West Virginia Republican is the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that maintains federal funding for public broadcasting.

In another role on a Homeland Security subcommittee, Capito has supported funding for public broadcasting’s emergency communications services.

“Public broadcasting plays a significant role in our communities and helps inform Americans on what is happening around their state, our nation, and our world,” Capito said. “It certainly does in my state of West Virginia.”

The organization also presented Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee alongside Capito, with the same award.

The award is the highest given by the organization, to state and federal leaders who have made an extraordinary contribution to public television.

The organization presented Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Blumenauer founded and chaired the Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus.

Senators Protest Proposed Postal Service Changes In W.Va.

Near the end of 2023, it became clear that the U.S. Postal Service under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, was looking at making changes to the Charleston Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC).

A report issued on Jan. 31 confirmed those suspicions. The Mail Processing Facility Review’s (MPFR) initial findings for West Virginia can be viewed here. The report was released before the public had a chance to comment.

The initial findings recommend transitioning the Charleston P&DC into a Local Processing Center (LPC), which would result in a loss of jobs and possible service disruptions.

Earlier efforts by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., seemed to have no sway in protecting the jobs and work done at the center.

On Tuesday, Manchin and Capito submitted a joint letter to DeJoy to express their concerns about the report.

“The loss of the only P&DC in West Virginia would have a negative impact on our constituents and leave our state at a competitive disadvantage. Based on the information that has been provided to us, the full scope of potential impacts on West Virginia’s postal services. While we understand the need for USPS to improve operational efficiencies, this should not come at the cost of West Virginia jobs and disruptions to service standards,” the senators wrote in part.

“As USPS proceeds, we urge you to work with affected stakeholders, including relevant unions, state and federal representatives, and West Virginia customers, to address these outstanding concerns,” the senators continued. “In the case of career reassignments, we ask the Postal Service to address the needs of impacted employees. Finally, we ask for proactive communication with postal workers about the impact of this MPFR on their careers.”

Review WVPB’s previous reporting here.

Read the full letter below or here:

Dear Postmaster DeJoy,

We are writing to express our concerns regarding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)’s ongoing Mail Processing Facility Review (MPFR) of the Charleston Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) under the 10-year Delivering for America plan. As the MPFR’s recommendations are finalized, the Postal Service must do right by West Virginia: minimizing staffing reductions, addressing impacts to affected workers and proactively preventing any deterioration of service. The Charleston P&DC is the largest mail processing and distribution facility in the state, and we are pleased to see that USPS’ initial findings support keeping this critical facility open. However, we are disappointed to learn that the initial findings of the MPFR recommend a net reduction of jobs in West Virginia, and are concerned that the facility’s transition to a Local Processing Center (LPC) collocated with a Sorting and Delivery Center (S&DC) could result in service disruptions and negative effects on the local workforce. Further, we question whether USPS’ facility review truly shows that this is the best course of action, given the inconsistent and nonspecific answers that we and the public have received.

The loss of the only P&DC in West Virginia would have a negative impact on our constituents and leave our state at a competitive disadvantage. Based on the information that has been provided to us, the full scope of potential impacts on West Virginia’s postal services is unclear. While we understand the need for USPS to improve operational efficiencies, this should not come at the cost of West Virginia jobs and disruptions to service standards. We were proud to support the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 (PL 117-108) because we know the importance of USPS to West Virginia communities and ensuring the Postal Service meets the challenges and needs of our modern economy. As USPS modernizes this facility, we urge the Postal Service to ensure this process minimizes short- and long-term disruptions to mail service and delivery.

Due to these recent challenges, we are particularly concerned that the initial findings of the MPFR call for a net reduction of 24 craft and oone management positions. The initial findings also reference potential reassignments for career postal workers. We are also concerned about how USPS plans to prevent any service disruption during this transition period.

Furthermore, throughout the review process, USPS has not engaged with the public or postal workers openly and transparently. During the public review period, USPS held just one public meeting, which was initially scheduled during working hours on a weekday, only to be abruptly postponed four days before it was to be held and rescheduled for the evening of Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2024. In addition, despite identifying a potential reduction of 25 staff, we have yet to learn who will be affected, how USPS plans to relocate these workers within the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, or the cost of implementing the transition and staff relocation. As USPS proceeds, we urge you to work with affected stakeholders, including relevant unions, state and federal representatives, and West Virginia customers, to address these outstanding concerns. In the case of career reassignments, we ask the Postal Service to address the needs of impacted employees. Finally, we ask for proactive communication with postal workers about the impact of this MPFR on their careers.

We look forward to working together to ensure that USPS can continue to serve the people of West Virginia efficiently and effectively. We thank you for your attention to this matter.

New $3 Million Water Treatment Plant Slated For Berkeley County

Residents of Bunker Hill, an unincorporated community of Berkeley County, are slated to receive a new $3 million water pump through the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Berkeley County will soon receive a new water treatment plant, following a $3 million investment from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The new plant will service the unincorporated community of Bunker Hill. The current treatment plant there is 65 years old.

The Berkeley County Public Service Water District, which oversees the plant, has gained 4,000 new users in the last four years.

With West Virginia’s water infrastructure facing long-running issues tied to age and decreased funding, state officials have invested in water system upgrades for local communities in recent years.

