In The News

U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, D-Va.,  a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., introduced the Response to Conflict in Sudan Act Thursday, legislation to bolster and coordinate the U.S. response to the war in Sudan by codifying the Special Envoy for Sudan position at the U.S. Department of State. Specifically, the bill would elevate the position and require the special envoy to report directly to the Secretary of State; the envoy currently reports to the Assi...Continue Reading

Have you heard the story about the expensive handbag designer, a member of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, who was his ambassador to South Africa? Although born there, Lana Marks had no previous diplomatic experience. What about Kelly Craft, a Republican donor and Trump’s ambassador to Canada, who reportedly was dubbed an “absent ambassador” because she was so often away from her post? Or the one about the bipartisan political fundraiser and would-be U.S. ambassador to Norway nominated by Pres...Continue Reading

Roughly 1 in 4 Virginia hospitals are critically short-staffed, according to federal data. During last week’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine highlighted two health care workforce bills he’s sponsoring. They're intended to ease labor shortages in the sector. The legislation comes at a time when about 1 in 4 Virginia hospitals are in a critical staffing shortage, according to late-April data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A li...Continue Reading

In Uzbekistan, Dora was a well-respected oncologist with more than 25 years of experience taking care of cancer patients. In the United States, she was told that her medical license would not be accepted, that her English was too poor to work with patients. She was encouraged to get a job in a cafeteria or as a housekeeper. “That was a big humiliation for me because nobody had ever said those bad words to me. After that, I was depressed, I cried a lot,” Dora told The Daily Progress. Dora, who as...Continue Reading

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy may have bought time with an apology to a bipartisan Virginia congressional delegation that is irate over delays in mail deliveries — including essential medications — to people in the Richmond area. But U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Virginia Democrats, and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, and Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-4th, say they will not relax scrutiny of the Postal Service and its regional mail distribution center in Richmond. “He owned up to respon...Continue Reading

Virginia’s U.S. Senators have introduced a bill in Congress they say could reduce gun violence in America. Included in their proposal is a provision commonly known as “Lucia’s Law.” In 2021, 13-year-old Lucia Bremer died in her mother’s arms after being shot nine times in Henrico County. Her killer was a fellow teenager with documented mental health problems, who used a loaded handgun he found in his home. ‘We had that tragedy in Central Virginia where a caregiver frankly should have been aware ...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, joined lawmakers from the House and Senate to urge the Office of Personnel Management to require all health insurance carriers in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to cover in-vitro fertilization treatments and medications. If the agency were to take up the request, this would affect federal employees, many of whom live in Northern Virginia. In noting the treatment’s popularity for families struggling with fertility issues...Continue Reading

U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have introduced the “Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act” to enact a series of gun violence prevention measures federally. The bill includes a provision to mandate reporting of lost and stolen guns, prevent children from accessing guns, and implement a one-handgun-a-month policy Warner and Kaine introduced this effort on April 16. This day marks 17 years since a gunman opened fire at two locations at Virginia Tech killing 32 people and leaving 17 othe...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google and Meta regarding the continued presence of a video depicting the murders of two Roanoke journalists. In August 2015, Alison Parker and Adam Ward with Roanoke’s WDBJ news channel were shot and killed by a former colleague during a live broadcast. A third person, Vicki Gardner, was seriously wounded during the attack, which the gunman recorded on video. Videos of the Moneta shooting incident remain on Google and Met...Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a new rule that aims to close a specific loophole regarding the sale of firearms. On Thursday, Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner applauded the new gun show loophole rule, which is based on the Safer Communities Act. The loophole concerns the sale of firearms online and at gun shows by private sellers without background checks. “When we passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we secured long overdue, broadly popular provisions to keep guns out ...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine was in Charlottesville Monday morning to visit Piedmont Virginia Community College’s adult education center, where the Virginia Democrat said he wanted to learn how he could fine-tune legislation he’s proposed for years that would expand access to federal grants to those seeking high-quality, short-term job training programs. The students and faculty at PVCC’s Thomas Jefferson Adult Career Education facility are among those who stand to benefit from Kaine’s Jumpstart Our Businesse...Continue Reading

Virginia U.S. Senator Tim Kaine recently helped secure federal funding for three Harrisonburg projects in the Senate’s $1.3 trillion spending bill. WHSV spoke with Sen. Kaine about the funding for the projects and the needs they’ll help address. “A million dollars for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Child Daycare Center. We’re just hearing reports all over the Commonwealth about the need for more affordable, high-quality childcare. It’s good for kids, good for parents, and good for the providers,” s...Continue Reading

A pair of senators introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the State Department to track xylazine in its annual report. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the legislation, which would require the State Department to include data on xylazine, nicknamed “tranq,” in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy (INCSR) Report. The report is meant to record efforts on countering the international drug trade; it already includes data on fentanyl, cocaine and heroin...Continue Reading

On Wednesday, Senators Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and Laphonza Butler (D-California) introduced the Opening Doors for Youth Act of 2024 to help at-risk youth find summer or year-long jobs that can set them up for success in future careers. The legislation would provide federal funding to local communities to create strategic partnerships with businesses to create job opportunities and provide career training, mentoring, financial literacy planning, and other skills and services to young people who a...Continue Reading

Virginia’s representatives in the Senate applauded the passing of a congressional funding bill on March 8. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner applauded the legislation, which averted a partial government shutdown and funded key government projects for fiscal year 2024. “It’s about time,” said Sen. Warner in a press release. “I was proud to support the passage of this legislation, which will give our federal agencies the funding they need to serve the American people and respond to the novel need...Continue Reading

Amid ongoing problems with mail delivery in Virginia, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. and seven other members of Virginia’s congressional delegation have written to the United States Postal Service’s Inspector General to press their concerns. The letter follows delays and disruptions in local mail service and a recent court case that involved theft of mail by former mail carrier. Kaine’s office has requested a tour of the Richmond Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Sandston, which is curr...Continue Reading

After an increase in reported incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia at universities across the nation, Senator Tim Kaine is vouching for a bill that could help get students a response in a more timely manner. According to the U.S. Department of Education, between Oct. 1, 2023, and Feb. 15, 2024, the Office of Civil Rights received 219 complaints related to Islamophobia, antisemitism and anti-Arab discrimination. That’s more than a 1,000 percent increase compared to the year before.  Kaine a...Continue Reading

On Tuesday, Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) cosponsored the Showing Up for Students Act, which provides $280 million in additional funding for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education. The OCR is responsible for protecting the civil rights of students in schools, including incidents related to antisemitism and Islamophobia. Citing an increase in reported incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools across the nation, Kaine said the bill would provide OCR with...Continue Reading

After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created via in vitro fertilization can be classified as children, Elizabeth Carr — the first U.S. baby born this way — set out to reveal the potential consequences of this decision. At a gathering in Ballston today (Friday) — surrounded by advocates, doctors and those who conceived or were conceived via IVF — Carr underscored the existential threat the ruling could pose. “IVF babies of my generation, I’ve noticed, are now having their own IVF jo...Continue Reading