Letter from Shelley
Friends and Colleagues,
I had the opportunity to catch up with constituents in Martinsburg this week, and then returned to Washington where Congress continued debate about important housing legislation. Unfortunately, this week also brought sad news as we mourned the loss of our friend and colleague – Rep. Jo Ann Davis – who lost her battle with breast cancer over the weekend.
Visit to Martinsburg
Tuesday was a busy day for me as I had the opportunity to meet with constituents, government officials and other community leaders in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties. I first had the honor of meeting with Harry Siegel of HMS Technologies. As a service-disabled veteran, Mr. Siegel’s business has been a great success story for veteran-owned businesses in West Virginia.
I then had the pleasure of meeting with seniors at the Jefferson County Senior Center, and was able to meet with President Suzanne Shipley of Shepherd University and President Wall Boston of the American Public University System to hear about the needs and growth of their institutions.
Last but not least, I had the opportunity to see Ranson’s great new football field when meeting with Mayor Dave Hamill and City Manager Dave Mills.
Affordable Housing Debate
Meanwhile, Congress was busy debating legislation to help ensure access to affordable housing through the creation of an affordable housing trust fund. The fund would support the building and maintenance of low-income housing. I spoke about this important issue in a floor speech on Wednesday.
Breast Cancer Awareness
This week we also mourn the loss of my friend and colleague Rep. Jo Ann Davis. Having battled breast cancer since being diagnosed in 2005, she passed away tragically last weekend. She was a great legislator and will be missed in the halls of Congress.
Yet, her death also reminds us about the importance of the fight against breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it presents an opportunity to highlight and spread the message of prevention and early detection. Nearly 180,000 people in the United States – men and women – will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
I encourage everyone to talk to their doctors about early detection. The fight against breast cancer is a fight we can win.
Sincerely,
Member of Congress
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Chip veto wasn’t the best thing for children’s health
By Rep. Shelley Moore Capito
Charleston Gazette
October 7, 2007
The president last week made good on his promise to veto a bill that would have reauthorized the State Children’s Health Insurance Program — a bill that passed the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support. His veto may be based in principle, but in this case, I must disagree.
Let’s consider a few key facts:
Approximately 37,000 Mountain State children are uninsured. Those uninsured kids are 10 times less likely to receive the health care they need. Twenty-five-thousand kids, on the other hand, are covered under West Virginia CHIP, and the law we passed in the House would help insure an additional 5,000 kids. As I see it, that’s a win for West Virginia children.
Is this bill perfect? Of course not, but the bill’s critics overstate their case.
They have said that this bill would extend government-financed health care to adults and high-income families. This blurs the facts and overlooks the intent of the law.
In reality, CHIP coverage in West Virginia extends assistance to children of families making just over 200 percent of the federal poverty level. That amounts to a family of four with an income of just over $40,000 per year. By doing this, the program covers children in families that are stuck in the coverage gap where their income is too great to qualify for Medicaid, but too small to purchase private insurance.
Essentially, this bill would refocus CHIP coverage on those children most in need. It would provide incentives and all but mandate that states reach — and enroll — as many low-income children as possible before extending coverage to those with higher incomes. In fact, federal assistance would be reduced if states seek to enroll middle and upper income children. Adults — whom this program should not cover — would be gradually phased out of CHIP coverage.
To read the full text of this column, click here.
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Capito Meets With Constituents
in Martinsburg
RANSON, WV, October 9, 2007 – Rep. Capito with Jimmy Pierson and Ranson Mayor Dave Hamill at the cite of Ranson's new youth football field. Pierson is a long-time sports volunteer and referee in Jefferson County.
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WASHINGTON, October 9, 2007 – Rep. Capito with other Members of Congress at a Capitol Hill press conference to honor Rep. Jo Ann Davis and introduce a bipartisan resolution affirming Congress' support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
Advocate says legislation needed to help homeless in rural areas
Charleston Daily Mail
Charlotte Smith
October 11, 2007
Advocates for the homeless say proposed federal legislation could help alleviate homelessness in rural West Virginia.
Amy Weintraub, executive director of Covenant House, says the HEARTH Act is "a beautiful piece of legislation" that would equalize government assistance for those in urban and rural areas who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
HEARTH is an acronym for Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing.
The act, now before Congress, would allocate federal dollars to help people in more rural areas get access to services and get them into permanent housing, Weintraub said.
Right now, more services are available for the homeless in urban areas while the rural population is struggling.
"Rural homelessness is often hidden," Weintraub said.
Weintraub traveled to Washington, D.C., last week at the invitation of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., to testify before the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
Weintraub was also part of a panel discussion regarding reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which sets aside funding for shelters and housing programs.
Capito said Weintraub's input was valuable for lawmakers because she's been a longtime advocate for the homeless and has been active on issues involving education, health care and domestic violence.
Weintraub and Capito said they agree the federal government's definition of homelessness needs to be expanded so those in rural areas would qualify for services.
"We are looking at a bill on homelessness to modernize the definition," Capito said.
In West Virginia, there are homeless people who move about as they live with relatives or sleep in cars, Capito said.
"The HUD definition of homelessness excludes many people who we here in rural West Virginia would identify as homeless," Weintraub said. "That would include families and individuals living in motels and families doubling and tripling in trailers, apartments and houses."
Capito said reauthorization and reform of federal homeless programs is a bipartisan issue.
"There are many areas of agreement when you compare the various homeless legislative proposals," Capito said.
She said, for example, several legislative proposals all call for a series of federal grant programs to be consolidated.
That would alleviate the need for HUD to review each applicant project individually and would cut the time needed for grants to be approved, Capito said. Consolidation would also increase local control and flexibility over how money could be spent, she added.
Weintraub said the act also would give communities more flexibility when it comes to solving homelessness issues in both rural and more populated settings.
"The HEARTH Act adopts a simple approach to meet needs of rural communities," Weintraub said. "By aligning HUD's definition of homelessness with the definition used by other federal agencies, it ensures that people who are without homes in rural communities are counted as homeless."
West Virginia's mountainous topography often isolates those in need of assistance that readily available in urban areas, she said.
Capito said another hearing is set for next week.
To read the full text of this story, click here.
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