WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVDN) – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and a leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor highlighting the need for an all-of-the above energy strategy during a period where Americans have been impacted by winter storms.
Senator Capito also emphasized the importance of restoring a functioning appropriations process as well as her leadership the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education-and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) bill. Senator Capito serves as chairman of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee.
Senator Capito’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
“Mr. President—
“This week, a major winter storm brought snow, sleet, freezing rain, and bitter cold temperatures to most of the middle and eastern parts of our country.
“I rise to highlight the role that dispatchable, baseload power, coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy, played in keeping the 200 million Americans impacted by this week’s winter storm safe and warm.
“Common sense tells us that in the peak heat of summer or the depths of winter cold, we will consume more electricity.
“Americans expect, very reasonably, that our country’s energy policy will result in affordable and reliable electricity so that they can keep their homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
“If we know that demand for electricity is at its peak during periods of extreme heat or extreme cold, then it would make sense for our energy policy to prioritize those generation sources that are available to meet demand when electricity is needed the most.
“So which sources of energy showed up this week?
“Not surprisingly, fossil fuels and nuclear power provided the bulk of the electricity during this week’s storm and the intense cold that followed.
“PJM Interconnection is the electric grid operator for all or part of 13 states – including West Virginia, that were impacted by this week’s winter storm.
“In a filing with the Department of Energy, PJM projected that its highest ever winter peak electricity demand would take place on Tuesday morning of this week.
“At 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, fossil energy sources including coal – natural gas and oil provided two-thirds of PJM’s power, with another 23.6 percent provided by nuclear electricity.
“That means that at a time of record winter electricity demand, 90 percent of the load was shouldered by baseload energy sources.
“And electricity is only one part of the story, because natural gas is also used for residential heating in many of these same areas, providing energy beyond what is reflected in electricity generation figures.
“The chart next to me is from the Energy Policy Research Foundation and shows PJM electricity generation by source for the past week.
“It illustrates the fossil fuels and nuclear carried the load across PJM throughout this week’s winter storm and its aftermath.
“The solid blue represents the consistent supply of baseload energy from the nuclear fleet.
“Similarly, the red shows the reliable supply of electricity from coal plants.
“The green shows electricity produced from natural gas, the largest single source in the PJM region.
“At the very top, you see the relatively small amount of electricity produced from wind, solar, and hydroelectric sources.
“What is notable is not just that the renewable sources generate smaller amounts of electricity.
“It is also that they are sporadic.
“You can see from that chart that solar energy disappears during the overnight hours when it is coldest.
“And it also produced much less electricity on Sunday because of cloud cover during the storm.
“Wind power produced more on Friday but virtually disappears from the chart on Saturday.
“I highlight this chart not because I want to pick winners and losers among energy sources.
“To the contrary, I believe that all types of energy, including renewables, should be part of our country’s electricity mix.
“But our country must have enough dispatchable baseload energy, the type of reliable power that fossil fuels and nuclear provide, if we are going to stay warm in the depths of winter.
“The Biden administration, like the Obama administration before it did everything possible to shut down our nation’s coal fleet.
“The Biden EPA had an entire strategy for pursuing multiple regulations, including,
“The Clean Power Plan 2.0, ELG rules for power plants, coal ash regulations, unachievable particulate matter rules, ozone rules, and the MATS rule,
“All to make it impossible to keep a coal plant open.
“As the Wall Street Journal editorialized on Monday, coal is an especially valuable part of our grid during periods of peak winter demand because months of fuel can be stockpiled on-site at a plant, and can be used to supply more electricity when natural gas is also needed for residential heating.
“On the oil and gas side, the Biden administration imposed a natural gas tax designed to make energy more expensive for consumers.
“That administration cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline and, working with their allies in state governments, stood in the way of pipelines that could move abundant natural gas produced in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio to gas-starved regions in the Northeast and the Southeast.
“I am very proud of the bipartisan work that went into passing the ADVANCE Act to make nuclear licensing more efficient.
“But even that overwhelmingly bipartisan bill took years longer to pass because of a handful of Democrat opponents.
“I am glad that we had sufficient dispatchable power to make it through the winter storm this week.
“But I’m not convinced that we would have if we had continued the Biden Administration’s radical opposition to the energy sources that the American people rely on to keep them warm in winter and cool in summer.
“I appreciate President Trump, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and others across the administration for their commonsense approach to regulation that will allow us to keep producing and utilizing the energy resources we need,
“Especially during periods of peak demand when Americans need electricity the most.
