In The News

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said today that the budget agreement struck by House and Senate negotiators will boost Virginia’s economy by averting another round of automatic defense cuts and removing the prospect of another federal government shutdown. “A two-year budget deal means we’re not going to be doing that kind of brinksmanship,”  Kaine said in a telephone interview .”That is going to have a positive effect on the Virginia economy.” Kaine and fellow Virgin...Continue Reading

A young program designed to help members of the military transfer their skills from service into the workforce could get a boost from the National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress is working to pass before the end of the year. A pilot program allows service members to earn credentials for in-demand jobs in fields in which they may already have specialized skills from their time in the military, such as health care support and aircraft mechanics. Credentials for service members currently...Continue Reading

The Navy's presence in the Middle East isn't going to diminish any time soon even with the war in Afghanistan winding down, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday. Speaking from Manama, Bahrain, where he is attending an international security conference, Kaine said the Navy's 5th Fleet has a vital role in protecting sea lanes for commerce. "The transit of oil and other goods through the Strait of Hormuz are going to continue to be very critical," he said in a conference call with reporters. "The Navy w...Continue Reading

Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va., assured political leaders and diplomats at a security summit in Bahrain Friday that the United States has no plans to abandon the Middle East and connecting regions, despite a significant reduction of forces in Iraq and President Barack Obama’s vow to end combat operations in Afghanistan after 2014. “We are not withdrawing from the region and we are not rebalancing somewhere else,” Kaine said in a phone interview from Manama, the capital and larges...Continue Reading

Sailors from Hampton Roads are likely to keep steaming east to the Persian Gulf for some time to come, playing a critical role in keep sea lanes open through the Strait of Hormuz that links the oil-rich area to the rest of the world, Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday, during a break in a visit to the region. Kaine, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that focuses on the Middle East and South Asia, spoke after visiting with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. "I think the Navy ...Continue Reading

A Roanoke County company thinks they have solved a problem that kills thousands of Americans every year: distracted driving. Just three years old, Origo attributes its success to local partners and key legislation pushed by then Governor Tim Kaine. There is no shortage of stories involving distracted driving. If the folks behind Origo have their way, it'll be a thing of the past. Senator Tim Kaine came to Roanoke County to get an idea about a new homegrown product inspired by his legislation mak...Continue Reading

First, he turned the key and nothing happened. But once Senator Tim Kaine placed the cell phone in the ORIGOsafe docking station, he was able to start the car. The ignition interlock system designed by ORIGO doesn't prevent drivers from making or taking a call, but it keeps the phone out of their hands. It's a simple solution, the company says, for parents concerned about teenage drivers, or a company with a fleet of vehicles on the road. Kaine took a closer look at the technology Tuesday during...Continue Reading

At the Shad Plank, we're always particularly intrigued when politicians want to get personal, and talk about how the experiences they share with most of us have shaped their politics. So we thought we're share highlights from a heartfelt and highly personal reflection from Sen. Tim Kaine on education. The link to Kaine's full essay is here. “My wife Anne and I are now empty-nesters,” he starts, talking about mix of feelings many of us experiecne when the last of the kids leaves ...Continue Reading

Guest post by Tim Kaine, senator and former governor of Virginia. Tom's note: Inarguably, there is no single sector of the economy that influences the rest quite as directly and profoundly as K-12 education. This is the sector that prepares our future generations of leaders, innovators, producers, consumers, mothers, fathers, and citizens. As taxpayers, we all play a role in financing the K-12 education system, but a select few possess the power to heavily influence where those funds are allocat...Continue Reading

Virginia's two U.S. senators predicted Monday that a committee attempting to reach a budget deal and avoid another government shutdown may be able to provide relief from some automatic defense cuts - but not all of them. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine aren't expecting the panel to draft a long-range plan to address deficit and spending issues, but they hope to see a one- or two-year budget that gives some certainty to federal spending. The two Democrats are part of the 29-member House and Senat...Continue Reading

