Water and wastewater infrastructure in Berkeley County was the subject of a tour Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan took Monday.
Water and wastewater infrastructure in Berkeley County was the subject of a tour Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan took Monday.
Capito is the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. She and Regan toured the South Berkeley Water Plant to learn more about the area’s water infrastructure needs.
“I greatly appreciate administrator Regan taking me up on my offer to visit West Virginia so he can see firsthand the water infrastructure challenges in our state,” Capito said. “I’m encouraged by the feedback we received from local officials about the impact of the bipartisan infrastructure law and how the Eastern Panhandle and all of West Virginia stands to benefit from this historic investment. These infrastructure investments are critical to public health, environmental health, and economic development.”
Reliable water and wastewater treatment were top-of-mind for Regan, as well as exposure to forever chemicals, known as PFAS.
“Delivering clean, safe water for all is a top priority at EPA. That’s why I’m honored to partner with leaders like Senator Capito to invest in reliable water infrastructure and protect communities from PFAS exposure in West Virginia and across the nation,” Regan said. “Thanks to Senator Capito, and bipartisan members of Congress, we passed the bipartisan infrastructure law, investing billions in this important work. This historic investment will also create nearly 1,300 good-paying jobs in West Virginia and boost economic growth in the process.”
Sens. Capito and Joe Manchin, along with Rep. David McKinley, voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the bipartisan infrastructure law.
President Joe Biden has just signed a new law aimed at improving transparency and safety at VA medical centers across the country.
The legislation was authored by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin. It will require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the use of security cameras in VA medical facilities.
“Our veterans have made unimaginable sacrifices on behalf of our freedom, and they deserve access to safe, reliable, and trustworthy care at our VA medical centers,” Capito said. “What happened at the Clarksburg VAMC in 2017 and 2018 was an unacceptable lapse in leadership and accountability. This is an incredibly urgent matter, and I’m thankful that my colleagues have recognized the need for additional, comprehensive oversight from the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
Reta Mays of Harrison County pleaded guilty in July 2020 to seven counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of veterans receiving care at the medical center. She received seven consecutive life sentences and an additional 20 years for an eighth victim.
“Over the past several years, West Virginia Veterans have lost faith in the VA system due to the murders of at least seven Veterans at the Clarksburg VAMC and the negligence that allowed this heartbreaking tragedy to occur,” said Manchin, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “It’s our responsibility to ensure that when our veterans return home, they receive the quality care they deserve from our VA facilities. This is a good first step in restoring our veterans’ confidence in the VA medical centers, but we have a long way to go and I am committed to ensuring every veteran has access to the safe, quality healthcare they deserve.”
Additionally, the legislation was sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives David McKinley (W.Va.-01), Alex Mooney (W.Va.-02), and Carol Miler (W.Va.-03).
The full text of the Senate version of the bill can be viewed here.
A record 158 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election. That makes up six out of every 10 people of voting age and two thirds of the estimated registered voters in the country.
Since the last election, severalGOP-led states have passed laws that limit who can submit mail-in ballots and vote early. At the same time, U.S. Senate Democrats are pushing to loosen restrictions on a federal level with proposed laws like the For the People Act.
But that bill hasn’t made it to the Senate floor yet for a full vote, and some leaders say it likely never will. Some of the more contentious elements in it are that it would require all states to have same-day voter registration, alternative options to voter IDs, and a 15-day mandatory early voting period.
In a statement, Republican Sen. Shelly Moore Capito says the federal act is unnecessary, as a record number of voters turned out in 2020. Capito says this proves that states are capable of passing adequate election and voter rights laws.
Sen. Shelly Moore Capito
capito“The so-called ‘For the People Act’ is a despicable, disingenuous attempt to strip states of their constitutional right to administer elections, and should never come close to reaching the president’s desk,” she said. “Simply put, this was never about getting more people to vote, but rather a way for Democrats in Congress to power grab and fix problems that do not exist.”
A compromise piece of voting legislation, called the Freedom to Vote Act, has been introduced into Congress as well. It differs from earlier legislation with new protections against voter suppression, restores Election Day as a public holiday, and institutes automatic voter registration.
