In The News

FrancisEmma Inc. is in the midst of a capital improvement campaign and on Saturday about 100 people — including local, state and federal elected officials — attended a celebration of the progress being made at Belmead Mansion along the James River in Powhatan County. "These folks are serious," Carson L. Tucker, chairman of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors and a long-range planning facilitator for FrancisEmma, said during his opening remarks on Saturday. FrancisEmma Inc., the...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and John McCain proposed Thursday that the War Powers Act be rewritten to give legislators a stronger say in deciding to send troops into armed conflict. The legislation by the Virginia Democrat and the Arizona Republican stems from a growing frustration that the shifting nature of war has resulted in presidents too often sending troops into conflicts without giving Congress a chance to be heard. Their measure focuses on the War Powers Resolution of 1973, a law meant to clar...Continue Reading

It took a Virginian teaming up with a war hero, but the question of how the United States ought to send young men and women off to war is now back before the U.S. Congress. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain joined up to put a new War Powers Act on the national agenda. Their aim is to replace the 40-year-old War Powers Resolution passed in the wake of the Vietnam War and pretty much ignored ever since. "If we're going to ask our youn...Continue Reading

Two members of the Senate are pressing for significant changes to how presidents consult with Congress on sending the military into war. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., unveiled legislation on Thursday that would repeal the 1973 War Powers Resolution, often ignored by presidents of both parties, and replace it with a new law that requires greater consultation and a congressional vote within 30 days on any significant armed conflict. "The Constitution gives the power to declare ...Continue Reading

Virginia's two senators say the compromise federal spending bill released Monday will benefit the Hampton Roads defense community, from submarine construction at Newport News Shipbuilding to projects at military bases. The $1 trillion "omnibus" measure includes a dozen smaller spending bills that fund all discretionary spending until October. House and Senate negotiators released it late Monday, avoiding the possibility of a government shutdown for the next 10 month...Continue Reading

Virginia's U.S. Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, propose amending the emergency unemployment legislation to overturn a $6 billion cut to military pensions that was part of the bipartisan budget compromise. The amendment, like a separate bill the two introduced last month, repeals a cut on cost-of-living adjustments for veterans.It would make up for the additional expense by cracking down on companies that are controlled or managed in the United States but incorporated overseas to avoid payin...Continue Reading

Virginia’s U.S. senators are signing on to an effort to boost pediatric research funding. Democratic Sens. Timothy M. Kaine and Mark R. Warner will today announce their support for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, named for a girl from Leesburg who had an inoperable brain tumor and died in October. The move also marks bicameral, bipartisan cooperation among Virginia’s congressional delegation. In the House of Representatives, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, champione...Continue Reading

The new year presents a superb opportunity to fix a major Virginia weakness: our lax ethical laws. Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe and the state legislature have a clear chance to do something right, popular and necessary. They should strike immediately and achieve a legacy accomplishment early in 2014. The principal fix needed is a dramatic restructuring of gift laws. Under current law, anyone can give anything to an elected official so long as it is reported. If the gift is from a “friend,&rd...Continue Reading

As we give thanks this holiday season, it’s important to remember the family farms that produce the food we will enjoy with friends and relatives. But farmers’ hard work deserves more than recognition — Congress owes it to farmers here in the Valley and across the country to swiftly pass a final farm bill. Among all sectors of our economy, agriculture, the largest industry in Virginia, is unique for a simple reason —  its output supports our very lives. The market ma...Continue Reading

The new $527 billion defense authorization bill, passed by the Senate Thursday night, eases cost caps on the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and the rest of her class of advanced vessels to be built by Newport News Shipbuilding and clears the way for more than $50 million of construction at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Coming on the heels of this month's budget compromise, the bill means Hampton Roads will dodge what could have been a very rough year in 2014, said Sen. Tim Kaine. "The one-two of the ...Continue Reading

