From left, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., greet each other as a bipartisan group of House and Senate bargainers meet to craft a border security compromise in hope of avoiding another government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WHEELING — The murder rate in Laredo, Texas — a point of entry for many illegal immigrants — is far below that of Charleston, West Virginia, a U.S. House-Senate conference committee learned Wednesday during the opening day of talks on how — or if — to fund President Trump’s $5.7 billion border wall.

Sen. Shelley Capito, a Republican who calls Charleston home, was at the table Wednesday as part of the 17-member committee tasked with crafting a homeland security appropriations deal that would avoid another possible government shutdown after Feb. 15. House Democrats offered a border security plan Wednesday that would not provide funding for President Trump’s border wall. However, later in the day a top Democrat acknowledged that “everything is on the table,” including the border barriers demanded by Trump.

Capito said she believes the committee can strike a deal. “Some people say reaching an agreement is a steep mountain to climb — but I’m from the Mountain State, and I embrace that,” Capito told committee members Wednesday.

An interesting West Virginia reference entered the discussion Wednesday afternoon. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, referenced Charleston as he noted some of the cities in his southwest Texas district that border Mexico are among the safest in the nation, according to FBI crime statistics.

Cuellar cited the national murder rate at 5.3 murders per 100,000 people, and compared the number to the murder rate in his hometown of Laredo. Laredo’s murder rate in 2016 was 4.6 per 100,000 residents, according to FBI data. It had a population of 259,325, and 12 murders in 2016.

He next compared the numbers to those of other cities well away from the border, and among them was Charleston, West Virginia. Charleston had a population of 49,249 residents and 13 murders in 2016, for a murder rate of 26.4 per 100,000 residents.

Capito did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the conference committee hearing, and she also did not address Cuellar’s remarks during the hearing.

Capito did express optimism that members would be able to craft a compromise funding deal.

“I am optimistic that if we work hard, and work together with mutual respect for one another, and with a sense of duty to achieve the job we were sent to do, we can deliver an outcome that illustrates the role the legislative branch plays in providing for our country’s priorities,” Capito said. This “avoids for the American people the unacceptable outcomes another lapse in appropriations would create.”

In addition to Capito, others senators selected to serve on the conference committee are Republicans Richard Shelby of Alabama, John Hoeven of North Dakota, and Roy Blunt of Missouri. Democrats are Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and John Tester of Montana.

House Democrats on the committee are Cuellar, Barbara Lee of California, Nita Lowey of New York, Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, David Price of North Carolina, and Pete Aguilar of California. Republicans selected were Kay Granger of Texas, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, Tom Graves of Georgia, and Steven Palazzo of Mississippi.

Also Wednesday, senators revisited a bipartisan $1.6 billion proposal for 65 miles of fencing in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas that passed a key committee last year.

“Because of the work we did years ago we’ve already built almost 700 miles of fencing on our nation’s border,” Price said. “Whatever the president may say it is far from an open border. Meanwhile, the number of undocumented immigrants crossing our border or attempting to cross remain not at alarming highs but at historic lows.”

Republicans said there will have to be some money to meet Trump’s demands. But they also predict privately that the White House is eager to grab an agreement and declare victory — even if winning only a fraction of Trump’s request.

“The components of border security are people, technology and a barrier. And everybody has voted for all three,” said Hoeven. “To get to an agreement we’ve got to have all three in there.”