But last month the U.S. Senate voted down an attempt to close debate on the law. That vote was 49 in favor of moving it forward and 51 opposed, even though the bill had 50 sponsors. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer switched his vote to a no so he could bring it back up for another vote later. Until that procedural vote happens, the bill cannot move forward.
In a statement, West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner referred to the Freedom to Vote Act as “nothing more than a watered-down version of the ‘For the People Act.’”
West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner
“The ‘Freedom to Vote Act’ is a solution in search of a problem,” Warner said. “It is nothing more than an attempt to circumvent the authority placed on state legislatures by the U.S. Constitution.”
But West Virginia Democratic legislators and activists are still pushing for the Freedom to Vote Act. They recently held a press conference on the street outside of the Kanawha County Voter Registration Office in Charleston.
Former Secretary of State Natalie Tennant put pressure on Sen. Joe Manchin to push the act over the line.
“Inaction is not an option. Now, I’d like to take credit for those words. But I can’t. Do you know whose words they are?” Tennant asked the crowd. “Senator Manchin. Do you know whose bill this is? Senator Manchin.”
Tennant referred to the fact that Manchin was an original sponsor of the Freedom to Vote Act and negotiated it as a compromise. Since Republicans blocked it, Manchin has balked at changing voting rules in the Senate to get it past the filibuster.
In the meantime, Warner and the 55 West Virginia county clerks have been addressing election security in the state.
Since January 2017, more than 364,000 deceased, outdated, out of state, duplicated, and convicted felon voter files were removed from the voting rolls, according to data from the secretary of state’s office.
“Almost 28 percent of our list was inaccurate,” according to Mike Queen, deputy chief of staff in the Secretary of State’s office. “In the last election, we had 802,000 people to vote. That was 75 percent of those who were eligible, and that made us one of the highest states in the nation.”
Queen says this proves West Virginia can maintain voting and election integrity, withoutnew federal legislation.
Over the same four and a half-year period, county clerks have registered 255,000 more people to vote, including 64,000 18-year-old high school students. That leaves the net number of registered voters about 100,000 lower than before they began purging the voting rolls. As of October, there were currently 1,129,510 registered voters in West Virginia.
One sticking point for many Republicans in the proposed Freedom to Vote act is same-day voter registration.
“We can’t have same-day registration in West Virginia. We don’t have an internet connected system,” Queen said. “And the real challenge for any same-day registration is to make sure that they don’t register at one place in Greenbrier County, and then register again, up in Harrison County.”
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Kanawha County Del. Jim Barach
Kanawha County Delegate Jim Barach said that same-day registration should be a right — no matter what it takes.
“We should just automatically have the right to vote,” Barach said. “If you are 18 or over and an American citizen with very few exceptions, you should be able to go to a polling place, you should be able to register on that day, you should be able to cast a ballot. And that’s all there is to it.”
With the Freedom to Vote act stalled, that leaves voter rights laws in the hands of individual states. During the legislative interim meeting of the Joint Standing Committee of the Judiciary earlier this week, state senators and delegates discussed the state’s election laws at length.
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Deak Kersey, general counsel for the secretary of state speaking to the Standing Committee on the Judiciary during legislative interim meetings.
“These bills have been crafted at the request of various folks, whether it be a member or someone in leadership or a community member, the county clerk, whoever it might be,” said Deak Kersey, general counsel for the secretary of state. “These aren’t just ideas that we sat around with the secretary and put on paper.”
He noted this was the first time in his memory that the legislature had taken the time to discuss voting law changes this early in the year, rather than waiting until the legislative session was going on. He felt the change was a positive one.
“Because of the national interest in election changes and the fact that the Department of Justice is even suing some states for election law changes that they’ve made,” Kersey said. “We want good election laws, not bad election laws.”
Proposed laws before the legislature include changing the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot from six to 12 days, and putting into law a provision that voting machines cannot connect to the internet. It is already a policy, and Kersey says this is to avoid potential hacking and fraud.
