{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-capito-opening-statement-at-hearing-with-us-fws-on-wildlife-habitats-ecosystem-restoration", "Ranking Member Capito Opening Statement at Hearing with U.S. FWS on Wildlife Habitats, Ecosystem, Restoration", "2023-12-06", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "Senate", "WV", "Shelley Moore Capito", "C001047", "www.capito.senate.gov", "capito", "https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here or the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito\u2019s opening remarks from the committee hearing.\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a hearing titled, \u201cIIJA Investments in Habitat and Ecosystem Restoration, Pollinators, and Wildlife Crossings.\u201d\n\nBelow is the opening statement of Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as delivered.\n\n\u201cThank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank the witnesses for coming today and holding this hearing.\n\n\u201cDirector Williams, it\u2019s always great to see you, happy birthday. I want to thank you for being always just a phone call away and always eager and ready to help us and our state as we navigate some issues throughout the last several years. So, thank you. I\u2019m deeply appreciative of that.\n\n\u201cMr. Fouch, I was happy to hear\u2026that you spent some time working at West Virginia Department of Transportation, and living in my home town city of Charleston, West Virginia. So that\u2019s five stars for me. Thank you for your continued public service.\n\n\u201cToday, we are discussing the wildlife provisions that were included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, IIJA.\n\n\u201cI am pleased that the Committee\u2019s surface transportation reauthorization bill was really the foundation of the IIJA. As he said a lot of that was written right in this room.\n\n\u201cOne of those provisions was the wildlife crossings pilot program.\n\n\u201cThe pilot program provides grants for projects designed to reduce collisions between vehicles and wildlife.\n\n\u201cLast week, the Federal Highway Administration announced grant awards for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.\n\n\u201cFHWA awarded 19 grants at approximately $110 million. And I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll tell us more about that in your statement.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be particularly interested in learning about FHWA\u2019s plan to expeditiously get those project grant agreements executed. It\u2019s one thing to say we\u2019re going to grant the money as we know there\u2019s a pipeline then to move that money forward. So we look forward to that.\n\n\u201cIt is worth noting that the projects funded under the pilot program may be eligible under some of the existing core highway formula programs, including the Highway Safety Improvement Program.\n\n\u201cJust a few weeks ago, our Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife held a hearing on the challenges and the opportunities to improve migration corridors.\n\n\u201cAt that hearing, we heard a lot about how wildlife crossings can facilitate the migration of big game species, particularly in our western states.\n\n\u201cWe also learned that there are other federal programs and partnerships between federal agencies, states, and the private landowners to help address these challenges.\n\n\u201cA recent press release from West Virginia\u2019s Department of Transportation noted that according to insurance statistics, my state leads the nation in deer strike accidents. I can attest to that since I\u2019ve had at least two in my lifetime and they\u2019re quite frequent.\n\n\u201cRecently, we spoke with Department staff about this issue.\u201cThe challenges faced in West Virginia are due to the unpredictable nature of these deer strikes.\n\n\u201cWe see increases in deer strikes during hunting season from October through December.\n\n\u201cThe Department post signs and provides information to the public to increase their awareness about this issue. As a native West Virginian we\u2019re all aware that this is a possibility.\n\n\u201cThe Department also balances addressing these collisions with other highway safety challenges in the state.\n\n\u201cAs required by federal law, the Department uses a data-driven process to develop a plan that guides its investments to improve highway safety.\n\n\u201cThe Department also looks for opportunities to help with species conservation.\n\n\u201cFor example, some of the bridges that were built as part of Corridor H project allow species to continue following their natural paths along the ravines.\n\n\u201cThe IIJA also included a program that provides grants for activities that benefit pollinators along roadsides and highway rights-of-way.\n\n\u201cIt is my understanding that FHWA hopes to announce a notice of [funding] opportunity for that program in the coming weeks.\n\n\u201cThe supplemental appropriations portion of the IIJA also included funding for various regional programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.\n\n\u201cI look forward to hearing from Director Williams on how implementation of those programs is going.\n\n\u201cThank you again, Chairman Carper, and I look forward to the hearing.\u201d\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-capito-opening-statement-at-hearing-with-us-fws-on-wildlife-habitats-ecosystem-restoration"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 5.143438000231981, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}