WASHINGTON – February 28, 2024 – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the Champion of Public Broadcasting Award to Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the ranking Republican on the Senate appropriations subcommittee responsible for most federal funding for public broadcasting.
The Champion of Public Broadcasting award is the highest given by APTS, to federal and state government leaders and others who have made extraordinary contributions to the work of public television.
As the top Republican on Senate Labor Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Capito helped lead a bipartisan effort among Senators to sustain funding for public broadcasting after the House Appropriations Committee proposed to eliminate most of this funding. Working with Senate Appropriations Committee chair Patty Murray (D-WA), vice chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and LHHSED subcommittee chair Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Capito proposed level funding for public broadcasting in a bill reported from the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 26-2.
In addition, as a leader on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Capito helped secure funding for local public television stations’ public safety and homeland security missions, including infrastructure investments to ensure the reliability of stations’ emergency communications services.
“Senator Capito has been a long-time friend of public broadcasting and has been a supporter of our work for over two decades,” said APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler. “Senator Capito understands how essential our services in education, public safety and civic leadership are to people in West Virginia and across the country, and how vital the federal appropriation for public broadcasting is to providing these services to everyone, everywhere, every day for free.
“America’s Public Television Stations are immensely grateful for Senator Capito’s leadership and support, and it is my honor to present her with the 2024 Champion of Public Broadcasting Award she so richly deserves.”
“It’s an honor to receive the Champion of Public Broadcasting Award,” Senator Capito said. “Public broadcasting plays a significant role in our communities and helps inform Americans on what is happening around their state, our nation, and our world. It certainly does in my state of West Virginia. I have continuously made support for their operations a priority on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and have worked to ensure the reliability and availability of emergency communication services. It is always a pleasure to work with our public broadcasting personnel in West Virginia, and I look forward to our continued work together in the future.”
Shelley Moore Capito was elected by the people of West Virginia to the United States Senate in 2014, and re-elected in 2020. Senator Capito became the first female Senator in West Virginia’s history and in 2020, was reelected with the largest margin of victory for a Republican in state history — winning more than 70 percent of the vote and all 55 counties, surpassing the previous mark she set in 2014 when she won more than 62 percent of the vote and all 55 counties.
After serving West Virginia’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, and as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for four years prior, Senator Capito decided to run for the U.S. Senate to be an even stronger voice for the Mountain State. She also saw an opportunity to restore order to a Senate stuck in gridlock for far too long. She believes that today's challenges demand bipartisan solutions and cooperation across the aisle to advance legislation that benefits West Virginia and the country as a whole. Senator Capito is committed to being accessible and responsive to her fellow West Virginians and regularly to hear from and meet with West Virginians.
For the 118th Congress, Senator Capito serves on the Appropriations Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee as ranking member; and the Rules and Administration Committee. This committee portfolio puts her in a strong position to create new opportunities in the Mountain State and fight for West Virginia priorities, jobs, and families. Senator Capito also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the number five position in Senate Republican leadership.
As a member of the Committee on Appropriations, Senator Capito works to ensure West Virginia’s priorities are represented when our nation’s funding decisions are made. During her time on the committee, she has served as chair of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, and the Homeland Security Subcommittee. Senator Capito currently serves as the top Republican on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, where she oversees funding across a large range of programs within the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services (HHS), and other independent agencies. She has been a member of the Appropriations Committee since she became a Senator in 2015.
A lifelong West Virginian herself, Senator Capito was born in Glen Dale in the Northern Panhandle. She holds a B.S. in Zoology from Duke University and a M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. She and her husband Charles L. Capito Jr. reside in Charleston.
The Champion of Public Broadcasting Award was presented to Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) during the APTS Public Media Summit on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
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About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org