WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito praised President Donald Trump and the tone set in the State of the Union Address this week. Capito visited Thursday for a short time with West Virginia reporters on her weekly conference call. She suggested the Administration had made the right moves so far on Iran and the situation with Medicaid Fraud.
On Iran, Capito said the President clearly doesn’t want a conflict.
“One off the things that stood out to me is his very sincere demand that a diplomatic solution could be reached here or should be the real answer,” said Capito.
However, she noted, when dealing with Iran, nothing is ever certain and she stands with the President against ever allowing Iran to possess nuclear weapons.
“From they day they’re born as an Iranian, they’re taught, ‘Death to America’ so we have to remember who we’re dealing with here,” she explained. “The capability for them to get a nuclear weapons should frighten every single one of us. We know as they’re killing their own people now who are protesting, their regard for human life is basically non-existent.”
Capito also fielded questions about the situation of Medicaid Fraud and the investigation into the allegations now being headed up by Vice-President J.D. Vance. This week more allegations of widespread fraud were leveled against the state of Minnesota’s Medicaid funds. There was already widespread evidence of gross misuse of the money. For starters, the Senator blamed it on poor local management.
“The states are going to have to tighten their oversight, they’ve been way to lax on this. I think the next step is going to be California. We’ have documentation of massive fraud there and they are a very large state,” she said.
She concluded rooting out the fraud is what Americans expect.
“Nobody likes to pay their taxes, but the American people will pay their taxes to get services they think are warranted, legitimate, and are spent wisely. But when you have fraud it flies in the face of all of those,” she said.
Capito was also asked about the ongoing construction of Corridor H and the last project toward completion. The West Virginia Department of Transportation is ready to go to bid for the stretch from Wardensville to the Virginia border. Once under contact, that makes the section through Davis and Thomas in Tucker County the last link in the road. Since the start, it’s been one of the most environmentally sensitive and most controversial sections. Capito said the matter has long been looked at and resolved.
“This has been studied up and down. I believe the Department of Highways and advocates for completion of Corridor H have looked at this every different way over the last 40 years. I think we need to go with the decision that has been made,” she said.
Corridor-H opponents are throwing up more opposition to the DOH’s preferred route and have advocated the better route would be north of Thomas and Davis. Highway officials have said they have years of data and examination which prove the northern route is not the best way. DOH maintained the route which has already been agreed to is the best route. Capito agreed.
“I think all of the environmental impacts have been considered and they’re considered to be minimal if at all. I think this has been an ongoing strategy to really stop completion of this highway,” she said.