Photo by Joselyn King U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va.,presents a $2 million symbolic check to the city of Wheeling for the reconstruction of Northern Parkway.

WHEELING – The war in Iran has seemingly coming to an end, oil prices are about to head further downward, and most appropriations bills needed for the U.S. budget have been passed out of committee, according to U.S. Rep. Riley Moore.

He sees it as a positive vibe in Washington.

Moore, R-West Virginia, spoke on these issues and more during a stop in Wheeling this week just as a deal with Iran was being announced.

He explained the tentative agreement with Iran is a two-part plan. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday setting it in motion.

“He may go there. He has mentioned it,” Moore said of Trump. “Vice President (J.D.) Vance is certainly going to be there.”

The MOU will remove the naval blockade and allow free flow of traffic from the Strait of Hormuz.

“That’s a big deal. That’s going to drive oil prices back down, and gas prices will start to stabilize again,” he said.

Part two of the deal is about what is what many in Washington are calling “dust for dollars,” Moore continued.

“As Iranians remove nuclear (uranium) dust material, we will unlock assets that are frozen for them. That could be lifting sanctions or unfreezing dollars encumbered by Americans that are in Iranian bank accounts,” he explained.

“They certainly need to rebuild. They’ve been defeated politically, economically and militarily. The ball is not in their court. But it gives us the ability to turn the dial up or down through ‘dust for dollars.'”

Moore is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and he said he is really proud of the work that has been happening on the committee. As of the start of this week, members had passed out 11 of 12 appropriations bills for the 2027 budget with the full House having already approved most all of them.

“A highlight of it all is that Congress is actually functioning as it is supposed to,” Moore said. “A lot of people wanted regular order. No more omnibuses and all those giant bills.

“We are going through the regular order of appropriations the way government is to be funded. That is something that makes me happy. I think it’s a credit to the leadership and chairman of the Appropriations Committee Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) and all the hard work we have been doing. That is one thing that is certainly functioning in Washington, and it is a bright spot.”

Following the redrawing of congressional district lines in many states, Moore is now cautiously optimistic Republicans will hold the House following the November general election.

“If you would have asked me three or four months ago, I wasn’t feeling as confident,” Moore said. “I am more confident now – post re-districting and the map in Virginia getting struck down.

“There are essentially 15 seats in play.”

He explained traditionally the tide goes against a party when they have both houses of Congress and the presidency.

Moore also noted the Republicans’ “terrain looks better than theirs,” while “the environment is better for them (Democrats).”

He defined “terrain” as what the districts look like in terms of their make-up and voter registration numbers. The environment, meanwhile, is the mood of the voters, and usually benefits anyone who is running against an incumbent, according to Moore.

“But we’ve got great candidates right now, and they are working really hard,” he said. “We have been outraising a lot of them (Democrats), which is not common.

“It’s going to be a dogfight, no doubt.”

Moore acknowledged Republicans aren’t looking to flip seats this year as much as they are trying to retain the ones they currently have.