Justice dodges shutdown/CR questions – WV MetroNews

Members of Congress took a controversial vote last Saturday. They could either approve a 45-day continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded or vote against the measure, which would lead to a government shutdown at midnight.

The vote was important, not only because of what was at stake, but also because it was a significant indication of where each member of the House and Senate stood on the budget controversy. That is valuable information for voters.

West Virginia Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin sided with the bi-partisan 89-member majority in the Senate that approved the resolution. In the House, Representative Carol Miller was among the 335 Republicans and Democrats who voted in favor of the measure.

Representative Alex Mooney of West Virginia voted against it. Mooney argued on Talkline that he did not want the government to shut down, but he wanted to return to the regular order of business and take up individual spending bills.

“There’s plenty of time to pass government funding bills for the next fiscal year, and I strongly urge Congress to get to work right away,” Mooney posted on social media.

Yes, many in Congress want to end the chaotic budgeting process, but the fact is a “no” vote by Mooney on the CR was a vote to shut down the government.

Voters can decide who did the right thing—Mooney or Capito, Manchin and Miller—but at least their positions are on the record.  Unfortunately, Governor Jim Justice, who is running to serve in the U.S. Senate, is equivocating on the issue.

When I first asked the Justice campaign that specific question, the response from campaign manager Roman Stauffer criticized Mooney for his vote, saying it would punish West Virginia veterans and families, but he did not say specifically how Justice would have voted.

Then MetroNews reporter Brad McElhinny followed up with the same question during Justice’s Thursday briefing. Said Justice, “I won’t give you how I would have voted because first and foremost I’m not voting today, and the reason I’m not voting today is that I don’t have all the information, do I?”

Well, we don’t know what information Justice has or doesn’t have, but there has been nearly constant news coverage for the last week.  Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell personally recruited Justice to run for the Senate and Senator Capito is backing Justice’s candidacy. A quick call to either and Justice would have been well-versed on the issue.

In fairness, Justice is not yet a Senator, so he is correct that he had no vote. However, he wants to be a Senator and is the frontrunner in the race. It is very likely that critical votes on whether to temporarily fund the government or shut down operations will come up again.

It would be helpful for voters to know in advance of the election what to expect from a Senator Justice if and when he has to make that decision.