With our daughter now in college, my wife Anne and I have reached the end of our journey through Virginia public education. As a parent I have learned many lessons from my children's combined total of 40 years in public pre-K through 12 classrooms, and one of the most significant is the importance of early childhood education programs. Virginia started a modest early childhood education program after my two sons had already entered elementary school. My daughter, however, was just the right age ...Continue Reading

Virginia’s two U.S. senators are looking to secure more than 7,000 acres for the Petersburg National Battlefield, an addition that would make it the largest Civil War battlefield in the country. U.S. Sens. Timothy M. Kaine and Mark R. Warner, both Democrats, have introduced legislation that would allow the U.S. National Park Service to acquire the land. The bill would allow the secretary of the Interior to obtain the land “from willing sellers only, by donation, purchase with donated...Continue Reading

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — When police officers arrived last week after the murder of Felipe Nery Aguilar and his daughter Gladys, they seized on what appeared to be a clue: a childish scribble on a broken television set. A message from local gangs, the officers figured, demanding protection money, known here as a “war tax.” Case closed. But for the victims’ family, the explanation made no sense. A second daughter, Rosa Alba Aguilar, 35, agonized over why anybody would kill ...Continue Reading

Some Washington legislation that hasn’t been a battle? The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has given the nod – on a voice vote, no less – to Sen. Tim Kaine’s amendments to the American Battlefield Protection Program. Kaine’s bill will make Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites eligible for the National Park Service program that has long focused on preserving Civil War battlefields. It extends the program for another five years, at the current $10 mil...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine has introduced a bill to suspend entrance fees at national parks and wildlife refuges for 16 days – the length of the government shutdown. The Entrance Fee Suspension Act of 2013 would suspend fees at all parks and wildlife refuges from April 10 to April 25, 2014. About $480 million in park visitor spending was lost during the government shutdown, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. The senator’s office said the bill would help local businesses su...Continue Reading

The U.S. Senate passed a bill Monday afternoon that will increase federal oversight of compounding pharmacies that custom mix medications in bulk.  The measure comes in response to last year's deadly meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people including a Salem man. The Senate approved the bill Monday by voice vote.  The legislation would also create a national system for tracking prescription drugs from manufacturers to retail pharmacies, first through serial numbers on bottles and late...Continue Reading

As governor, Democrat Tim Kaine was an advocate of early childhood education. As Sen. Kaine, he joined eight of his U.S. Senate colleagues this week to introduce a bill to expand high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age 5. The Strong Start for America’s Children Act would support a commendable goal President Obama pushed in his State of the Union address this year, and one former first lady Laura Bush touted in her appearance this week at Roanoke’s Taubman ...Continue Reading

To make a budget, Virginia's two senators told fellow members of the budget conference committee Wednesday, you've got to give a bit to get a lot. Uncertainty over federal finances is "an ankle weight dragging down the economy," Sen. Tim Kaine told the second meeting of the high-powered panel that is attempting to break years of budget impasse. Sen. Mark Warner said talking about revenue — talk nobody likes to hear because it means talking about taxes — has to be on the table. Reform...Continue Reading

Veterans from each age of our nation’s history have faced challenges upon returning home, but the men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq are dealing with a new series of legal and emotional issues when they return. As the keynote speaker at the Veterans Law Symposium held in the University of Richmond School of Law’s Moot Courtroom last Friday, Sen. Tim Kaine identified these current issues, and called on roughly 75 audience members to consider veterans’ place in...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) joined Colonial Williamsburg President Colin Campbell and scores of veterans in Colonial Williamsburg on Monday for a ceremony commemorating service members. Kaine and Campbell both addressed a large crowd behind the courthouse in Market Square, with their remarks bookended by performances from the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums. Kaine, who was the first person to be sworn in as Virginia’s governor in Williamsburg since Thomas Jefferson, talked about Virg...Continue Reading