In The News

Thursday is the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act that outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including Virginia, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. In recognition of the important anniversary, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Democrats from Virginia, have renewed their call for the Senate to adopt legislation that would that would restore and advance voting protections f...Continue Reading

The war against ISIS began with airstrikes a year ago this week and lawmakers have spent significant time in the last 12 months debating the strategy and, in many cases, criticizing the way the Obama administration is conducting the fight. But one thing members of Congress have yet to do is have a vote – or even a substantive debate – over authorizing the military campaign. Instead, President Obama has relied on past authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) against al-Qae...Continue Reading

Today, three Democratic Senators came out for the Iran deal: Tim Kaine of Virginia, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Barbara Boxer of California. The math now looks increasingly difficult for the deal’s opponents. Kaine and Nelson are both quite significant. They are both genuinely moderate; previously, the only ones who had come out for the deal were liberals or were always all but certain to do so: Dianne Feinstein; Martin Heinrich, Tom Udall, and Dick Durbin, who is rounding up sup...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON -- Three key swing Democrats announced support for the Iran nuclear agreement on Tuesday, citing it as an improvement over the status quo. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the first to declare his position, gave a speech on the Senate floor lauding the international community's use of diplomacy over force to bring about a peaceful agreement that will require Iran to dismantle the bulk of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. He was followed by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and...Continue Reading

Hace 50 años, el Presidente Lyndon Johnson aprobó la ley Medicare y Medicaid. A su lado se encontraba mi presidente favorito, Harry S Truman. La creación de Medicaid y Medicare fue uno de los logros legislativos más importantes para él y para nuestro país. Medicare es el emblemático programa que asegura que los ciudadanos de la tercera edad tenga acceso a cuidado médico. Medicaid, otro programa de suma importancia, ha ayudado...Continue Reading

Citing a "moral obligation" to leave our children a healthy planet, the White House on Monday released its final Clean Power Plan calling for even stricter curbs on power plant carbon emissions than it proposed last summer. The final plan imposes a 32 percent reduction in emissions from existing coal-fired plants from 2005 levels, but also gives states more flexibility and a 2030 deadline to achieve it. The draft plan had set a 30 percent reduction. Supporters, including conservationists, health...Continue Reading

This week marks the first anniversary of our latest war in the Middle East, but after some 5,000 airstrikes in two countries, and with 3,500 U.S. troops on the ground, we’ve yet to have an up-or-down vote in Congress on authorization for the use of military force against ISIS. We’re recognizing—“celebrating” isn’t the right word—that unhappy anniversary at Cato with a talk by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), who holds the unfashionable view that Congress ought to vote on the wars we fight, and has been...Continue Reading

Virginia's top Democratic leaders - the governor and two U.S. senators - said Thursday it's time for Republican legislators to stop blocking the expansion of Medicaid in the state under the federal health care law. In a rare joint phone call with reporters, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine used the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Medicaid program to make their case. After failing in 2014 and earlier this year to persuade the GOP-controlled General Assembly to acce...Continue Reading

Many called it socialized medicine. A rising Republican warned that we’d "spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” Donald Trump talking about Obamacare in 2015? No, Ronald Reagan urging Congress to vote against the creation of Medicare. This week marks 50 years since the passage of Medicare. If addressing inequality is a real priority for Republicans officials — particularly tho...Continue Reading

Frustrated by safety problems that have persisted for years, U.S. senators from Maryland and Virginia are pushing to shake up the leadership of the Metrorail system and set new standards for emergency procedures. An amendment to the Senate transportation bill was introduced Tuesday, the latest attempt by public officials to address a deep well of financial and safety problems at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. It follows a meeting this month with U.S. Transportation Secretary...Continue Reading

Potential U.S. and Turkish plans to develop areas in Syria free of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are firming, according to defense officials. The move would portend a new phase in the war against the terrorist group, and could see deepening U.S. involvement in Syria.  The plans would entail American aircraft, Syrian rebels and Turkish forces working together to sweep ISIS from a 60-mile long strip of northern Syria along the Turkish border, according to The New York Times....Continue Reading

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine had some pointed words Tuesday night about the federal budget process and the potential for another government shutdown this fall — an outcome that would have direct effects on the economy of Northern Virginia. "This is a philosophy that no other organization would follow because the basic summary is if we don't do something good, we will do something stupid," Kaine, a Democrat, said during a taping of the latest installment of "Kojo In Your Community," th...Continue Reading

As colleges grapple with the widespread problem of sexual assault, there is a growing consensus that the nation’s schools need to do more to educate young people about sex and relationships before they ever set foot on campus. A little-noticed measure tucked into the Senate’s 600-page bill to rewrite No Child Left Behind, which passed Thursday, would require the nation’s high schools to begin reporting how they teach students about safe relationships, including what i...Continue Reading

Private conversations last December between University of Virginia students and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine led to the Senate passing legislation Thursday that would spur high schools to teach students how to deal with sexual harassment or violence. It also asks that schools discuss the meaning of consent. Kaine said he sought a closed-door meeting with U.Va. students in the weeks following the November 2014 publication of a now-discredited Rolling Stone magazine article about a supposed gang rape at th...Continue Reading

The discussion was pretty free-wheeling, when Sen. Tim Kaine gathered with members of UVa’s One Less group last December to talk about what to do about sexual assaults on campus. But he learned something then that, as of today, looks as if will  reshape federal education policy. Over two hours back in December, the senator and the students wrestled with the tough questions of whether colleges or the police and courts ought to deal with such cases. The students looked hard at their own...Continue Reading

William and Mary Professor Distinguished Visiting Professor Lawrence Wilkerson started scanning the 159 page deal on Iran's nuclear program before the sun came up. Shortly after the deal was announced, a contact in Geneva shot him a copy of the agreement, which Wilkerson said was a monumental step forward in curtailing the Iranian regime's ability to produce a nuclear weapon. But Wilkerson said Congressional support would be important for the deal, which he thinks will be critical in d...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — Senator Angus King, the prudent independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, flipped through his copy of thenuclear agreement with Iran on Wednesday, pointing to scores of notes in the page margins. “The first step for me is to read the agreement word for word,” Mr. King said, noting that he also would seek to consult with a former weapons inspector and a nuclear physicist or two. Seeking clarity on the written deal is one of several steps Mr. King says...Continue Reading

Last December, in the wake of the now-discredited Rolling Stone article on campus sexual assault, I went to the University of Virginia to meet with members of One Less, a group that advocates for survivors of rape and sexual assault on campus. I needed their advice. According to the Justice Department, young women between the ages of 16 and 24 consistently experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence. Even though Rolling Stone would soon be retracting the piece, there was no denying ...Continue Reading

Una legislación federal que ayude a prevenir el aumento de víctimas de violaciones y acoso sexual será discutida muy pronto en el senado, luego de que elementos claves para la enseñanza sobre relaciones saludables en las escuelas públicas, fueran incluidos en un proyecto de ley sobre educación presentado esta semana.Esta adición fue aplaudida por los senadores Tim Kaine y Claire McCaskill, quienes presentaron en febrero la Ley de Enseñanza ...Continue Reading

On Tuesday in Cincinnati, Major League Baseball pauses for its mid-season All-Star Game. In that same spirit, let’s recognize the political all-stars in Virginia who have had notable performances so far this year. Just as Tuesday’s game will have both rival Yankees and Red Sox on the same team, our All-Star roster includes both Republicans and Democrats. If you’re counting, we’re fielding five Republicans, two Democrats – and two who don’t fit in either party....Continue Reading