In The News

Tim Kaine, a Democrat who represents Virginia in the Senate, is on the warpath. Not against another country—but against America’s proclivity for launching wars without the assent of Congress. Kaine is not opposed to conflict and knows that America must defend itself from harm. But he also believes that it can be harmful to our traditions to ignore them. He reminds us that James Madison declared, “the constitution supposes, what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that ...Continue Reading

With the opening of the Silver Line just days away, it’s easy to forget just how close it came to not happening at all. The federal money almost dried up. There was endless sparring over whether the tracks should run above ground or below — and how many buildings should be built around them. Officials in Maryland and the District, who have to foot part of bill for operating the new line, could have balked. Some Virginia legislators wanted to privatize the Dulles Toll Road — the...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner praised the proposal for new rail safety standards released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The senators had been calling on federal regulators to expedite development of the safety rules in the wake of the April 30 train derailment in downtown Lynchburg. The derailment, which upset 17 CSX cars carrying Bakken crude oil and punctured one, caused no injuries but sparked a large fire on the James River and became part of a national debate ov...Continue Reading

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV) are overwhelming grateful Senators Kaine and Warner and their allies in the U.S. Senate for voting to protect women’s access to no-copay birth control no matter where they work. The Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act comes on the heels of the devastating and unpopular Supreme Court ruling in favor of arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby — giving bosses a legal right to deny their employees access to insurance cove...Continue Reading

WINCHESTER — Russia must be held responsible for last week’s downing of a civilian airliner over war-torn Ukraine, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10th, said Monday afternoon. He was joined in condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin by Virginia’s U.S. senators, Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. “Clearly, the Russians are to blame, the Russian separatists supported by the Russian government, and indirectly and sometimes directly, it’s Putin,” Wolf said of Malays...Continue Reading

ROANOKE (WSLS) - The Blue Ridge Parkway is a little cleaner after more than two dozen people volunteered to pick up trash Saturday. It was part of Citizens Day where people were working on service projects across the Commonwealth.  U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was there along with Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. They picked up trash including a tire off the parkway. "We want to make sure the kids and grandkids can enjoy it and that means we go to take care to clean it up. Park service budgets ...Continue Reading

And speaking of Israel and Hamas, in a Friday statement Sen. Tim Kaine said what needed saying: “The escalating conflict between Hamas and Israel is deeply tragic and inflicts serious damage on the people in Israel and Gaza. Based on a cynical political calculation, Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, appears to be intentionally disrupting any chance for progress on peace discussions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  Hamas' decision to escalate rocket attacks on Isr...Continue Reading

Coastal Virginians don’t need us to educate them about sea-level rise and recurrent flooding. They see with their own eyes how often severe flooding occurs in their region and they know that the number and intensity of these floods has increased when comparing past decades to today. That’s why they are coming together in a bipartisan, locally driven effort to work on this issue as a unified Hampton Roads community. And that’s why we, as bipartisan members of Virginia’s co...Continue Reading

Friday U.S. Senator Tim Kaine hit Roanoke early with five stops on his calendar. His fourth stop that evening was at a reception at the Harrison Museum of African American Culture in Center in the Square. At one point Kaine when talking about how he became aware of his own segregated life and paused as his emotions got the better of him. Kaine praised Charles Price, Executive Director of the Harrison Museum. “Cultural institutions have been especially challenging in recent years … i...Continue Reading

SALEM, Va. - Drug abuse is a national problem that defies simple solutions, but a local program that became a model for the rest of the state is paying dividends almost 20 years after it started. The Drug Court of the 23rd Judicial Circuit was the first of its kind in Virginia, and it has been replicated across the state. Friday, 22 men and women picked up their diplomas to the applause of family members and supporters. "I've done a lot of graduation speeches," said U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, "but ...Continue Reading

About 20 entrepreneurs sat around the conference table at the Grandin CoLab on Friday, each sharing the trials and errors of starting their own business, as Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., sat at the head of the table listening intently. The senator stopped at the newly founded co-working space during his visit to Roanoke, where he got to see first-hand the increasing small business and young professional network in the valley. CoLab opened in March and now has more than 40 members who run businesses in ...Continue Reading

Fears that the aircraft carrier George Washington's overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding might be called off because of sequestration were laid to rest Tuesday with a key Senate panel's endorsement of $848 million for the project, according to Virginia lawmakers. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, said credit for securing the funding goes to the state's 13-member congressional delegation. "It shows there's still a Virginia way in terms of the delegation working together," he said. The carrier f...Continue Reading

Back in March, the Pentagon said it wanted a stronger signal from Congress on refueling the aircraft carrier USS George Washington. If not, the Navy would move to retire the ship. Based on what happened Tuesday, consider the signal sent, Virginia's two senators said. A Senate panel set aside $848 million in the 2015 defense budget bill so Newport News Shipbuilding can proceed with the project, which will eventually mean billions of dollars in shipyard work and thousands of sailors coming to down...Continue Reading

Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va., is one of more than 30 senators backing legislation to counter the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision on contraception. The court dealt a setback to President Barack Obama’s health care law June 30, ruling that business owners with religious objections to certain forms of birth control may refuse to provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives. The Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act “would rest...Continue Reading

Manassas schools superintendent Catherine Magouyrk said she’s talked to many students who aren’t aware of the value of career and technical education. “I have a real problem with students thinking that if they’re not going to a four-year college, they’re not going anywhere,” Magouyrk said. ”I feel like career and technical education has to be a window for kids to look through to see what they want to do.” At a forum at George Mason University&rsquo...Continue Reading

Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman introduced legislation Thursday to raise the quality of career and technical education programs across the country. The Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce Act amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The new legislation offers credit-transfer agreement opportunities, professional development for teachers, principals, administrators and counselors, and career and technical education curriculum alignment with local, reg...Continue Reading

While the climate change debate continues in some quarters in Washington, the impact of sea-level rise cut across political divides at the "Rising to the Challenge" conference last week in Norfolk, Va.. Members of Congress and Virginia mayors from both political parties joined military and state and local officials to discuss the challenges sea level rise presents to the Hampton Roads area, as well as how to promote federal, state and local action. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Rep...Continue Reading

PETERSBURG — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine met with Petersburg officials on Thursday morning to discuss an ongoing, multi-million dollar dredging and economic redevelopment project along the Appomattox River and to get a firsthand view of the area’s geography. “It’s a regional concept, and we’ve seen the value of it in what we’ve done up in Richmond. So many cities, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, D.C., kind of turned their backs on the river, and now realized ...Continue Reading

During a visit to Valley Career and Technical Center in Fishersville, VA, on July 1, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced a new CTE bill he is introducing soon with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act. The legislation builds on the effectiveness of the programs of study model by including a more rigorous definition requiring alignment with state-identified standards, progression in content specificity, multiple entry and exit points for students and the culmination in the ...Continue Reading

Observant folks in Hampton Roads can't help but notice the creeping waters. The eroding yards along our waterfront. The flooding streets every time it rains more than a little. All that is a fact of life here, as surely as snarly traffic and lost tourists. Over time, it's also getting worse. As rivers rise, they take back creeks filled long ago. They imperil neighborhoods and installations. They overwhelm stormwater and sewer systems designed when the waters were lower. Global warming is undoubt...Continue Reading