In The News

Virginia Democratic Senator and former Governor Tim Kaine surprised the Senate – and those who were closely following the Senate speeches – by delivering an impassioned speech – all in very good Spanish. “English colonists landed in Jamestown in 1607, and helped start the great history of our nation as a nation of immigrants – said Kaine in Spanish as he was concluding his speech on Tuesday. “I hope we can start a new chapter, and we can send a strong message ...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine did something rare on Tuesday: he delivered a speech in Spanish on the floor of the Senate. Shortly after noon, the Virginia Democrat spoke in favor of immigration reform hours before the Senate voted to move forward on the bill. On a day when supporters and opponents spoke at length about the immigration bill, Kaine's speech would have struggled to stick out had it not been in a different language. Spanish floor speeches are extremely rare in the Senate, but Roll Call notes this ...Continue Reading

Con un voto de 82 a favor y 15 en contra el senado estadounidense hoy allanó el camino para decidir la fe de la reforma migratoria en la cámara alta. Todos los votos en contra fueron republicanos. Pero uno de los senadores que apoya la medida, el demócrata Tim Kaine de Virginia, fue más allá de un discurso típico en el senado. Defendió la reforma migratoria en español. "Muchos de nosotros hablamos en programas de noticias. Pero en el senado...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, this week joined fellow U.S. senators in pressing top military officials on what they call an "escalating crisis of sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact in the military." During the first panel of the hearing, Kaine questioned Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Service Chiefs and Service Judge Advocates General and and described the damaging impacts he believes increasing inc...Continue Reading

I’m proud to represent the state that’s more connected to the military than any other. Communities across Virginia are defined by service members and their families, installations, shipyards, airfields and historic battlefields. So when we’re faced with the issue of sexual assault in our armed forces, it shakes the military culture — and the surrounding communities — to the core. And while there are all sorts of effects we feel today as a result of these incidents, ...Continue Reading

Sexual assault in the armed forces has reached a crisis stage, top U.S. military leaders said Tuesday, but they resisted a far-reaching Senate proposal to restrict the authority of unit commanders to dispense justice. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that included Sen. Tim Kaine and a Norfolk-based Navy captain, the two sides sparred over how to address a rise in sexual assault statistics, a problem compounded by a string of high-profile cases that have embarrassed the ser...Continue Reading

The newest exhibit in the Democrats’ case to voters that they are better stewards of the economy: the ongoing battle over what to do about the budget. In closed-door caucus meetings, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who recently served as the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has been advising fellow Democrats that talking about the budget with constituents is a winning strategy. As lawmakers continue to quibble about conferences and unanimous consent agreements, Democrats...Continue Reading

Agriculture brings in more than $55 billion to the Commonwealth's economy. Senator Tim Kaine visited Charlottesville on Friday to talk to local farmers about the bill before the big vote. Ted's Last Stand is a flower farm and garden in Gordonsville run by Michael and Audrey Levatino. They're part of a tight knit community of smaller farmers in Charlottesville who set up at the City Market every Saturday morning. "I have my flowers on tables at some restaurants in Charlottesville and it really is...Continue Reading

A farm bill pending in the U.S. Senate will affect farm subsidies and federal food stamp eligibility and provide incentives for beginning farmers, but it's what it won't do that is of concern to some area agricultural business entrepreneurs. Area farmers and agricultural business leaders told U.S. Sen. Timothy M. Kaine on Friday that federal legislation that prohibits legal injunctions against planting or harvesting crops created by manufacturers of genetically modified organisms needs to be ove...Continue Reading

The second year of automatic cuts in federal spending will hit Virginia and the defense-dependent economy of Hampton Roads harder than most parts of the country, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said Thursday. The Virginia Democrat, who was touring Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, noted that unless Congress intercedes, the spending reductions will affect a range of government services. The reductions are part of $1.2 trillion in cuts - known as sequestration - that are spread over 10 years, with half co...Continue Reading

Protecting local shipyards brought U.S. Senator Tim Kaine to town. He got a private tour of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. The media was not allowed on the tour, but he spoke with WAVY.com beforehand. WAVY.com asked Kaine about the 71 thousand department of defense civilians in Virginia who will be furloughed 11 unpaid days -- a total of $237 million to workers -- thanks to the sequester. "Installation commanders all tell me civilians are important," Kaine said. "They are nurses at ou...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the former governor who now chairs the Senate subpanel on foreign aid and international development, is in New York for two days of meetings with the United Nations leadership. Kaine met with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice as well as with other top U.S. and U.N. officials on Tuesday for briefings on the situation in Syria, Iran and North Korea. Kaine is scheduled to attend Wednesday's U.N. Security Council session on countering the Lord's Resist...Continue Reading

Recent days have seen welcome moves by Virginia’s congressional delegation. Members of both parties share the credit. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-1st) has established himself as the indispensable legislator for issues related to the Chesapeake. A marine scientist by profession, he understands the bay’s challenges and needs. He has championed the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act, which has passed in the House during previous sessions but not in the Senate. Wittman has reintroduc...Continue Reading

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined Virginians this weekend at Memorial Day events to pay tribute to the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in service to our country. In Richmond on Friday, Kaine joined veterans and community members at the annual Hunter Holmes McGuire Medical Center Memorial Day program and spoke to the sacrifices made by members of the military throughout our nation's history. "We will never be able to repay our fall...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said during a recent tour of Southwest Virginia that his first five months on the job have been a great experience despite his Democratic party being battered on issues like Benghazi and the budget cutbacks due to sequestration. The White House released more than 100 emails earlier this month in regard to the September 2011 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, including ones that detailed information about the Central Intelligence Agency having information about the...Continue Reading

Four months and 19 days into his first term in the U.S. Senate, Timothy M. Kaine has grown comfortable with the daily hustle and bustle of Washington. To date, the Democrat has introduced three bills, mostly geared toward military issues. On the Senate floor, Kaine has stressed bipartisanship. “I am looking very hard to find things where we can solve problems and at the same time build up the continued capacity of the body to work together,” Kaine said in an interview at his Senate o...Continue Reading

The U.S Customs and Border Protection agency has decided not to maintain full-time staffing for the port of entry based at the New River Valley Airport in Dublin, an apparent cost-saving move that could impact economic development in the region. Virginia’s U.S. senators and the congressmen who represent the Roanoke and New River valleys want an explanation for the decision and are making a bipartisan push to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of port director Michael Kirkpatrick. I...Continue Reading

Senator Tim Kaine honored Virginia’s fallen and paid tribute to our nations heroes on Friday. The senator spoke during the annual Memorial Day program at McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond. Kaine will also give the keynote address at the annual Memorial Day observance at the Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Amelia. Veterans at the event told a CBS 6 News crew why the holiday means so much to them. “All those that serve realize that once they put that uniform on, they don’t know...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine introduced legislation Wednesday that would lift the federal ban on exploration and drilling for natural gas and oil off the coast of Virginia. The moratorium, which lasts through 2017, was put in place by President Barack Obama's administration following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Warner and Kaine want the moratorium lifted so that decades old maps of Virginia's offshore energy resources can be updated and leases for offshore...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-8th, Ill.) visited American Legion Post 24 in Old Town Tuesday to discuss the Troop Talent Act, a bill designed to streamline the military-to-civilian licensing process for certain occupations. “It’s the right thing to do for those who served,” said Kaine, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November and serves on the Armed Forces committee. “And it helps our economy.” Kaine and Duckworth, a Purple Heart...Continue Reading