PRESSER — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., spoke with reporters Thursday from the U.S. Capitol Building on various subjects, including college athletics and funding for immigration enforcement funding. (Photo from Screengrab)

CHARLESTON – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito provided an update Thursday on a number of issues being addressed on Capitol Hill, including reforming college athletics and funding for immigration enforcement efforts.

Capito, R-W.Va., spoke with West Virginia reporters Thursday morning during a conference call prior to heading back to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a “vote-a-rama” on amendments to a $72 billion budget reconciliation package that will fund Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for the next three years.

“Quite simply, it funds ICE and Border Patrol – both agents, technologies, and safety at the border – for another three years,” Capito said. “It’s to enforce our laws, our immigration laws, to keep us safe, and keep the border from being overrun like it was in the previous administration, so I will be voting yes on that.”

While most bills in the 100-member U.S. Senate must receive 60 votes in order to be fully considered, reconciliation bills only require a simple majority. Capito placed the blame for lack of funding on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Senate Democratic caucus.

“What we’re trying to do is something that is so common sense, and we should have done months ago, but we couldn’t because the Democrats and Schumer just will not do this,” Capito said. “They will not fund the Homeland Security law enforcement portions of Border Patrol and ICE.”

Capito took part in a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee meeting Wednesday regarding the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, introducing former West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee as one of the witnesses, along with West Virginia native and former University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban.

The Protect College Sports Act would create uniform national regulations so the NCAA can enforce rules without constant litigation. It would ensure that the shift toward name, image and likeness rights (NIL) does not result in the loss of scholarships for Olympic sports or women’s sports. It would also maintain traditional matchups, such as the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh.

“College sports is in such disarray with the ability to pay our players now, but the bidding wars, the older athletes that are now going back to college, the transferring all over the place, and certain advantages. I am concerned,” Capito said. “I want to preserve college sports, but I also want to see that nobody’s going to lose their scholarship … the benefit of getting a college scholarship to go and play your sport cannot be undersold, and some people would never get to college without that.”

When asked whether Congress should involve itself in regulating college athletics, Capito said the ability for the NCAA to develop its own regulations is often hampered by lawsuits.

“Anytime they try to enforce a provision or a regulation, they’re regularly sued because they don’t have the ability to make these national or more sweeping provisions,” Capito said. “That’s why I think they’ve come to us, to Congress, to set a national floor.”