WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-Virginia, chair of the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: On Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, will hold a hearing entitled "Catalyst for Change: State and Local IT After the Pandemic." State and local governments are on the frontlines of unprecedented events--like the coronavirus pandemic--and provide lifesaving inform more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following opening statement on June 24, 2021, at a hearing entitled "The Role of Natural and Nature-Based Features in Water Resources Projects": * * * "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to welcome to our witnesses. "The timing and focus of this hearing are appropriate as it has been over a year since we advanced the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) out of this committee. "In the WRDA legi more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: This week Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) introduced the Pre-apprenticeship Promotion Act. The bill would help strengthen the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program by ensuring pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships are considered in the training process. The bill aims to make HPOG more responsive to local workforce needs, while opening additional health care industry opportunities for underserved communities. "With so many Americans still struggling to  more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Nebraska, issued the following column: This week, the mayor of the small mountain town of Silverton, Colorado got a surprise when he canceled the Pledge of Allegiance at a recent board meeting. A citizen stood up and led the Pledge herself. Other officials joined in. In Loudoun County, Virginia, parents protested the mandatory inclusion of Critical Race Theory in school curriculums. Similar grassroots uprisings are occurring across America, as parents and families challenge the indoctrination of  more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Virginia, issued the following news release: Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement announcing the opening of the 2021 Congressional App Challenge for Ninth Congressional District students: "The Congressional App Challenge encourages students to demonstrate their talents, engage their creativity, and explore the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. I look forward to seeing the apps developed by the ingenuity of Ninth District students." more PR

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Virginia, issued the following news release on June 24, 2021: Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) sent a letter to President Joseph R. Biden urging him to nominate Judge Arenda Wright Allen to fill an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The vacancy will be made by Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, who will take senior status in August 2021. Judge Allen has been a U.S. District Court Judge in the Norfolk division of the Eastern District of Virginia since 2011. Ju more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Virginia, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today led the introduction of a bipartisan bill that would help improve police statistics, strengthen community policing initiatives, and study best practices for including measures of community trust in police metrics. Crime statistics alone often fail to capture the realities of how a given community interacts with police and sheriffs, which can have negative implications on an agency's abili more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) this week announced the introduction of their Rural and Frontier Telehealth Expansion Act. This bipartisan legislation would increase Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding for telehealth services, including audio-only telehealth, by five percentage points in fron more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) made multiple stops in Greenbrier County on Friday focused on flood recovery efforts, economic development, and diversification. Senator Capito first stopped at the WV Great Barrel Company where she met with owners and staff at the facility. She then paid tribute to the eight residents of White Sulphur Springs who passed away during the 2016 flood, and presented Mayor Bruce Bowling and City Manager  more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following news release on June 24, 2021: U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today questioned witnesses in a hearing entitled, "The Role of Natural and Nature-Based Features in Water Resources Projects." HIGHLIGHTS: LONGEVITY OF NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE: "When using natural or nature-based infrastructure, what is the mainte more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $249,963 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for an environmental science research project through West Virginia University Research Corporation. This research project uses cameras from the National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) towers and measurements from lasers (LiDAR) to study the impact of climate change on trees. Additionally more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that West Virginia counties will receive $3,515,635 from the U.S. Department of Interior's (DOI) Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. These county payments are made annually for tax-exempt Federal lands administered by DOI agencies including the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish  more PR

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, posted the following joint statement: * * * U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mo more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $223,710 from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to the West Virginia Development Office (WVDO). This funding will be matched with $223,710 in state funds and will be used to support the West Virginia Consolidated Technical Assistance (TA) program, which will provide enhanced technical  more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $223,710 from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to the West Virginia Development Office (WVDO). This funding will be matched with $223,710 in state funds and will be used to support the West Virginia Consolidated Technical Assistance (TA) program, which will provide enhanced technical assistance, project development, more PR

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, issued the following statement with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut: * * * U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) applauded the House Judiciary Committee after it advanced their bipartisan bill, the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act, which encourages market-based competition to dominant social media platforms by requiring the largest companies to make user data portable - and their services interoperable - with more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Senator Tim Kaine announced $4,869,900 in federal grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded to communities across the Commonwealth to fund much needed infrastructure improvements. The funding was awarded through the Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program, the Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program, the Community Facilities Disaster Grants, and the Economic Impact more PR

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, issued the following news release on June 25, 2021: U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $5,150,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded to Blacksburg Transit (BT). The funding will go toward the purchase of nine electric buses and three charging stations to replace some of the provider's old diesel buses currently used in its fleet. "We're pleased to announce this funding that will be used to support much-needed upgrades to BT's fleet more PR