Capito Visits Ripley Fire Department

Op-Ed

Capito Visits Ripley Fire Department

Letter from Shelley

Friends and Colleagues,
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As Congress broke for Presidents Day recess, this was a busy week back in West Virginia. I met with constituents and local leaders with a trip to Roane and Jackson counties. As this week wound down, I had the honor of announcing $1.5 million in affordable housing grants at an event in St. Albans this morning.

Roane and Jackson County Trip

In a visit to Spencer this week, I had the pleasure of touring the Roane County Committee on Aging, which is undergoing a striking refurbishing project thanks to the support of Charlie Koone and local high school students. Charlie and his team have made real progress and it was great to see first-hand how much they've accomplished.

I also had the opportunity to meet with Mayor Carolyn Rader and Deputy Fire Chief Chuck Hitt in a visit to the Ripley Volunteer Fire Department. My office announced last month that Ripley's fire department would be the recipient of a $192,000 grant to support equipment upgrades and training. This support is very important to our local fire departments and I enjoyed being able to see the real impact this funding can have for our local fire fighters.

Affordable Housing Grants

This morning, West Virginia continued its push to provide affordable housing for those in need. I was joined by St. Albans Mayor Dick Callaway and other community leaders to announce $1.5 million in new grants for affordable housing projects in West Virginia.

Much of the new funding is targeted to support the homeless, the mentally disabled and victims of domestic violence. For many of these residents who already face severe stress in their lives, having a structured living environment is vitally important.

I'm thankful members of the community, and to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh for their work in making these grants possible.

Intelligence Laws

Unfortunately, this week also brought news that House Leadership has allowed the Protect America Act expire - severely jeopardizing the tools available to our intelligence community as they monitor terrorist communication.

I've called on the House to pass a compromise bill that recently passed the Senate - with the leadership of my colleague Senator Rockefeller - and I hope the House moves quickly to pass the Senate bill when we re-convene next week.

Sincerely,

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Member of Congress

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