In The News

With fiscal 2014 fiscal more than halfway over and November midterm elections rapidly approaching, focus in Washington has once again turned to across-the-board budget sequester cuts that went into effect in March 2013. Sensing an opportunity to possibly ease — or erase — the cuts that are slated to last until fiscal 2021, Department of Defense (DoD) officials are putting the spotlight on long-term sequestration pitfalls, such as the Navy’s aircraft carrier fleet being cut from...Continue Reading

Your job, after graduating college, is to work really hard. In 10 years, maybe you can buy a house. It was that austere depiction of life after college that pushed Paul Singh, founder of Disruption Corporation, an asset-management firm in Arlington, Va., toward entrepreneurship. "Your future isn't in your control if you go down as a salary man," he said during a Wednesday panel discussion at a National Journal and The Atlantic town-hall event on millennials in Richmond, Va., underwritten by Micr...Continue Reading

Federal recognition of six Virginia Indian tribes has been lingering in Congress for nearly two decades. Among the six are the Monacan Indian Nation based at the foot of Bear Mountain in Amherst County. The tribes are one step closer to receiving federal recognition after years of battling one problem or another in pursuit of that elusive goal. It’s the same recognition that has been granted to nearly 600 other tribes around the United States. Federal legislation introduced by Virginia Sen...Continue Reading

After Sen. Timothy M. Kaine spoke Monday to the class of Larry J. Sabato, a University of Virginia professor and political analyst, a student from Midlothian came up to say hello. The student wasn't interested in talking about the Democrat's tenure as governor, or his work in the Senate. Instead, he wanted to talk about Kaine's time on Richmond City Council and to tell Kaine how proud he is to be from the Richmond region. Kaine said the student's comment -- that he's proud to be from Richmond --...Continue Reading

Newport News Shipbuilding and NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton are feeling the pinch of budget uncertainty in Washington, but Sen. Tim Kaine says Congress might clear that up in the coming weeks. The Virginia Democrat toured both facilities Tuesday, and at the shipyard brought an influential colleague to share the sights. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairs the seapower panel of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Kaine is member of that panel, and they spent four hours at the sprawling yard,...Continue Reading

Congress must adopt a more civil, collaborative approach to budgeting and policy to eliminate economic uncertainty for businesses, U.S. Sen. Timothy M. Kaine said Monday. He kicked off a two-week tour of Virginia with an appearance the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Commonwealth Breakfast. “We would all acknowledge that the [economic] recovery has not been as fast as we would want,” Kaine told about 200 people gathered at the Holiday Inn on Emmet Street. “...Continue Reading

The stage might have belonged to U.S. Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, but the class belonged to professor Larry J. Sabato. That, however, is about to change. While Kaine explained his heart change on same-sex marriage to the 400-plus students at the University of Virginia’s Introduction to American Politics — “My kids said, ‘Equal is equal, Dad, it isn’t that hard’” — Sabato sat on a folding chair offstage for the last time. “I’ve been doing the...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) spoke to professor Larry Sabato's politics course at the University of Virginia, marking the final high-profile guest speaker in Sabato's tenure of teaching the course. This is the final semester Sabato is lecturing after 35 years. "There's a time for everything. We all get older and you have to say goodbye," Sabato said. Kaine has appeared in the course a few times before. "I've been the subject of many a Larry Sabato prediction over the years, just doing what I do, ...Continue Reading

The towering Varina-Enon Bridge with its cascading cables that carry Interstate 295 across the James River is clearly seen from the acres of corn and wheat grown on the historic Varina Farms in eastern Henrico County. The farm was once famous for the tobacco crop from which the Varina region got its name. The tobacco, similar to the Spanish Varinas variety, was John Rolfe’s crowning achievement and contribution to the settlement’s survival in the 1600s. His wife, Pocahontas, had her ...Continue Reading

