In The News

It's been a crazy week in Washington D.C. with three new scandals coming to the surface, one of those involving the taxman - the IRS is under fire after allegedly targeting conservative groups. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was in southwest Virginia this weekend while taking a break from the nation's capital. Senator Kaine spent some time at Trail Days in Damascus and then stopped at a music festival at Virginia Highlands Community College. Senator Kaine thinks they need to take a larger broom to the I...Continue Reading

Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va.,  launched his new Senate  website today. Through the site, Virginians can contact Kaine and chime in on legislation, access a number of constituent services and seek assistance as they resolve issues with federal agencies. “This easy-to-use website will allow Virginians to share opinions with me and let my office know how we can help,” said Kaine. “I hope constituents will also use the site to learn more about my travels through the commo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fieldale native Marilyn Tavenner was confirmed Wednesday by the U.S. Senate as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) by a vote of 91 to 7. Tavenner is the first Senate-confirmed CMS administrator since 2006. Because she was nominated for the position by President Barack Obama, only Senate confirmation was needed, according to a spokesman for Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Tavenner has served as CMS acting administrator since late 2011. She su...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON - A Democratic senator from Virginia says people who work at the Internal Revenue Service need to be fired for targeting conservative political groups. "This really is inexcusable, and it raises the question, 'What does it take to get fired in this town?'" Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked on WTOP Wednesday morning. "People need to be sacked because of this IRS scandal." The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the IRS. Three congressional committees also initiated i...Continue Reading

While the IRS’ admission that it targeted conservative groups for additional scrutiny puts increasing pressure on President Barack Obama’s administration, Virginia lawmakers from both sides of the aisle condemned the agency’s actions and underscored their support for an investigation. In Virginia, meantime, the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party joined its counterpart in Richmond in charging that its organization was improperly targeted by the IRS. “There’s no excuse for i...Continue Reading

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is traveling to Slaughter Pen battlefield in Fredericksburg to promote a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the American Battlefield Protection Program. The Virginia Democrat is scheduled to promote the proposed amendment Friday with representatives of the Civil War Trust and the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. Kaine is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican. Kaine says since the program was initiated in 2002, more...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Thad Cochran think America has a good thing going with its Civil War battlefield preservation efforts—and want them to continue. Visiting the blood-soaked fields in Spotsylvania County named the Slaughter Pen, Kaine announced Friday that he and the Mississippi Republican have introduced legislation to reauthorize the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program, a matching-grant effort that buys ground hallowed by soldiers’ sacrifice. Otherwise, the program&mda...Continue Reading

The region’s congressional delegation in Washington is correctly urging President Barack Obama to take action to reduce the current backlog of veterans’ disability claims. As difficult as it is to believe, the average claim now takes more than 300 days to be resolved. That’s unacceptable, and disrespectful to those brave men and women who have so proudly served our nation over the years. Those making the request include U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., ...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., pressed U.S. Air Force officials at a hearing Tuesday about sexual assault in the military, specifically noting the recent arrest of Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski. Krusinski, a 41-year-old Arlington resident who works at the Pentagon, was removed from his position as chief of the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch on Monday. Arlington County police early Sunday charged him with sexual battery after a woman said he fondled her breasts and buttocks in a C...Continue Reading

On his four-month anniversary as a U.S. senator, Democrat Tim Kaine visited Leesburg Friday to speak with a group of small business owners and entrepreneurs about legislation he supports to make the state and nation's economic environment more vibrant. Kaine, a former Virginia governor who sits on the Budget, Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees in Congress' upper chamber, touched briefly on three key items in Washington that have a direct impact on local businesses and the economy as...Continue Reading

“Thank you. Loudoun treated me real well.” That’s how Tim Kaine, Virginia’s newest Senator, started an informal roundtable discussion with a group of Loudoun County small business owners at the Mason Enterprise Center Friday afternoon. The day marked his fourth month in office after a heated campaign against former Virginia Gov. George Allen that brought the two through Loudoun frequently last year. Kaine, who served as Virginia governor from 2006 to 2010, gave the group ...Continue Reading

It’s hard enough to keep up with the goings on in Richmond from Roanoke and nigh impossible to figure out Washington, D.C., based on the mishmash of truncated sound bites and screaming press alerts that spew from our nation’s capital every day. One might get the impression from recent news reports that Virginia’s two U.S. senators are worlds apart on how to address the national debt. A Politico story last month quoted Sen. Mark Warner warning that “the issue of this natio...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine spent an hour Thursday in downtown Waynesboro, saying he came away from a tour of businesses and city projects more informed about the city. "Some of the issues Waynesboro is wrestling with we did in Richmond,'' said Kaine, D-Richmond, referring to his days on the Richmond City Council and as mayor. He said Waynesboro is working on making the most of the South River much as Richmond has capitalized on the James River. "And there is more activity on Main Street with shops and ...Continue Reading

“The best work you do is work you do out of the office,” said U.S. Senator Tim Kaine as he opened the floor to local concerns and ideas on Tuesday. Kaine (D) and Virginia Fourth District Congressman Randy Forbes (R) teamed up on Tuesday afternoon for a local roundtable, aimed at addressing concerns about issues facing the Emporia and Greensville County communities. The meeting, attended by elected and governmental officials from Greensville County and the City of Emporia took place i...Continue Reading

Two Republicans and two Democrats agreed on something Thursday: the need to spread the gospel about the state’s biotechnology industry. The four state and federal lawmakers joined biotech industry leaders and advocates at the Boar’s Head Inn for a daylong conference and networking event organized by Virginia Bio, a statewide nonprofit trade association, in honor of the group’s 20th anniversary. “I represent 727,000 people,” Rep. Robert Hurt, R-5th, said following an...Continue Reading

The Roanoke Valley’s top economic concerns include taxes on Internet sales, the future of its U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution center and the stalled idea of an intermodal rail yard in Montgomery County, area business and civic leaders told Sen. Tim Kaine on Wednesday. Kaine had some good news for the group that gathered for an informal briefing at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce: legislation to make it easier to collect state and local sales taxes on Internet trans...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine praised Mary Baldwin College's Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership cadets Wednesday, telling them leadership training is important whether it is applied in the military or civilian life. The former Virginia governor also offered some wisdom, telling the cadets that true leadership is about sacrifice, which "will accelerate people getting on board with you." Just four months into his term, Kaine, D-Richmond, has proposed Senate legislation to help veterans return to civi...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine spoke with Waynesboro government leaders and downtown business owners Thursday as part of the economic development theme of this week’s Congressional hiatus and statewide tour. The city’s administrators and Economic Development Director Greg Hitchin briefed the new senator during a noon lunch on Waynesboro’s downtown revitalization and efforts to attract industry to the city. Hitchin joined Councilman Tim Williams, City Manager Mike Hamp and Deputy City Mana...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was in Waynesboro on Thursday to meet with city leaders to discuss economic development in Waynesboro. Kaine met with City Councilman Tim Williams, City Manager Mike Hamp and Assistant City Manager Jim Shaw to discuss several ongoing development projects in the River City. Kaine then toured Downtown Waynesboro to learn more about the work on the Center for Coldwaters Restoration and to meet with several owntown business owners. The visit was part of a swing that took ...Continue Reading

Some Roanoke small business owners are begging Virginia leaders to put all merchants on the same playing field. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D) was in town on Wednesday to hear what owners had to say about the Marketplace Fairness Act. Online retailers do not have to collect local and state sales taxes from their customers at the moment. Many have said this gives shoppers the ability to look at products in stores and then buy online to avoid paying taxes. This bill would ultimately reverse that. ...Continue Reading