In The News

For more than 18 months, Sen. Tim Kaine has been like an Old Testament prophet, crying in the wilderness. His message? That Congress and President Obama must jointly negotiate an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (an AUMF, in common parlance) to lay out the terms and overall strategy for engagement against the forces of the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS. And he got the same reception one biblical prophet after another received from the powers-that-be: He was ignored. Well now, aft...Continue Reading

In the aftermath of the horrible Friday the 13thattacks in Paris, many members of Congress quickly took the opportunity to blast the Obama administration’s failure to appropriately counter ISIS in Iraq, Syria and beyond. It is fair game to challenge the administration’s strategy, but these critiques miss an important point: Congress has abdicated its fundamental duty to debate, vote on and shape the extent of the current war on ISIS. Our post-Paris discussion about what more the U.S....Continue Reading

After the Paris attacks, President Obama said the U.S. would intensify the current campaign of airstrikes and arming and training moderate forces, but would not change its overall strategy against ISIS. “We have the right strategy and we’re going to see it through,” Obama told reportersMonday during the closing conference of the G-20 summit. “What I do not do is take actions either because it is going to work politically or it is going to somehow, in the abstract, ma...Continue Reading

The debate continues on War Powers and Congress. In light of the deadly attacks in Paris, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Jeff Flake are again renewing their call for Congress to debate and vote on an Authorization for Use of Military Force against the Islamic State.  The two have a bill on the floor now and Senator Kaine tells 88.9 WCVE it’s the only measure before the Senate that could GET Congress to authorize the war against ISIS/ISIL. Senator Kaine says he and Senator Flake...Continue Reading

Congress has come a long way from “freedom fries.” The Paris attacks have Washington expressing a new solidarity with France — a nation not too long ago derided by conservatives as a “so-called ally.” And the aftermath of the deadly violence is rapidly resetting the capital’s agenda as Republicans and the Obama administration clash over the rising fear of terrorism at home and how best to combat the Islamic State in the Middle East. Back in 2003, Republicans i...Continue Reading

With the scourge of prescription drug abuse still taking a deadly toll on the coalfields of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia, area lawmakers are increasingly encouraging physicians to co-prescribe the life-saving drug Naloxone. Naloxone is considered to be a safe and effective antidote to opioid overdoses. A new state law took effect in West Virginia earlier this year allowing first responders, friends and family to administer the potentially life-saving medication to people overdos...Continue Reading

Tim Kaine righted a wrong today.The U.S. senator and former Virginia governor had passed through Leesburg and Loudoun County more times than he can count -- campaigning, meeting with constituents, flying out of Dulles. Yet somehow the Senate Armed Services Committee member had never visited the home of decorated Gen. George C. Marshall, tucked quaintly into a corner of downtown Leesburg.The Democratic lawmaker rectified that today, as he and and a handful of state and local officials honored the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the battle against the Islamic State group, members of Congress talk tough against extremism, but many want to run for cover when it comes to voting on new war powers to fight the militants, preferring to let the president own the battle. They might not be able to run for long. The U.S. military intervention in Iraq and Syria is creeping forward, putting more pressure on Congress to vote on a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force. It would be the first war vo...Continue Reading

President Obama's decision to send special operations ground forces into Syria is again prompting calls for specific authorization from Congress to wage war. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: And President Obama's decision last week to order up 50 special operations forces to Syria has revived calls for Congress to weigh in on the war against the Islamic State. Obama himself has urged lawmakers to vote on giving him specific authority to wage that war. But the Republican-led Congress has resisted. As NPR's ...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Thursday prescribed an antidote to the increasing number of opioid overdoses and deaths — widespread dispensing of naloxone. Naloxone works nearly instantly to block the opioid receptors in the brain and counter the effects of heroin, fentanyl and narcotic painkillers. But it must be administered quickly. Kaine’s bill seeks to make it more available in homes and health settings. Kaine was among the first group of Virginians to be trained in August 2014 in h...Continue Reading