Provisions from Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) proposed Troop Talent Act — a bill that seeks to more closely align specialty skills acquired in the military with civilian credentials — was added to another bill, which passed the U.S. Congress and is now on its way to President Barack Obama’s desk where it can be signed into law. Kaine got the provisions added to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 in June. The provisions are as follows: Information on civilian creden...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON -- While dysfunction and chaos continue to dominate Washington, one unflappable member of Virginia’s congressional delegation is happy in his new job. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is nearing his first anniversary as Virginia’s junior senator, and he has embraced the opportunity by developing expertise on foreign relations and defense. “It’s not an executive job, it’s an expertise job,’’ said Kaine during a recent interview in his Washington ...Continue Reading

The budget that Congress adopted this past week cuts $6 billion from military retirement pensions, starting in 2015. Virginia’s two U.S. senators have proposed an alternative — one that restores the funding  and instead cuts that money by eliminating tax loopholes for companies. Under the current budget deal, cost-of-living raises for military pensions will be cut 1 percentage point for retirees younger than 62 years old and aren’t disabled. Those raises are included to he...Continue Reading

It looks like 2014 could be good for the lifeblood of Hampton Roads -- national defense. Twice in one week the Senate passed legislation that will have a significant impact on both the Pentagon and Hampton Roads. 10 On Your Side's Art Kohn talked with Senator Tim Kaine about the money headed to Hampton Roads. After being passed 84-15 Thursday night, the National Defense Authorization Act is being hailed as a bipartisan victory. But for Senator Tim Kaine, it was both a personal triumph and a must...Continue Reading

Responding to veterans upset over plans to cut cost-of-living increases for some military pensions as part of a budget deal, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have introduced legislation to cancel the reductions. A two-year budget plan that passed the House last week and is being considered by the Senate would ease some automatic cuts aimed at defense and domestic programs. But it pays for those changes in part with a 1 percent cut in the annual cost-living increases on pensions of working-age vet...Continue Reading

The budget deal crafted by Congress will "do good things for the economy" by providing greater certainty on federal spending over the next two years, Sen. Tim Kaine said Wednesday. The Senate passed the measure 64-36 Wednesday and sent it to President Obama, who will sign it. It contains good news for Hampton Roads. The bill avoids a government shutdown and provides $63 billion to relieve some of the forced cuts under sequestration. But Kaine, like his Virginia colleage Sen. Mark R. Warner, want...Continue Reading

Virginia Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine have introduced legislation that would change a provision of the bipartisan budget bill that has angered military retirees. The budget deal would reduce cost-of-living increases for working-age military retirees by 1 percent beginning in January 2015. While the provision would save $6 billion over 10 years, it has angered many veterans' groups who say it would break faith with military service members. The Military Retirement Restoration Act, co-spo...Continue Reading

Anne and I are now empty-nesters. Combined, our three kids spent 40 school years in the Richmond Public Schools. While we both interact with the school system in our professional lives, we’ve learned even more from back-to-school nights, parent-teacher conferences, attending school events and pulling crumpled notes to parents out of our kids’ backpacks. The lessons learned as parents have made me think about what works and what doesn’t work in Pre-K-12 education. Here are seven...Continue Reading

Members of South Hampton Roads' congressional delegation said Wednesday they support a federal budget deal that would reduce the impact of automatic defense cuts over the next two years and salvage lucrative Navy ship repair work that employs thousands in the region. A day after House and Senate negotiators announced a compromise plan that, if approved, would avoid another government shutdown in January, local Democratic and Republican lawmakers voiced support for the plan. None were happy with ...Continue Reading

Lawmakers in Washington have heard a fair amount about a couple of Norfolk-based Navy captains recently – and likely will continue to in the next couple days as they decide whether to approve a budget compromise hammered out this week, Sen. Tim Kaine admits. "I've mentioned them a lot," Kaine said Wednesday. He said he's been making a case for a budget compromise by repeating comments they made to him during a recent visit to Norfolk about how much they and their sailors rely on civilian D...Continue Reading