In The News

RICHMOND, Va (WVIR) - The White House along with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine honored the 20th anniversary of the Americorps service program Friday. Kaine applauded the work of the volunteers, and spoke about the importance of putting others first during the annual Service and Volunteerism Conference in Richmond. Thousands across the nation took the pledge, at the same time, to continue helping others. "If you make your life about serving others, you'll always have something to do, and you'll always b...Continue Reading

When Rob Spilman thinks about the New College Institute, a cathedral comes to mind — and he’s not envisioning the state-of-the-art new building that NCI will dedicate today on the Baldwin Block. Spilman is thinking of NCI itself, the way it has evolved in the decade since local leaders began working to create it and the many ways he believes it can transform this community. “Someone once told me ... ‘Hey, when you’re involved in something like this (the creation of ...Continue Reading

The U.S. Constitution makes it clear: Only Congress can declare war on behalf of the American people. The president, of course, is the commander in chief of the military, with commanders reporting to the executive branch. But when it comes to committing the American people to war, only Congress — the people’s branch — can take that step. In the latter half of the 20th century, as conflicts morphed from country vs. country to regional hotspots and flare-ups and after the debacle...Continue Reading

• Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10 th) plans to introduce legislation authorizing the use of military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as well as against al-Qaida, Boko Haran and similarly sinister groups. The Wolf bill also would call for close coordination among the U.S., NATO and regional allies. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine is a keen scholar of war powers. He, too, favors congressional authorization. We stand with Wolf and Kaine. Presidential action authorized by Congress woul...Continue Reading

Eyeing middle school as prime territory for career exploration, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is pitching legislation to get young secondary students career technical education. The proposal comes at a time when Roanoke education leaders say career tech is booming and nearing capacity. The Middle School Technical Education Program Act, or Middle STEP, aims to connect middle schoolers to potential careers and the skills they’ll need. The legislation would create a pilot program for schools to partner...Continue Reading

On the heels of a recess swing through Virginia that focused on career and technical education, including a stop at the Apprentice School, Sen. Tim Kaine today introduced a bill to set up a pilot program for middle school technical education. The aim is give middle school students a chance to see what career and technical education programs (the jargon is CTE) could offer. Kaine's idea is to link middle schools with colleges and businesses that offer CTE or apprenticeship or similar programs, ho...Continue Reading

The threat from the Islamic State feels enough like a threat of war to trigger what the Constitution says is Congress' task: to decide if it should tell the president to send American troops in harm's way, say members of the Hampton Roads delegation on Capitol Hill. President Barack Obama believes he doesn't need Congress to authorize the kind of military action he plans to launch against the Islamic State, sometimes called ISIS or ISIL. But key members of the Hampton Roads delegation believe th...Continue Reading

Ahead of President Obama’s national address tonight, Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine is urging the White House to come to Congress before extending its bombing campaign against the Islamic State. The president and most congressional leaders don’t want rank and file lawmakers to weigh in on the U-S response to the Islamic State. But when it comes to conducting more U-S airstrikes in Iraq and possibly Syria, Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says even in the midst of campaign...Continue Reading

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, visited Naval Station Rota in Rota, Spain. Kaine is leading a Congressional delegation to North Africa and Spain, including Representatives Loretta Sanchez (CA), Congressmen Adam Schiff (CA), Albio Sires (NJ), Juan Vargas (CA) and Pedro Pierluisi (PR).??During the visit, the delegation observed a joint U.S.-Spanish militar...Continue Reading

GWEN IFILL: The U.S. military has been conducting limited airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq for four weeks, without congressional approval. New polls out today found a majority of Americans believe it’s time to ratchet up the assault. A survey by The Washington Post and ABC News reported 71 percent of those polled now support expanding airstrikes in Iraq. In addition, 65 percent back striking Islamic State bases inside Syria. A CNN survey showed similar results. The adminis...Continue Reading

One of President Obama's top congressional allies on Tuesday implored him to seek House and Senate approval for a prolonged military campaign against the Islamic State, and criticized lawmakers who don't agree that the issue should be debated with elections fast approaching. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who as Virginia governor was one of the first major Democratic elected officials to endorse Obama's 2008 for president, said he disagrees with the president, lawmakers and foreign policy experts who b...Continue Reading

What if I told you there is a way to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, help American businesses find customers abroad, and do it at no cost to the American taxpayer? It might sound too good to be true, but there is a little-known agency called the Export-Import Bank that is doing just that and turning a profit of billions of dollars each year. The Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank is one of the most important tools that U.S. companies have to boost exports to customers abroad who want high-quality ...Continue Reading

What if I told you there is a way to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, help American businesses find customers abroad and do it at no cost to the American taxpayer? It might sound too good to be true, but there is a little-known agency called the Export-Import Bank that is doing just that and turning a profit of billions of dollars each year. The Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank is one of the most important tools that U.S. companies have to boost exports to customers abroad who want high-quality p...Continue Reading

While the Obama administration appears reluctant to acknowledge the Islamic State’s barbarous intentions — and thus cannot decide whether to eliminate the Islamist aggressors or merely “manage” them — Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th, suffers from no such uncertainty. “This isn’t going away,” the veteran congressman told The Winchester Star on Thursday. “And with each week, it’s getting worse ... They’re gaining.” True to the firs...Continue Reading

When Congress resumes work Monday, the weightiest debate it needs to have might not occur, at least before it breaks again for mid-term elections: Should Congress authorize continued use of military force against ISIS in Iraq — and possibly extend the action into Syria? Of course, President Obama has not asked yet, despite bipartisan calls to explain his objectives since first ordering U.S. airstrikes in Iraq last month against the self-described Islamic State, a well-armed, well-funded te...Continue Reading

We’re all familiar with the narrative: the U.S. trails its competitors in its overall level of STEM proficiency due, according to most, to disinterest in STEM. What’s more, a 2013 Brookings Institution study finds that 20 percent of current jobs require a “high level of knowledge” in at least one of the STEM fields – suggesting familiarity with STEM touches more areas of the economy than we would normally believe. The bottom line is that all industries incorporate s...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Without any hesitation, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10th, acknowledged that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — now just Islamic State — poses the greatest threat to Americans since Sept. 11, 2001. And next week, he’s introducing legislation that would authorize the use of military might against ISIS and other terrorist organizations. Wolf’s not alone in pressing for action. Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Ka...Continue Reading

Virginia's U.S. senators asked the Obama administration on Wednesday to come up with a clear strategy on the ISIL terrorist group in light of two recent executions of U.S. journalists. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Near Eastern, South and Central Asian Affairs, issued his remarks from a mission in Morroco. "My prayers go out to the family and friends of Steven Sotloff. His murder was a barbaric act by members of ISIL who yet again proved that wha...Continue Reading

A recent Congressional Budget Office report estimates the Export-Import Bank could generate $14 billion in revenue for taxpayers over 10 years. One caveat: The bank first must survive a surge of populist rage against “crony capitalism” that threatens to shut it down. Delivering fuel to the rage is an equally credible source: the CBO, which estimates the Export-Import Bank could cost U.S. taxpayers $2 billion over the same period, fiscal years 2015-2024. Yes, numbers can lie, or rathe...Continue Reading