Dear West Virginian,

I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy. We are making progress, and I know we will get through this.

A few days ago, President Trump asked me to be a part of his Congressional Economic Task Force. I am incredibly honored and look forward to working with the president, the vice president, and others on the task force on charting a path forward to re-opening our country and kick-starting our economy following the pandemic.

Opening the country isn’t going to happen overnight, but the plan President Trump unveiled this week is gradual and based on the advice of public health officials. Individual states and governors will have input as to when and where re-opening happens once they meet the criteria laid out by the White House. Every state is different and this will take time, but together, we will get there.

Learn more about the administration’s plan here and click here for my statement on the news regarding the Task Force.

Providing Help for Our Small Businesses

This week, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ran out of money. This is a wildly popular, bipartisan forgivable loan program for small businesses. In West Virginia alone, this program has already given out over $1.3 billion worth of loans to more than 7,800 small businesses in our state. [Source: SBA]


We could have avoided this situation. In fact, Senate Republicans asked for a clean funding bill—simply to add more money to this program, no policy changes. Unfortunately, in a time of global crisis, Senate Democrats blocked this supplemental funding request, which cut off additional help for small businesses.

A clean funding bill for PPP is the fastest way to get money into the hands of small business owners. Every suggested “tweak” to the bill is more red tape that requires more guidance from Treasury, more direction for our community banks. No one believes Congress is finished legislating in response to our current emergency. In the meantime, the bipartisan PPP needed a simple tweak to allow it to save more small businesses and jobs.

We know PPP works. We know PPP is out of money now. If both sides agree on more funding PPP, why can’t we just fund that now and negotiate our differences later? This is Washington politics at its worst. I’ll continue pushing for a deal and keep you updated with negotiations.

Learn more about PPP on my coronavirus webpage under the “Small Business Relief” section.

REMINDER: Make Sure You Get Your Individual Check!

The IRS has now opened an online portal for lower-income individuals who are not required to file a tax return, have not filed tax returns for 2018 or 2019, and are not on Social Security retirement, Social Security disability (SSDI), or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to provide information in order to receive a stimulus check. Enter your information to track the status of your payment here.

Those who have filed a return for 2018 or 2019 or are on Social Security retirement, SSI, or SSDI do not need to do anything to receive their check.

However, if you’re on SSI and have dependents, you’ll need to fill out additional information to get the extra $500 per child.

Here’s a great Q&A page on the IRS site. If you have questions, check it out!

And here’s another good Q&A page that provides more details about your Economic Impact Payments (EIP).

Be Vigilant for Scammers!

Unfortunately, there are bad actors that are using this health crisis to take advantage of unsuspecting residents, especially our senior citizens. Please note the IRS WILL NOT call you and ask for your bank account information to deposit your individual relief check.

Check out my coronavirus webpage for more information about scams and what I’m doing to try and mitigate them.

Working for West Virginia

First and foremost, my focus is to make sure our West Virginians remain healthy and safe. I’ve been in constant contact with officials at the federal and state level to check in, ask questions, address certain issues, and make sure they are prepared. When it comes to advocating for our state, I’ve been on the phone frequently with members of the administration—including President Trump and Vice President Pence—to make sure our state’s needs are heard by the administration.

On the constituent level, I’ve been in touch with thousands of West Virginians weekly to answer specific questions, inform them on the latest updates on our response efforts, or to simply hear how they are doing and what more we can do at the federal level to help.

In less than a month, I’ve held constituent teletownhalls in nearly half of the state’s counties and plan to do more. I’ve also been participating in frequent virtual townhalls, live Q&A’s, and communicating with constituents via social media and mail. It’s important for me to have this feedback directly from you, and while I can’t see you in person due to social distancing guidelines, I am doing my best to stay in close contact to inform you on the latest.

Earlier this week, I spoke with constituents in Wood, Wirt, Pleasants, Ritchie, and Jackson counties during a teletownhall. Click here to read more about it and the questions that were asked in this Parkersburg News & Sentinel story.

Additional Resources

I created a page on my website with information and resources to keep you up-to-date on the coronavirus situation as it continues to evolve. Check out that page here, and please share with friends so they can keep up with the latest.

In addition to my webpage, I also want to make sure you know where to get the latest updates from the medical experts at CDC.gov and West Virginia DHHR.


I will continue doing my best to keep you up to speed on what we are doing here at the federal level to help and other resources that can be useful back at home. I will be posting regular updates on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, so be sure to follow me there. 

Important Information If You’re Visiting DC

Because of coronavirus concerns, all Capitol and White House tours have been suspended indefinitely. Please contact our Washington office to reschedule. Additionally, requests for flags flown over the Capitol may be delayed, and access to the Capitol and House and Senate office buildings is being restricted. Feel free to contact our office at (202) 224-6472 with any questions. We apologize for any inconvenience.

In Case You Missed It

Our new normal consists of doing day-to-day things at a distance—whether it’s teleworking, distance learning, virtual health appointments, and more. Coronavirus has made our state’s need for better connectivity even more clear. That’s especially true for telehealth.

Federal Communication Commissioner (FCC) Brendan Carr and I wrote an op-ed about the telehealth funding in the CARES Act and why it’s more important than ever during coronavirus.

Read our op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail: https://bit.ly/3esLOeh


How Can We Help?

Whether you need help with a casework issue or have a question about scheduling a meeting at one of my offices, my staff and I are ready to assist you. Learn more about the services we offer at www.capito.senate.gov.

You can also submit your feedback and share your stories with me by visiting my “Share Your Stories” webpage here: www.capito.senate.gov/ShareYourStories.

Social Media Recap

Join me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for regular updates and photos.

Sincerely,

Shelley Moore Capito

United States Senator