This year alone, tens of millions of dollars have gone toward water projects across the state. The latest round of funding follows a federal spending request from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

In a press release Tuesday, Capito said she hoped the project would support population growth in the Eastern Panhandle county.

“As communities in Berkeley County continue to grow and develop, the need for additional clean water infrastructure is critical,” she said. “This funding is a step in the process of directing the resources that these communities need to provide clean water to the growing number of residents and businesses in the area.”

Capito Calls For Border Security, Clarifies Senate Votes

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., delivered a speech in Martinsburg calling for increased security at the U.S.-Mexico border and clarifying her recent votes on the Senate floor.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., renewed calls for border security Thursday during a speech in Martinsburg.

At a meeting of the Rotary Club of Martinsburg, Capito addressed her vote against a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate that would have added border security jobs and raised standards for asylum claims in the U.S.

These plans – coupled with foreign aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – were developed in a bill from a group of bipartisan lawmakers over several months.

But a bloc of Republicans voted against the bill, killing it on the Senate floor.

Capito said that immigration reform remains a central concern for her, but that she could not support the bill’s final draft.

According to Capito, lawmakers developed the bill in good faith. But she said “it was not a package that I thought would solve the problem, quite simply.”

Still, Capito said she has pushed fellow lawmakers to consider border security in later discussions.

“The number one problem that I hear about in this state, hands down, is the illegal immigration coming from the southern border,” she said.

When a new bill appeared on the Senate floor that allocated foreign aid without provisions for the U.S.-Mexico border, Capito said she was not fully satisfied.

“I kept saying we need amendments, we need to have border security, we need to have border security, and the end that got stripped out,” she said. “And the only option was to vote for foreign assistance.”

Ultimately, Capito voted in favor of the bill, which passed the Senate and requires a vote from the U.S. House of Delegates to become law.

Capito said she felt border security resources would have strengthened the bill. But she still saw value in supporting U.S. allies abroad and voted alongside 21 other Republicans.

Bolstering security in foreign countries would reduce the need for U.S. military intervention abroad in the future, she said.

During her speech, Capito also criticized President Joe Biden for what she sees as a lack of action on immigration and border security.

While the Biden administration played a part in negotiations for the bipartisan bill that failed in the Senate, Capito said the president still has not used enough of his authority to address immigration issues.

“There are things the president can do. You can turn people back to Mexico. You can do expedited removal. You can do asylum claims quicker,” she said. “This can all be done today, without any legislation.”

Cleveland Cliffs To Shutter Weirton Facility, Lay Off 900 Workers

The Cleveland-based company said an unfavorable ruling from the International Trade Commission was behind the move.

Steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs said Thursday it will idle its Weirton tinplate plant in April, putting 900 workers out of a job.

The Cleveland-based company said an unfavorable ruling from the International Trade Commission was behind the move.

Last year, Cleveland Cliffs and the United Steelworkers petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare unfair trade practices on foreign tin and chromium coated sheet steel products.

Commerce then imposed tariffs on four countries: Canada, China, South Korea and Germany. However, the International Trade Commission rejected the tariffs earlier this month.

Cleveland Cliffs said the plant’s workers would be offered opportunities to transfer or receive severance.

West Virginia’s U.S. senators reacted negatively to the Cleveland Cliffs announcement.

“While little consolation to the hardworking men and women facing this incredible loss – and to the Weirton community at large – I fought to sustain operations there since learning of Cleveland Cliffs’ and the United Steelworkers’ concerns with unfair trade practices last year,” said Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. “As I have said before, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s final decision announced in January demonstrated our government’s recognition of the damage these unfair trade practices have had on America’s domestic tin mill production and its workers.”

“Today’s announcement is a consequence of the International Trade Commission’s decision to turn a blind eye to nearly 1,000 hard-working employees right here in West Virginia in favor of illegally dumped and subsidized imports,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat. “Cleveland-Cliffs’ closure is an absolute injustice not only to American workers, but to the very principle of fair competition, and it will undoubtedly weaken our economic and national security.”

Capito Bill Would Overturn Biden’s Pause On LNG Export Approvals

Last month, the U.S. Energy Department said it would stop considering new applications for liquefied natural gas export terminals to countries with which the United States does not have a free trade agreement.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has a bill that would undo the Biden administration’s pause on approving new export terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Capito introduced the Natural Gas Export Expansion Act a year ago.

Last month, the U.S. Energy Department said it would stop considering new applications for LNG export terminals to countries with which the United States does not have a free trade agreement.

Capito opposes the policy but said it would be difficult to get her bill past the Democrats in the Senate, as well as President Joe Biden.

“So we’ll keep pushing the legislation, but the realities are as much as I’d like to see it, as a political reality, it would be very tough,” she said.

An Energy Department official testified in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday that LNG exports to U.S. allies would continue and already permitted export terminals would still get built.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., the chairman of the energy committee, wants the Biden administration to reverse the pause on new approvals.

The Energy Department projects that even with the pause, U.S. LNG exports will double by 2030.

According to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis Thursday, LNG demand is projected to decline in Europe and Asia.

Instead, the report said, the biggest buyers of additional LNG exports will be oil and gas companies and commodities traders.