Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced that his guest to Tuesday’s Presidential State of the Union Address will be Bristol, Virginia resident and At-Large International Vice President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) James Gibbs. James is a third-generation coal miner from Dickenson County who has worked as an electrician in underground mines and as a lineman at surface operations. “I’m honored that James Gibbs, a lifelong Virginian who has...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and seven of their Democratic Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution condemning the January 8 siege on Brazil’s Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Against the backdrop of the insurrection’s parallels to the January 6, 2021 siege on the U.S. Capitol, the resolution expresses...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined their colleagues in introducing a bicameral and bipartisan resolution to immediately remove the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and take a critical step toward enshrining equality for women in the United States Constitution. The introduction of this resolution follows the 2020 passage of an amendment by the Virginia General Assembly, which made Virginia the 38th and fin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Todd Young (R-IN), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) in introducing the Workforce Mobility Act, bipartisan legislation to limit the use of non-compete agreements that negatively impact American workers. U.S. Representatives Scott Peters (D-CA-52) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) introduced the legislation in the U.S House of Representatives. Almost one in five American workers – 30 million people – are c...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Dianne Feinstein, today introduced the Protect our Citizens from Reckless Extortion of our Debt and Irresponsible Tactics (Protect Our CREDIT) Act of 2023—legislation aimed at ending Congress’ abuse of the debt ceiling as a political hostage. The Protect our CREDIT Act would change how the debt ceiling is raised, enabling the executive branch to initiate a process to raise the ...Continue Reading

High-quality photos of the meeting are available here. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) met with Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Marty Walsh to discuss workforce challenges for Virginia’s seafood industry. During the meeting, they urged DOL to consider reforms to the H-2B lottery that would make the process easier to use for small family businesses like seafood processors to meet their season...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Braun (R-IN) reintroduced the Jumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act, bipartisan legislation to help more Americans get good-paying jobs by allowing students to use federal Pell Grants to afford high-quality, shorter-term job training programs for the first time. Pell Grants are need-based education grants for low-income and working students. As of now, students can only use Pell Grants for two-year an...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine teamed up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to host a first-of-its kind in-person summit in Richmond for providers treating Virginians living with Long COVID and Virginians experiencing Long COVID. Kaine, Admiral Rachel L. Levine, M.D., the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, Alison Barkoff, J.D., the Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senator Bob Casey and colleagues in introducing legislation to expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) for older adults, people with disabilities, and injured workers, as well as increase pay and improve benefits for caregivers who provide this life-sustaining care. The bill would strengthen the caregiving workforce, improve quality of life for...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and other colleagues in introducing the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, legislation to establish a commission to consider proposals for reparations for African American descendants of slavery. The Commission would study the impacts of slavery and continued discrimination against African Americans, and it would make recommendations on reparation proposals for the desce...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $417,983 in federal funding for Virginia tribes to expand access to diabetes treatment and prevention services. This funding was awarded through the Indian Health Services’ (IHS) Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI). These Virginia tribes haven’t previously received federal funding through SDPI, and legislation championed by Kaine and Warner to federally recognize six Virginia tribes made it p...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON. D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) reintroduced legislation to formally designate the Blue Ridge Music Center’s outdoor amphitheater the “Rick Boucher Amphitheater” after former Congressman Rick Boucher. “We are deeply appreciative of Congressman Boucher’s commitment to public service, and his continued work for Southwest Virginia,” the Senators said. “We can think of no better way to honor his yea...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today introduced the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act, a bill to honor 60 World War II-era diplomats from the United States and around the world in recognition of their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust. The Hagerty-Kaine legislation would posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to these diplomats who took heroic actions to save Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, including issuing p...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) in releasing the below statement in reaction to violent anti-government protests across Peru:   “While we recognize Peruvians’ frustration with their governing institutions’ ability to improve their daily lives, the solution is neither violence nor the further erosion of the country’s ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and other colleagues in introducing legislation to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. The Washington, D.C. Admission Act would grant D.C. citizens full congressional representation. The bill would also ensure that the citizens and elected leaders of the District of Columbia have full authority over local affairs, including over the selection of judges to fill vacancies on D.C. courts, inc...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and 32 Democratic colleagues in reintroducing legislation to regulate assault weapons. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and import of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. This includes the gun used by a shooter on January 22 to...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and other colleagues in introducing the Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act to lower health care costs and expand access to health insurance for millions of Americans. The American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act expanded the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies to help lower health care premiums—pro...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement after the United States hit its debt limit—the technical limit on how much it can borrow to pay debt incurred over the past few decades—and began extraordinary measures: “Congress has an urgent responsibility to pass legislation to keep our country from defaulting on its debt incurred under Republican and Democratic Administrations. If we fail to do so because...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine are pushing for specific safety upgrades at the Danville Courthouse and the Walter E. Hoffman U.S. Courthouse in Norfolk, both of which currently suffer from serious security vulnerabilities. U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Jennifer Kiggans (VA-02) joined the senators in voicing their concerns regarding the Hoffman Courthouse. In their letter to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which is tasked with co...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In December, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced that they secured over $200 million in federal funding for local community projects across Virginia in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding bill. The federal dollars come from a process that allows members of Congress to work with the communities they represent to request and dedicate funding for specific community projects in a manner that promotes transparency and accountability. Local leaders have pr...Continue Reading