For second time, motion fails to advance funding bills containing important West Virginia priorities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee, today voted in favor of a procedural measure to move forward with consideration on four FY2020 government funding bills: the Department of Defense Appropriations Act; the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act; the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act; and the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act. The measure did not advance by a vote of 51 to 41. This follows a previous attempt to advance this legislation in September.
“Earlier today, the Senate advanced our first package of Appropriations bills. Doing so demonstrated that we can work together. I would think that in that spirit of bipartisanship, we could have done so on the second package we just voted on this afternoon, especially because the package supports our troops and our national defense,” Senator Capito said. “It is frustrating to me that this measure did not advance because, in addition to the critical national needs these bills address, several West Virginia priorities are included that I fought for and authored as a member of the Appropriations Committee.”
The FY2020 Department of Defense Appropriations Act:
Includes $694.9 billion, an increase of $20.5 billion above the FY2019 enacted level.
Supports a pay raise of 3.1 percent for our service members.
Provides funding for programs that have a West Virginia impact—such as Counter Drug, the National Guard, Youth ChalleNGe Academy, Civil Air Patrol, and facilities like the Allegany Ballistics Lab and Biometric Technology Center in Clarksburg.
This bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee by a party line vote of 16 to 15 with Senator Capito’s support.
The FY2020 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act includes:
$800 million for Fossil Energy Research, an increase over the enacted level—including specific increases for the National Energy Technology Lab for facilities and research, continuing the investment Senator Capito was able to provide for the supercomputer Joule and to address deferred maintenance and a potential sensitive compartmented information facility and for the Computational Science and Engineering Center.
$175 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission, an increase of $10 million over last year.
Language supportive of continued efforts for the Appalachian Storage Hub, including funding for the Title XVII Loan Program.
Funding for operations and maintenance of West Virginia’s Corps of Engineers sites—such as Bluestone Dam, the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dams, and Summersville and Sutton Lakes.
The FY2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act includes:
$55 billion to strengthen and advance the promotion of democracy and assistance to our allies.
Senator Capito-authored language encouraging the State Department to continue all training programs at Summit Point in the Eastern Panhandle.
$3.3 billion for assistance to Israel, including for the new embassy compound in Jerusalem.
The FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act includes funding to support:
Health research at National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Continued efforts to combat the opioid epidemic at an increase of $70 million over FY2019—including $1.5 billion for State Opioid Response (SOR) grants, maintaining the set-aside for highest impacted states.
An increase to the maximum Pell Grant award based on inflation, from $6,195 to $6,330.
The third year of support for the dislocated worker training initiative in Appalachia.
Youthbuild, Job Corps, and Apprenticeships.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
President Trump’s HIV initiative.
Implementation of Senator Capito’s Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act, including $50 million at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Childhood Cancer Data Initiative.
Rural Health Care and Community Health Centers.
$10 million for the Alzheimer’s BOLD Initiative, which Senator Capito supported.
$5 million to study adverse childhood experiences at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as authorized in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
The NIH IDeA program, which has been critical to the research efforts at WVU and Marshall.
A $350 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research.