A group of 12 U.S. senators, led by Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., is calling for the Army inspector general to investigate the discharges of tens of thousands of service members diagnosed with mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. The formal letter sent to top Army officials Eric Fanning and Gen. Mark A. Milley was motivated by last week's "Missed Treatment" investigation by NPR's Daniel Zwerdling and Colorado Public Radio's Michael...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine said Wednesday that President Obama still does not have a clear strategy for confronting the so-called Islamic State in Syria. Kaine, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a Virginia Democrat, also cautioned his party’s candidates not to prioritize issues like restrictions on gun ownership above improving the economy. “I don’t think any Democrat need to fear taking a position in favor of reasonable gun rules, like universal background record ...Continue Reading

Virginia's two U.S. senators are among the lawmakers spearheading a bipartisan effort to extend the life of a popular federal college student loan program for modest and low-income students. The Carl D. Perkins Loan Program has been around for decades, with more than 26 million students getting the $28 billion loans since 1958. They are offered at a 5 percent interest rate, with no origination fees and a nine-month grace period after graduation. In the most recent academic year, for example, mor...Continue Reading

Boots on the ground in Syria, combat in Iraq, and an expanding campaign against the Islamic State have thrust the issue of passing a congressional authorization for such military ventures back into the spotlight. But renewed interest in light of those new developments may still not be enough to spur Congress to take action. In recent weeks, congressional frustration has been rising with how the Obama administration has been handling the fight against ISIS in Iraq an...Continue Reading

Virginia employers want to hire people. They want workers who have completed post-secondary programs or who have earned certificates, licenses or other industry-recognized credentials. Community colleges are ready with curricula designed to train workers and deliver required credentials. Meanwhile, qualified, low-income people seeking skills simply can't afford the training they need to advance. Passing the JOBS Act would connect all three - and grow Virginia's economy. Jobs that require more th...Continue Reading

It’s hard for me to understand how some things become laws. Now granted, some of those are just antique laws that never went off the books, like how it’s illegal to tickle women in Virginia or my personal favorite, how it’s illegal to hunt any animals except a raccoon on Sundays. Clearly whoever designed that one had some pent-up rage against a raccoon or two getting into his trash. Other laws, or specifically other loopholes, which were created over the last 50 years, just mak...Continue Reading

U.S. SenatorTim Kaine is taking a stand on gun control, pushing for completing background checks on people who purchase firearms before the purchase is concluded. He introduced the Background Check Completion Act on Wednesday, which would close a loophole that allows a gun-dealer to complete the sale of a weapon to someone if the background check of that person takes more than 72 hours. Kaine says it's the type of loophole that lets people like the Virginia Tech shooter purchase a gun befor...Continue Reading

The new federal budget compromise represents a step forward for Hampton Roads, which relies on a predictable flow of defense spending, but it doesn't solve larger debates over taxes and spending, Virginia's two senators said Tuesday. Negotiators late Monday released a 144-page bill that broadly describes federal spending over the next two fiscal years. Its passage is expected, according to multiple media reports, but that is not the final step. Lawmakers on budget-writing committees will then us...Continue Reading

En el estado de Virginia hay 270 mil latinos que pueden ejercer su voto durante las elecciones, pero son pocos los que participan y de esa manera desperdician ese potencial que tienen, reconoció el senador Tim Kaine, durante un evento del Consejo de Líderes Latinos celebrado este lunes en Arlington, Virginia. “Todavía hay muchos latinos que no entienden el poder que representan sus votos, los que pueden hacer la diferencia en cualquier elección”, enfatiz&o...Continue Reading

Well before the tragic attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, the U.S. Department of State identified the need for a dedicated facility to provide enhanced security training to U.S. Embassy personnel assigned to high-threat posts overseas. The State Department was not alone in identifying this potential deficiency in its training protocols. In a 2011 report, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO)...Continue Reading