Capito is the junior senator from West Virginia and is a Republican. She has served since Jan 6, 2015. Capito is next up for reelection in 2026 and serves until Jan 3, 2027.
She was previously the representative for West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district as a Republican from 2001 to 2014.
![Photo of Sen. Shelley Capito [R-WV]](/static/legislator-photos/400061-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Capito is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Capito has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 13, 2022. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Shelley Capito sits on the following committees:
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Ranking Member
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Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Homeland Security subcommittee Ranking Member
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittees - Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Enacted Legislation
Capito was the primary sponsor of 12 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 539: A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the use of video cameras for patient safety and law enforcement at …
- S. 4075 (116th): RLF Act
- S. 2582 (116th): Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2020
- S. 2555 (116th): New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Designation Act
- S. 1507 (116th): PFAS Release Disclosure and Protection Act of 2019
- S. 1190 (116th): Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2019
- S. 94 (116th): Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act
Does 12 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Capito sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (37%) Science, Technology, Communications (18%) Environmental Protection (12%) Taxation (11%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (7%) Energy (7%) Sports and Recreation (5%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Capito recently introduced the following legislation:
- S. 3456: A bill to enact the definition of “waters of the United States” into …
- S. 3277: Section 401 Certification Act
- S. 2567: Navigable Waters Protection Act of 2021
- S. 2373: American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2021
- S. 2157: Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act of 2021
- S. 1999: Multiple Substance Impaired Driving Prevention Act of 2021
- S. 1986: Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2021
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2015 to Jan 2022, Capito missed 75 of 2,356 roll call votes, which is 3.2%. This is worse than the median of 2.1% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