These proposed rules, among others, will come before the full legislature in January.
It was threatening to rain in the town of Clendenin as Mayor Kay Summers showed U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito around, highlighting the progress the town had made since the devastating floods inundated Elk River communities in June 2016.
Summers showed off some of the local economic development and tourism projects, and continued efforts to address lingering issues caused by the 2016 flood, including senior housing apartments, kayak rentals, Airbnbs and the Elk River Trail. Clendenin was one of the four hardest-hit towns during the 2016 flood.
“The flooding in 2016 devastated Clendenin and the surrounding area, and it continues to impact the way businesses and the local economy function today,” Capito said. “Fortunately, Mayor Summers has remained laser-focused on utilizing our state’s natural resources and beauty, such as the Elk River, to spur economic development and bring both visitors and business to the local community.”
Capito noted that she did not vote for the American Rescue Plan, but said she thinks the monies coming to the state would be available to help Clendenin continue rebuilding and removing dilapidated homes and other buildings.
Summers said that there are problems still with residents getting money they are owed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“For us to get approved for anything with FEMA, it takes six or eight months,” she said.
One of the biggest remaining projects is the tear down and removal of the old Clendenin Elementary School. Summers said she expects that to happen soon.
“I deeply appreciate Senator Capito’s visit to Clendenin today to see how far we’ve come,” Mayor Summers said. “Her continued support is vital as we work to make Clendenin a vibrant town once again.”
The Biden Administration has proposed a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, called the American Jobs Plan, but has not submitted it to Congress. That hasn’t stopped Republicans and Democrats from developing their own plans.
In a meeting with reporters, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said he wants an infrastructure-only bill. Manchin noted projects like completing Corridor H, the Coalfields Expressway and the King Coal Highway have opportunities for growth for the state of West Virginia.
“The infrastructure we know of, the water, the sewer, the internet, basically transportation, transit, railways, airports. Everything we know that needs to be built,” Manchin said.
He said other topics like research and development and manufacturing should be in separate pieces of legislation.
The Senate Republican Caucus in Congress, including Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, is proposing a $600-$800 billion infrastructure package.
Manchin said he wants a compromise infrastructure bill and guaranteed it would not be the full $2.3 trillion proposal.
Looking ahead to K-12 classes resuming Sept. 8, West Virginia superintendent of schools Clayton Burch said Wednesday that 79 percent of the state’s 265,000 students have signed up for in-person learning.
State education officials set a deadline of last week for county school systems to detail reopening plans, including virtual and in-person instruction. They have also given parents options on how their children can attend classes as the pandemic continues into the new school year.
“I think that sends a message that we are ready for our children back to school, but it also now puts our schools in a position of implementing those plans,” Burch said.
In other news of the day, Justice announced that bars in Monongalia County will remain closed through Aug. 31 unless the area sees a spike in cases of the coronavirus. The governor originally closed bars in the county in mid-July.
“I hate it like crazy. I know this is your business. I know that’s part of your life and everything,” Justice said as he announced the extension of the closures. “But at the same time, we’ve got a situation where we’ve got to try in every way to protect everybody in that county and throughout all across West Virginia.”
Justice was joined at his briefing by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Rep. Alex Mooney, who both made mention of the currently stalled federal coronavirus relief package — known as the HEALS Act — and the potential of $105 billion becoming available to states to support schools. West Virginia’s share of those funds was not immediately clear.
“There’s no way that Republicans and Democrats can’t at least agree on supporting our children’s education — here in a few weeks — and at least pass that bill,” Mooney said. “We can keep talking about others. But, we need to get that through as fast as possible because there’s a deadline. Schools are opening.”
Wednesday’s briefing followed a roundtable discussion in Charleston that included Dr. Deborah Birx, who serves as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
State coronavirus czar Dr. Clay Marsh said Birx praised West Virginia’s response to the pandemic but reminded state leaders to remain vigilant.
“She was appropriately cautious, but she did feel like that we were doing many of the right things — and, in fact, wanted to share some of the practices that we have engaged in and some of our creativity with other states and other governors,” Marsh said.