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine rolled-up his sleeves and volunteered in Henrico County Saturday. He, along with 30 volunteers, spent the morning repainting an elderly couple’s home. They teamed up with “Operation Paint Brush,” an organization that has been painting homes of people in need for nearly 15 years. "It's one of the best things you can do. Some of my most enjoyable moments in my adult life have been volunteering and you get to meet neat people and learn about them and hopeful...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine stopped by Fredericksburg on Friday for a wide-ranging discussion with a small group of women business owners and professionals. Kaine, D–Va., sitting at the head of a table at Kybecca restaurant, talked about the proposed federal minimum wage increase, immigration reform and issues facing women entrepreneurs. Melissa Harris, who founded Foodshed Magazine and Flavor Magazine, told Kaine that she felt the need to bring a “token male” with her to venture capit...Continue Reading

Revisiting a project from when he was lieutenant governor, Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va., will launch his new “Citizen Day” initiative in the Richmond area this weekend, hoping to highlight causes and organizations that are helping Virginians in need. “It’s good to be able to connect with this public service motive and do it in a way that can draw attention to the cause,” Kaine said in an interview Tuesday. “By doing this, I can both have fun and, hopefully, sh...Continue Reading

Republican critics have long accused the Obama administration of having no Syria strategy. But with tens of thousands dead and millions more fleeing the country, even some of the White House's closest allies are calling for the administration to do more to lessen the humanitarian crisis in Syria. "I don't hesitate to point out that we're not happy with the way things are going," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in an interview. "I don't view it as a criticism, but I do view it as a prod." In recent w...Continue Reading

The Monacan Indian Nation, Amherst County’s original inhabitants, now is one step closer to receiving federal recognition of its indigenous status. On April 2, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2013 was passed out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to await a vote in the full U.S. Senate. If the legislation passes, it would grant federal recognition to six Virginia Indian tribes, including the Monacan Indian Nation. The bill was introduced by ...Continue Reading

Federal lawmakers representing Southern Virginia applauded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ final approval of a permit needed for Henry County to begin developing Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre. U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats and former Virginia governors, and U.S. Reps. Morgan Griffith and Robert Hurt, both Republicans, got involved in recent months in convincing the corps to grant the permit. In August, the lawmakers introduced the “Commonsense Permitt...Continue Reading

No one could blame area officials if they popped some champagne corks Friday and celebrated. After several years of pursuing a permit to grade the Commonwealth Crossing Business Park, they finally learned Friday that the document had been signed and was on its way here. This has been a long journey that began in 2007 when Henry County bought most of the land for the new business park along the North Carolina line. Additional land was purchased in 2008 to reach the 740-acre total, and the county ...Continue Reading

Sending American service members into battle is the most important decision civilian leaders can make. That is why I entered the Senate with a personal conviction to work on war powers. With nearly one in three Virginians directly connected to the military, decisions about when to use force affect us very deeply. After thirteen years of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, we owe it to our troops, and the public, to be clear about how we make these critical decisions. The framers of the Constitutio...Continue Reading

With a trickling waterfall of shiny new coins, a newly minted quarter featuring Shenandoah National Park was launched on Friday. Of the 1,000 people attending the event at Skyline High School, half were students, according to U.S. Mint spokesman Mike White. “Thirty thousand dollars in quarters were exchanged,” he said, with quarter enthusiasts walking away with 120,000 of the coins following the launch. “Usually people are really enthusiastic.” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Min...Continue Reading

Virginia's leaders are supporting the people of Ukraine as they suffer from Russian aggression in Crimea. The former governor of Virginia, turned Democratic U.S. Senator, Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he supports helping Ukraine. The Senate recently approved an aid package for Ukraine after they say, Russia cracked down violently against peaceful protesters in Ukraine. This comes after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last month. Kaine says it's an issue t...Continue Reading

The Henry County Industrial Development Authority, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) have agreed upon and executed a long-sought permit from the ACOE that clears the way for development to begin at Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre. The permit, granted by the ACOE under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, was required for Henry County to begin grading at the roughly 740-acre site near the North Carolina line. The final draft was signed by IDA Chairman Len Dillon and sent t...Continue Reading