This is our final in a series of Q and A’s with candidates of both parties seeking elected office. We asked them to respond in writing to a series of questions. Today we bring you Democrat Steven Wendelin and Republican Riley Moore, both competing for West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District seat, currently held by outgoing Congressman Alex Mooney.
Meet your candidates: Congressional Representative for the 2nd District Moorefield Examiner:
West Virginia continues to struggle with economic expansion and business growth. What will you do to
attract manufacturing and other new industries that expand our tax base and create jobs?
Riley Moore: West Virginia has struggled economically because of consistent attacks from Washington, DC. Unreasonable mandates out of Washington have destroyed our manufacturing and energy industries while shipping millions of jobs overseas. In Congress, my priority will be to promote American energy independence and America first trade policies. Through tariffs I will support FAIR trade that stops predatory practices from countries like China that are hurting our workers. I’ll also be a champion of energy produced in West Virginia and support our great fossil fuel industry and the thousands of people it employs.
Steven Wendelin:
First off, we need the infrastructure. Without reliable cellphone connectivity and access to broadband, West Virginia cannot move forward. Next, we need the workers. One issue that I hear repeatedly is that employers in West Virginia cannot find workers. Why is that? Until we start investing in our children through properly funded public education, we will not be able to supply businesses with the qualified workers that they require.
Examiner:
West Virginia continues to have some of the worst health outcomes in the country. Nearly 15% of adults
have reported going without care due to cost. This year, enrollments in the Affordable Care Act reached a record, with West Virginia seeing an 80% increase in enrollments, the biggest increase of any state. What will you do to expand access to quality care and improve affordability?
Wendelin: The ACA was the first step and the protections it provides are significant, but the ACA alone isn’t enough. The health insurance industry and big pharma are essentially trusts at this point
and behave like monopolies. It is insane that patient “A” pays one amount for a treatment or a
prescription while patient “B” pays a different amount. The Feds need to step in and set reasonable caps on all procedures and FDA approved drugs. We did it with insulin, now we need to do it with everything else.
Moore:
Bringing good jobs to West Virginia is the number one priority for improving healthcare for West Virginia because good jobs come with good healthcare benefits. The question of health outcomes is bigger than insurance, though. In Congress, I look forward to working with President Trump and Vice President Vance in their mission to make America healthy again.
Examiner:
West Virginia has one of the highest opioid overdose rates in the country, including fentanyl. How would you address the opioid crisis and improve access to behavioral health and addiction treatment and support services in the 2nd district?
Moore:
The drug crisis is being driven by the flood of illegal immigrants across the border carrying
fentanyl manufactured in China. Stopping the flow of illegal drugs into our state starts with
securing the southern border. We need to end illegal immigration by building the wall, stopping
employers from hiring illegal immigrants, and deporting immigrants who came here illegally.
In the House of Delegates, I voted to establish substance abuse treatment facilities that give
preference to West Virginians looking to turn their lives around, and I stand by that record.
Wendelin:
Charleston needs to use the settlement money in an effective and efficient way and not squander it. All communities, regardless of size, need access to free behavioral health, even if it is just online/telephone access. When prescribed an opioid, there needs to be mandatory counseling before that prescription is filled and prescribing physician must have face to face follow up visits before refilling the prescription. We also need to look at developing a community-based harm reduction programs in our at-risk communities.
Examiner:
As a rural area we face challenges with aging infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and sometimes
limited or unreliable broadband access. What specific infrastructure projects would you prioritize for the district, and how would you secure funding for them?
Wendelin:
In 1936 Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act (REA) to drive the expansion of electricity to the hills and hollers, without those efforts by the Federal Government, West Virginia would still be in the dark. It is time for the Federal Government to step in once again and treat cellphone signal and broadband internet as a public utility. The technology exists, as does the business model of public/private/community partnership – we do it right here in Hardy County with HardyNet. We simply need Congress to incentivize private communication companies to make Rural America a priority. The REA did not issue handouts, it provided no/low interest loans to private firms to build out the infrastructure. Congress also made sure that as a condition to the loans, standards and milestones were met. We do not need to reinvent the wheel; we simply need to go back to tried and true policies. As for the rest of our infrastructure, we simply need to hold Charleston accountable for the effective use of millions of Federal dollars already sent our way by the Biden Administration to rebuild our infrastructure.
Moore:
I’m committed to the completion of the Corridor H project. My experience as State Treasurer
and a legislator has prepared me to advocate for the completion of this critical project and
others. On day one, I’ll be prepared to champion our district’s infrastructure priorities in
Congress.
Examiner:
West Virginia had the greatest population decline of any state, according to Census data. Young
people are leaving the state to seek opportunities elsewhere. What would you do to improve educational outcomes and workforce training to ensure a thriving future for the region?
Moore:
As State Treasurer, I’ve worked to make West Virginia a leader in school choice and advancing the skilled trades among young people. I’ll be the only member of Congress who has administered a program allowing parents to choose the education that is best for their child. I created the Jumpstart Savings program to give men and women in the skilled trades the same tax advantages college students get. As your Congressman, I will fight to expand school choice and support for the skilled trades at the national level.
Wendelin:
INVEST! We need to start investing in our public schools and make them great places to work.
If we invest in our schools, the professional educators will come and STAY. Our students, who
are our future, will be qualified for good paying jobs will STAY. Finally, just like we had to
encourage Italian, Polish, Czechoslovakian and Greeks immigrants in the early 20 th Century to
come to West Virginia to mine coal, we need to encourage legal immigrants to come to West
Virginia to come work in our service and manufacturing industry and help us rebuild and
repopulate our State.
