“In order to be successful, you have got to be able and willing to take it.”
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) addressed The Ripon Society Thursday morning, sharing her insights on the work Congress has accomplished through the landmark Working Families Tax Cut Act as well as her priorities as Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
“We did have a mini retreat yesterday,” the senior Senator stated in her opening remarks. “I ran that as the policy chair. We had Secretary Bessent. It was a perfect day to have him because the jobs numbers had just come out. He is a stellar member of the administration. He’s just so solid, so smart. He’s kind of ‘been there, done that’ on the financial scene in terms of interpreting numbers and trying to be on the good side, or the upside, of every decision that’s being made. So, he just really gives a lot of confidence to the markets, and also to those of us policy makers with what we did in that bill how transformative it will be.”
Senator Capito emphasized the importance of effective messaging as Republicans look toward the November elections.
“Of course, when you’re on a policy retreat like this, you’re trying to figure out moving into the elections in November, how are you going to do this? And so, we spent a lot of time on how we really need to tell the good message that we have in terms of small business taxes and the Trump accounts.”
Discussing the long-term benefits of the legislation, she noted: “I think the real value is that we get to see our savings grow. If you just put stuff in and leave it for a while it can have incredible benefits to you financially and bring you much security.”
In addition to her work as Chair on both the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as well as the Policy Committee, Capito also serves on the Appropriations Committee where she chairs the Labor, HHS, Education Subcommittee. She highlighted significant wins from the recent appropriations process.
“I’m really proud that we got 11 of 12 bills done. … We were able to get a $415 million increase to NIH for the great medical biomedical research that they do. I made sure to put my foot on the pedal for Alzheimer’s research.”
Reflecting on the unique dynamics of an election year, Senator Capito spoke about supporting her colleagues facing competitive races.
“It’s an honor to be in the Senate. We have some extremely interesting and talented people. Moving into an election always brings a different dynamic. Obviously, there is a lot of tension – some of our folks are under pretty tough circumstances for their re-elect. We want to boost them up as much as we can and make sure that they return because they’re a real privilege to serve with.”
Later on, the Mountain State senator was asked about the leadership lessons she has learned over the years.
“Mitch McConnell has taken on water in such an undeserved fashion. He was the strongest leader. He would take incoming from anybody, for any one of his members, and he would make tough decisions. He never wavered. He didn’t throw anybody under the bus. In order to be successful, you have got to be able and willing to take it.”
Senator Capito also addressed questions about AI policy, emphasizing both its potential and the need for caution.
“I do think there’s some questions on the truth factor of what you’re actually getting from AI. We have to be cautious here. I do think that we need to win the AI race internationally. I’m a firm believer in that because I can see that because of the speed of which it operates and the increasingly rapid evolvement of this, that if you get the upper hand here, you’re going to have space, you’re going to have the arctic, things that we’re still fighting for, superiority, and that we want to make sure we win.
“I think in healthcare, that’s where I really have a lot of excitement of speeding to cures a little bit faster. Wouldn’t that be great? We could cure some cancers, cure Alzheimer’s, some of these childhood diseases that are just impossible to remedy. What a great thing that would be. And AI is going to get us there. I’m excited about it, but I think we always have to have the other eye open to see what the negatives could be.”
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.