“Going forward, I will continue working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to lock in common sense permitting reform so that projects of all types, including sources of dispatchable, baseload electricity, can be permitted through a fair and efficient process.
“Mister President—
“I rise today to discuss another topic, and that is the progress we’ve made in restoring a functioning appropriations process, and the critical importance of completing the work before us.
“But first, I’d like to thank our Appropriations leaders, Chair Collins and Vice Chair Murray, as well as Leader Thune.
“I applaud them for their steadfast commitment to returning to regular order, and I am glad to see that our work has brought these bills to the Senate floor.
“In particular, I am proud of the work we accomplished in a bipartisan fashion in my Labor-Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill.
“I’d like to thank all my fellow committee members for their input, as well.
“We received over 12,000 total member requests for this bill.
“As Senator Baldwin and I begin our fourth year leading this subcommittee together, I am pleased that we are once again bringing forward a bipartisan bill that reflects targeted investments, disciplined decision-making, and a shared commitment to meeting the needs of the American people.
“The Labor-H bill allocates limited taxpayer resources to key bipartisan priorities, and it does so at a lower level than fiscal year 2025.
“In fact, it decreases the base discretionary cost of the bill by $3.2 billion compared to FY-2025.
“To achieve this, the bill reduces or eliminates funding for more than 40 programs and activities, and realigns spending to reflect Republican priorities, while continuing to deliver on areas where agreement exists across the aisle.
“The bill includes a number of member priorities, such as greater investments in America’s biomedical research, child care, mental and rural health, workforce development, and continued efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.
“As we work to right-size the federal government, the bill also includes targeted decreases to administrative funding while ensuring that agencies have appropriate staffing levels to carry out their statutory responsibilities.
“We also preserve longstanding, consensus-driven policy provisions and reject the inclusion of any new controversial riders.
“That stability is important, not only for agencies, but for families, workers, and communities counting on the programs we authorize.
“A major priority in this bill is our sustained commitment to the National Institutes of Health.
“We provide funding for NIH to support lifesaving biomedical research, research that makes Americans healthier, strengthens our economy, and, pushes the boundaries of what is possible in medicine.
“This investment includes targeted increases for research in critical areas such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s, women’s health, maternal health, rare diseases, and cancer.
“We also increase support for NIH’s IDeA program, which expands research capacity in 23 states, including my home state of West Virginia, and continues to be important for institutions like WVU and Marshall University.
“This bill also strengthens our efforts to combat substance abuse, an issue that continues to affect families and communities in West Virginia and across the country, by supporting prevention, treatment, research, and, recovery programs.
“We bolster support for rural health care programs to help increase access to care for the more than 60 million Americans who live in rural communities.
“And critically, we maintain important conservative policy riders like the Hyde and Weldon amendments, ensuring the bill reflects longstanding bipartisan consensus.
“The Labor-HHS bill also focuses on our children, from early childhood through postsecondary education, ensuring they’re prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
“That includes critical investments to help American workers upskill and advance in their careers.
“And, we include funding for apprenticeship grants to support the Trump administration’s goal of creating one million active apprenticeships.
“This bill is important to our country, but make no mistake, for me, it is also critically important for West Virginia, for our universities and our hospitals, dozens of nonprofits and workforce programs, treatments for our coal miners and those suffering from opioid addiction.
“All these things can help West Virginians. I know this because I have heard directly from them about their needs.
“My driving focus in crafting this bill is to help meet those needs for my fellow West Virginians, and I am proud to say it helps do just that.
“Mister President—
“As encouraging as this progress is, our work is not done.
“The American people expect Congress to fulfill its most basic responsibility: funding the government responsibly and on time.
“Every delay undermines confidence in our institutions and forces our agencies into wasteful, short-term planning cycles.
“Completing this work is not about partisan victory. It’s about good governance, it’s about keeping our commitments, and it’s about demonstrating that Congress can function and can work together to deliver real results.
“That is why we must come together to pass this package.
“And, it ensures that the priorities we’ve carefully crafted, debated and agreed to in a bipartisan and bicameral manner, can actually be carried out.
“So once again, I want to thank Chair Collins for her leadership throughout this process.
“I encourage all of my colleagues to vote positively on this entire package so we can responsibly fund the government. This is what the American people sent us here to do.
“Thank you, Mr. President.
“I yield the floor.”
