Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and 35 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection (Absentee MVP) Act, legislation to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict absentee and mail-in voting by executive order. Trump’s executive order directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to reject and refuse delivery of lawful ballots unless states co...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in introducing the Retention Enhancements for Tactical Aircrew Initiative (RETAIN) Act and Fighter Aircrew Career Flexibility Act, bipartisan legislation that would help preserve American airpower dominance by retaining Air Force aviators and Weapons Systems Officers (WSOs). “There is no air force in the world that can do what the United Sta...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, unveiled his amendments to Senate Republicans’ Fiscal Year 2026 budget resolution in an attempt to improve the bill, which currently tees up yet another massive increase in spending for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without any reforms that Democrats have been asking for to keep Americans safe. Last year, Republicans used the same partisa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and 29 of their colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture raising concerns about the reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service. The Administration’s proposed changes to the agency come as wildfire seasons have become more dangerous in Virginia and across the country, making the responsible stewardship of America’s forests ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Primary Care Team Education Centers Act, legislation to support the education and clinical training of the next generation of primary care professionals. “Access to quality and affordable primary care is critical to the long-term health and well-being of our communities,” said Kaine. “But workforce shortages create barriers in accessing that care ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after it was reported that the Trump-Vance Administration may send as many as 1,100 Afghans, including those who served with the U.S. military and more than 400 children, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): “Our Afghan allies provided critical support to U.S. forces for over 20 years, but the Trump-Vance Administration has tu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Engineering Biology Readiness Act, legislation that would protect public safety and national security against biological threats. While engineering biology has accelerated the development of medical devices, treatments, and disease testing, the misuse or abuse of these innovations could pose substantial risks. This legislation would help safeguard the United States against biological threats by...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, on the 19th anniversary of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced the Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act, legislation to enact at the federal level a series of commonsense gun violence prevention measures approved by Virginia’s elected officials. The bill includes provisions to mandate reporting of lost and stolen firearms, prevent children from accessing firearms, prohibit the sale of assault weapon...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement regarding the deaths of Cerina and Justin Fairfax: “We are keeping Cerina and Justin Fairfax’s family—especially their two children—in our prayers as we all process this shocking and horrifying news. We urge any Virginians impacted by domestic violence to call the police or the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support.” The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 a...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner (both D-VA), joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Angus King (I-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and 22 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the Stop Corporations and High Earners from Avoiding Taxes and Enforce the Rules Strictly (Stop CHEATERS) Act, legislation to provide additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to strengthen and expand tax collection services and systems and crack d...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement ahead of the Senate’s votes on resolutions that would block the transfer of select weapons to Israel: “When the Senate votes soon, I will vote to block the transfer of bombs and bulldozers to Israel, in keeping with my years-long position on these types of transfers. While I’ve voted many times to transfer weapons to Israel that are cri...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on USS Gerald R. Ford breaking the record for the longest carrier deployment since the Vietnam War: “The sailors of USS Gerald R. Ford said goodbye to their families in Norfolk last June thinking they would be back before the holidays. But after being ordered from the Mediterranean to...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and a group of their DMV colleagues pressed the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford for answers on two recent reports of equipment failure at the FAA Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility that caused evacuation of the facility, hospitalization of FAA personnel, and groundings and delays for aircraft at the covered airports in Virginia and Maryland. Concerned about the Pot...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn a final rule by the Trump Administration to politicize and destabilize the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program by allowing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to limit eligibility and disqualify certain public service employers—a cl...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, six additional U.S. Democratic Senators — Senators Merkley (OR), Gillibrand (NY), Van Hollen (MD), Kelly (AZ), Warnock (GA), and Kim (NJ) —will join Sens. Booker (NJ), Kaine (VA), Murphy (CT), Schiff (CA), Baldwin (WI), and Duckworth (IL) in filing War Powers resolutions that can be used to force a vote to stop the war in Iran. War Powers resolutions are privileged, meaning they can be brought to the Senate floor for a vote by any senator ten calendar days after the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of the extended deployment of Virginia-based Navy ships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan encouraging him to use the appropriate tools and authorities to ensure ship repair workloads in the Commonwealth remain level, and that the Navy works with industry to prepare for upcoming maintenance demand. The Ford’s near historic deployment, emergency repairs, and c...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement regarding Virginia Tech President Tim Sands’ 12 years of service at the university: “I’m deeply troubled by the sudden departure of President Tim Sands at Virginia Tech. He has been an exceptional leader for over a decade—a period of significant growth for the university, including through its deepened partnership with Carilion Clinic in the R...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to encourage the Trump Administration to support free, transparent, and credible upcoming elections in Guatemala. The senators’ letter comes during a critical year for Guatemala’s democratic institutions, when the makeup of the Constituti...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement: “Before President Trump started his illegal and unpopular war of choice, the Strait of Hormuz was open and free of violence, gas was significantly cheaper, and thousands more people—including thirteen American servicemembers—were alive. “This temporary ceasefire agreement—which is already being vio...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to bring the Senate back into session this week to address the Iran war, following social media posts by President Donald Trump in which he threatened to commit war crimes against Iranian civilians: “I ask Senate Majority Leader Thune to call the Senate back into session this week. The Presid...Continue Reading