Dear West Virginian,

On one hand, this week was really tough. West Virginia legend Chuck Yeager passed away. Loving husband and father John Gillenwater from Hurricane died after a chemical explosion in Kanawha County. Charleston Police Officer Cassie Johnson was laid to rest. Young children in Greenbrier County died in a house fire. COVID cases continue to rise.

These heartbreaking times remind us just how precious life is, and I’m sending love and sympathy to all of those mourning the loss of loved ones this week. I hope you’ll join me in praying for all these families, especially as holidays approach.

Delivering Needed Relief

Even with all the news happening at home, there was still so much going on in Washington. The end of the year is rapidly approaching, but Congress still has a lot of work to do. One of the main focuses is delivering COVID-19 relief to the American people.

To date, Republicans have:

Offered targeted relief legislation.
Offered ideas and solutions to Minority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi.
Voted in favor of standalone emergency funding for the Paycheck Protection Program.
Voted in favor of enhanced unemployment benefits.

Unfortunately, Democrats blocked all of this. Recently, a bipartisan group put forth framework for a COVID-19 relief package. I’m glad that after all of this, they started working across the aisle. I’m supportive of this framework, which includes many provisions from the Republican COVID-19 relief bill introduced back in July called the HEALS Act.

I know this year has been really tough for West Virginians, and help is needed. I’m hopeful Republicans and Democrats can continue discussions and pull together a package that includes help for small businesses, schools, and individuals. I’ll keep you updated as negotiations continue.

I spoke to Hoppy Kercheval about the COVID relief package earlier this week. Listen here or click on the image below:

Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines

Operation Warp Speed has been a total success, and now we’re looking to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in a matter of weeks. On Thursday, I participated in a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing dedicated to the logistics of distributing the vaccines. I want to make sure even the most rural areas of West Virginia will have access to this vaccine.

Watch my full questioning for Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine and officials from UPS and FedEx about vaccine distribution and supply chains:

Capito Connect Update

More progress on the broadband front this week! The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) announced nine providers that serve West Virginia communities were successful through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction. Those providers won a total of $362,066,660 to deploy high-speed broadband to unserved businesses and homes in West Virginia. A total of 180 bidders across the nation won auction support, which will be distributed over the next 10 years.

This is fantastic news for our state, and I’m excited to see how this funding helps close the digital divide in West Virginia.

Read more in this article from the Weirton Daily Times.

Holding Frontier Accountable

While I am pleased that the RDOF auction encouraged robust competition that resulted in nine providers winning support in West Virginia, I was very concerned that Frontier Communications was one of the providers selected by the FCC. I continue to have concerns about the ability of Frontier to meet the obligations expected of them as a gigabit tier provider. That’s why I wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai about Frontier’s history of leaving West Virginia consumers high and dry.

The stakes are simply too high to provide millions of dollars to a company that does not have the capability to deliver on the commitments made to the FCC. West Virginia cannot afford to be let down, yet again, by the failure of Frontier to deliver on promises made to federal partners.

Read the full letter here.

Providing for the Common Defense

Great news! The broad, bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act, annual legislation that fulfills Congress’ constitutional duty to “provide for the common defense,” passed the Senate! I was a proud yes vote on this bill that focuses on implementing the National Defense Strategy to confront challenges from Russia, China, Iran, as well as protect against international terrorism and other threats. By ensuring technological advantages, securing supply chains, making key investments in modernized warfare, and prioritizing accountability and streamlining operations at the Pentagon, we are able to retain our military superiority. Most importantly, this bill takes care of our troops and their families not only with a well-deserved pay raise, but also by improving the lives of military families with flexible childcare, education, and housing.

The bill now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature. Get full details here.

Additional COVID-19 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.

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