WHEELING – New U.S. Rep. Riley Moore got himself appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, and now he is backing the trade tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump as a means to right the economy.

“I will say it was harder for me to get on the House Appropriations Committee than to win my general election,” Moore told those gathered for a business leaders lunch Thursday morning at Oglebay Park’s Wilson Lodge. “And it’s for a reason.

“Everybody wants on there. I’m the only freshman Republican or Democrat in the entire Congress who is on the Appropriations Committee.”

He added that’s a good thing because his aunt, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore-Capito, R-West Virginia, is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The two can team up to work for funding for projects in the state, he added.

With his eye on the economy, Moore said he supports the executive orders with higher tariffs on trade partners being signed by President Donald Trump.

“I feel like there have been hundreds of them,” he continued. “What he has done as it relates to tariffs has been great. This is going to be beneficial for manufacturers here in West Virginia, and the country at large.

“Hopefully, it will help us rebalance trade so we won’t keep getting taken advantage of and having all our jobs shipped overseas.

Moore is among Republicans introducing the “U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act,” which seeks to codify into law some of the executive actions recently taken by Trump. The bill authorizes the president to negotiate with foreign nations on behalf of the American people to lower tariff rates on American goods, and when necessary, impose reciprocal tariffs on foreign-made goods entering the U.S.

“We’re coming out of a broken (former President Joe) Biden economy with runaway inflation and skyrocketing debt,” Moore continued. “We’ve only been in this a few months, and the president is getting things back on track. You’ve seen gas prices have fallen, egg prices have fallen, and prices of goods are falling. It takes time to turn the ship around but the president is doing that.”

Economic experts also note it will be some time before the falling price of eggs is noticed in grocery stores.

Trump also is pushing American energy as a means of righting the economy, as it is a big driver in the rate of inflation, according to Moore. That includes domestic coal, gas and oil.

“Every product you consume is moved by energy – on trucks, on rail, on airplanes,” he explained. “As energy prices fall, the cost to the consumer reduces as the price of that good reduces.”

Moore described his first three months in office as being “really, really good.”

“We have been able to introduce a lot of legislation I think is really going to help West Virginia, and help the country,” he said. “So far, it’s been a wonderful experience. I feel really blessed to represent the 2nd Congressional District in Congress. Everyday I wake up and pray for God’s good will.”

The current mood in Washington varies based on a person’s political affiliation, according to Moore.

“At least on my side of the aisle it’s pretty positive,” he said. “We keep beating the D.C. media odds where they all say, ‘There’s no way you are going to be able to pass this.’ Or, ‘You can’t pass that.’

“But we keep passing these pieces of legislation that are so critical to President Trump’s agenda. We feel like we are stacking up a lot of wins for the country right now,” Moore added.