In The News

A new outpatient clinic for veterans in Chesapeake is set to open next month with about a fourth of the staff needed to fully operate the facility, which the clinic's proponents say is a direct result of President Donald Trump's federal hiring freeze and spending cuts. The North Battlefield VA Outpatient Clinic would have about 550 employees when fully staffed but will only have about 150 when it starts accepting patients April 17, according to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who cosponsored a b...Continue Reading

Senator Tim Kaine hosted a roundtable discussion Monday with local veterans to discuss how the Trump administration's executive actions are harming veterans. "Sometimes the people who are being disadvantaged, those aren't the people who need to speak up," said Maurice Pettiford, who spent 20-plus years in the Marine Corps before going to the State Department. "There’s a way to do it with dignity and respect because many of the people they are cutting are veterans. I have no problem with needing ...Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says nearly half of adolescents in the country face a mental health disorder in their lives. Now, federal lawmakers are working on a bill to bring more attention to that statistic and shrink that number. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine is now joining senators on both sides of the aisle pushing for a bill that would increase federal funding for prevention and early intervention programs. He says addressing mental health concerns early in children can ma...Continue Reading

The deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown is fast approaching. The United States Senate has until one minute before midnight on Friday to pass what's known as a continuing resolution. The Republican-controlled House passed one earlier this week, but at least eight Democrats will have to vote for it in the Senate before it can reach the desk of President Donald Trump. Virginia's junior senator, Tim Kaine, said he will not vote for the House's continuing resolution. “Shutting down the go...Continue Reading

As a government shutdown nears, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says that he and his Democratic caucus will not provide the support needed to pass the funding bill that House Republicans muscled through their chamber. The bill would extend government funding through September. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia says he opposes the Republican-backed funding bill because it would weaken national defense. He says he’s not in favor of a shutdown either, and is pushing Republicans to support ...Continue Reading

Two Virginia lawmakers are seeking answers from the Trump administration over proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Wednesday that they are demanding answers from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins regarding his plans to cut more than 80,000 VA employees this year, including at least 20,000 veterans. In a joint statement, Kaine and Warner said the proposed cuts would have a harmful imp...Continue Reading

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is one of three Democratic lawmakers spearheading a legislative effort to reinstate thousands of veterans who were fired from federal jobs as part of President Donald Trump administration’s mass layoffs of government employees.  Kaine, whose home state of Virginia has one of the highest populations of veterans in the country, introduced the Protect Veteran Jobs Act alongside U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.,  and Andy Kim, D-NJ, in an effort to reverse what they cal...Continue Reading

Senator Tim Kaine yesterday announced a pair of bills aimed at making childcare more affordable and increasing the supply of childcare providers. The bills have bipartisan support and are being introduced in both houses of Congress, according to a press release. Virginia is the 17th least affordable state for center-based childcare for infants and the 16th least affordable for center-based toddler care, according to a 2022 analysis of childcare affordability conducted by Child Care Aware of Amer...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) have announced $540,000 in federal funding for Floyd County to expand high-speed broadband in the region. The funding was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments that innovates and invests to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in 423 counties across the Appalachian region. “This project perfectly highlights the good that federal ...Continue Reading

In a move to prevent what they call an unnecessary and damaging trade war, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia on Wednesday introduced legislation to roll back President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs on Canadian imports.  The tariffs, which impose a 25% tax on goods from one of the United States’ closest allies and largest trading partners, have already sparked economic retaliation from Canada and drawn backlash from lawmakers, business leaders and consumers. “Americans want ...Continue Reading

A defiant President Trump defended imposing new tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico – three of the United States' largest and most crucial trading partners – at a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Economists have repeatedly said that the 25% tariffs that went into effect this week on the three countries will raise prices on businesses and U.S. consumers. The tariffs are likely to affect car prices, groceries and other goods. But Trump said during his record-length address the tariffs were...Continue Reading

What’s going on with Donald Trump and the extended delay on the requested disaster declaration for Southwest Virginia? Trump took what his PR flunkies called “decisive action” on Feb. 25 to approve a disaster declaration for neighboring Kentucky, in the face of widespread flooding that affected the Kentucky-Southwest Virginia-West Virginia region. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Ninth District Congressman Morgan Griffith have been leading a bipartisan push to get the Trump folks moving on th...Continue Reading

Just hours before President Trump’s joint address, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) discussed the president’s mass government layoffs. Accompanied by Jason King, a disabled veteran who was laid off from the Federal Aviation Administration, Kaine called Trump’s actions unconstitutional. ”People have served their country and gained special skills in serving their country that can benefit the country for decades,” Kaine said. “To wage a war on them and set a record in six weeks as the president who’s fired t...Continue Reading

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) called President Donald Trump’s national energy emergency a “sham” Wednesday in floor debate on Senate Joint Resolution 10, a measure that would terminate Trump’s emergency declaration, which the president made via executive order on his first day in office. “America is producing more energy today than at any point in the history of this nation,” Kaine said. “America is the leader in the world in energy, and for the last few years, we’ve been an energy surplus nation,...Continue Reading

First came the so-called "Friday Night Massacre" — the abrupt firing of top brass at the Pentagon — followed by the removal of the top lawyers for the military services.  And now, the firing of 5,400 Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees. President Trump's nominee to be the next deputy defense secretary — Stephen Feinberg — faced scrutiny on Tuesday over the cuts during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said, going forward, workforce reductions will...Continue Reading

Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined their colleagues in sending a letter to the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy. The letter raises concerns about the various aviation incidents over the past month, highlighting the importance of trained, impartial professionals in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “We need experienced, qualified, and impartial professionals to investigate these unfortunate incidents, develop plans to prevent these types of accidents from occurring in the f...Continue Reading

Representatives in Virginia are asking the Trump administration to reverse cuts to the state’s National Parks Service. U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have joined six state representatives to ask the administration to roll back the cuts saying the roles being eliminated are critical to protecting the state’s natural assets and maintaining public safety. They add that seasonal hiring has been impacted which will influence the start of the peak visitation season of the summer. All of Virgi...Continue Reading

A new bipartisan bill introduced in Congress this week seeks to ensure safe drinking water for Chincoteague residents by addressing long-standing PFAS contamination issues. The Contaminated Wells Relocation Act, introduced by Representatives Jen Kiggans (VA-02) and Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), along with Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, would authorize NASA to reimburse the town for relocating contaminated wells to a safe location. The contamination stems from firefighting foam used on Wallops ...Continue Reading

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) and Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to authorize NASA to negotiate an agreement with the Town of Chincoteague to address costs associated with relocating the contaminated water wells, reimburse for those identified costs, and provide more local control of the water supply to the Town of Chincoteague. Several of the Town’s wells are located on NASA property and have be...Continue Reading

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and 18 Senate colleagues have introduced the Age 21 Act, legislation that would raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines from 18 to 21. That's the same age requirement that already applies to buying handguns from federally licensed dealers. “Everyone in America should be able to live free from the fear of injury or death caused by a firearm,” said Kaine. “One of many commonsense steps we can take to reduce that risk is limi...Continue Reading