Dear West Virginian,

Ahead of the Christmas holiday, Congress accomplished a lot. Finally, after months of delay, Democrats have compromised on a coronavirus relief deal. On Tuesday evening, we passed this targeted COVID relief, which was included in the omnibus appropriations act. I’m relieved we could finally deliver much-needed aid to thousands of Americans struggling as a result of the pandemic.

While this is great news, this should have been done sooner. Many of the provisions in this legislation were already included in the HEALS Act, which is a targeted COVID relief bill that Senate Republicans offered up this summer. Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself admitted to holding out on this relief because she thought it would be beneficial politically. Countless small businesses shuttered their doors in the meantime while Speaker Pelosi played political games. This is unacceptable and Congress must do better. I spoke about this on the Senate floor on Monday night. Click here or the image below to watch.

Here are a few highlights of the bill:

Direct payments of $600 for individuals making up to $75,000 per year and $1,200 for couples making up to $150,000 per year, plus an additional $600 per child.
Enhanced unemployment benefits of $300 per week for 11 weeks.
$319 billion for small businesses, including $284 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $20 billion for EIDL loans, and $15 billion for live venues.
$25 billion in rental assistance with an extension of the eviction moratorium.
$82 billion for schools and universities, with $10 billion dedicated to childcare.
$7 billion for increased access to broadband.
Funding to support coronavirus vaccine distribution.
CARES Act spending extension for state and local governments.

Wild and Wonderful and Ready to Share!

After years of hard work and persistence, West Virginia’s New River Gorge is finally being recognized as one of our country’s most beautiful places with its new designation as a National Park and Preserve. I was thrilled that my legislation redesignating the National River as a National Park and Preserve was included in the year-end legislative package and it is now official with the recent passage on Tuesday.

This is such exciting news for our state of West Virginia and the entire nation! The New River Gorge will be established as the 63rd National Park and the 20th National Preserve within the National Park Service.

As West Virginians, we all know that the New River Gorge is perhaps the best-known landmark in West Virginia because of its breathtaking natural beauty and elements of unique Appalachian history and culture. Now, we will have the opportunity to share this with the rest of the nation—and world—with our own National Park right here in our backyard. Click here for more on what this means for West Virginia.

Funding the Government

Congress also fulfilled its duty to fund the government (although months behind schedule) by passing the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations omnibus. As a leader on the Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to make sure West Virginia priorities were included in this year-end package. However, I’m frustrated by the political games and gridlock that have prevented us from passing these bills on time. We must take the politicization out the appropriations process. Funding the government is one of Congress’ most fundamental jobs, and we must do better.

West Virginia wins included in the year-end omnibus package include:

A $300 million increase was included for Alzheimer’s research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with an additional increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, and language diversifying the depth and focuses of research.
Full funding for the Office of Fossil Energy Research, supporting clean and efficient energy creation at the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) in Morgantown through their engineering and supercomputing efforts. Furthermore, within the office, $15 million is included for research of commercial-scale front-end carbon capture technologies, which I championed with bipartisan support in the Senate. Language is also included to address maintenance backlog and prevention.
$635 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Broadband ReConnect program, which I helped create and has now secured over $2 billion for the program over the past four budget cycles.
Continued funding for the extremely competitive Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grants through the U.S. Department of Transportation, which West Virginia has received $80 million through since 2018.
$346 million for the Economic Development Administration (EDA), an inactive program in West Virginia up until I was elected to the Senate that now continues to invest in the state.
$180 million was included for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a constant driver of economic and infrastructure development in the region, and $100 million for the Appalachian Highway Development System (ADHS). I pushed for dedicated funding for incomplete corridors in FY20 and the amount has been maintained.
Support for the Leetown Science Center in Kearneysville and the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, along with continued funding for the Allegany Ballistics Lab at Rocket Center and the Biometric Technology Center in Clarksburg. The legislation also supports the men and woman of the FBI at the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division in Clarksburg, NASA’s Katherine Johnson IV&I Facility, and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Security Computing Center in Fairmont.
A three percent pay raise for our service members, language instructing the study of security infrastructure at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities, and continued support for the veteran’s Agritherapy pilot program Senator Capito created that is implemented at the Huntington VA, are also all included.
Increases are included for university research programs, diversifying educational opportunities for students and faculty across the state.
Funding and language I authored is maintained for the State Opioid Response (SOR) grants, enabling West Virginia to receiveover $100 million since the establishment of the program in 2018.
Authorized under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), funding is included for both the Sexual Assault Services Program and the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.

New Capito Connect Bill

Remote learning is hard enough on our kids, but when you don’t have reliable broadband access, it’s even worse. Across the country, countless students are forced to do their school work in parking lots, restaurants, and libraries. That’s why I introduced the Every Child Connected Act, legislation that aims to reduce the digital divide between students with and without internet access, known as the Homework Gap. Learn more about how this bill redirects funding to help children learning from home: https://bit.ly/38ptqkq

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

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas! As crazy as this past year has been, we will get through this together. With the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine occurring now, I’m hopeful for a better 2021.

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

Sincerely,

Shelley Moore Capito

United States Senator