Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Aging Committee, highlighted how burdensome student loan debt can hinder young people’s savings and retirement plans. “I have three kids—25, 22 and 19—so I’m interested in this age group and savings,” said Kaine at an Aging Committee Hearing before asking witnesses how student loan debt is impacting young people’s saving habits. “I think student loan debt is a very...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine urged his colleagues to confirm Attorney General nominee Loretta E. Lynch. Lynch was nominated by President Obama 124 days ago and her nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February. “Ms. Lynch is a no-nonsense, hardworking prosecutor, known for her aplomb, her demeanor, her intelligence and her ability to work with a wide variety of stakeholders,” said Kaine. &ldquo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Barbara Boxer and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Survivor Outreach and Support on Campus Act (S.O.S. Campus Act), legislation that would require colleges and universities to ensure that an independent advocate is available to support survivors of sexual assault on every campus. Congresswoman Susan Davis will introduce the House version of the bill next week when the House is back in session.   “Our responsibility is twofold – ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act to protect first responders, health professionals and family members who are educated in administering an opioid overdose prevention drug, such as naloxone (also known as Narcan) in an emergency situation of overdose. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks. &ldqu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine questioned Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey on the proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against ISIL, announced by President Obama last month. For more than eight months, Kaine has been a leading voice calling for Congress to debate and vote on a new authorization against the t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced legislation that would protect some of the most endangered Civil War battlefields in the country by authorizing the National Park Service to acquire more than 7,000 acres to add to Petersburg National Battlefield. “The Petersburg National Battlefield bore witness to the longest sustained siege in our nation’s military history,” said Sen. Warner. “I am pleased to introduce this legisl...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Tammy Baldwin, co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, introduced the Next Generation (NextGen) High Schools Act, a bill to help high schools that enroll traditionally underserved students in the development and implementation of comprehensive, evidenced-based reform. Specifically, the legislation would create a competitive high school redesign program to increase the number and percentage of students who gr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-sponsor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, called for Congress to “pull back from the brink of irresponsible and partisan action” and seek a constructive path to engage on the Iran nuclear negotiations, criticizing a partisan letter sent to Iran’s leaders yesterday that was signed by 47 Senate Republicans. “Yesterday,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Heidi Heitkamp  reintroduced legislation this week to support children in foster homes and the families that care for them by encouraging more Americans to offer safe loving homes for foster children. Longtime advocates for a better, brighter future for children facing undue hardship, Kaine and Heitkamp’s Foster Care Tax Credit Act would seek to help the many families who care for children for six months or less, who unlike longer t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-sponsor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, joined nine of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to object to the bill’s partisan handling, which defies regular order by bypassing the committee process and going directly to the Senate Floor for debate and vote. Joining Kaine in sending the letter were Senators Robert Menendez, Heidi ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement as oral arguments in King v. Burwell began at the Supreme Court:  "The latest effort to attack the Affordable Care Act in court is particularly heartless. The case being heard today involves an effort to strip health care subsidies away from millions of Americans – including more than 300,000 eligible Virginians - that have enabled many people to have health insurance for the first time in their li...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today on a decision by Republican Senate leadership to begin a Rule 14 process on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act: “As a co-sponsor of this important bipartisan bill, I believe the effort by the Republican leadership to force the bill to the floor prior to full committee consideration is contrary to the important interests at stake. Premature action al...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on House passage of a clean bill to fully fund the Department Of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of the fiscal year: “I applaud the House of Representatives for following the Senate’s lead in passing a clean bill to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and protect our national security. This is welcome news for DHS and Coast Guard employees around the country – includ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in writing to the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office to request a formal investigation into the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) process for evaluating the safety of roadside hardware, including guardrails that have been implicated in more than a dozen serious accidents – some fat...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced his co-sponsorship of the bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act, which includes a broad array of bipartisan measures to enhance opportunities for hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, reauthorize key conservation programs, improve access to public lands, and help boost the outdoor recreation economy. Kaine co-sponsored an earlier version of the bill in the 113th Congress. A hearing on the provisions of the bipartis...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and a bipartisan group of 16 Senate cosponsors called for strong action after the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov Friday in Moscow. Kaine and his cosponsors introduced a resolution laying out the known facts not only relating to Nemtsov’s work on behalf of freedom and human rights but to the violent deaths suffered by other critics of the Putin regime. The resolution calls for a swift, transparent investigation of Nemtsov&r...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to introduce bipartisan legislation (S.615) requiring congressional review of any comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran. The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 would mandate the president submit the text of any agreement to Congress and prohibit the administration from suspending congressional sanctions for 60 days. During that period, Congress would have the opp...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on Senate passage of a clean bill to fully fund the Department Of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of the fiscal year: “I am pleased the Senate has acted responsibly to pass a clean bill that fully funds the Department of Homeland Security, no political strings attached. It’s my hope that Republicans in the House of Representatives will act swiftly to approve this measure and avoid a ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Heidi Heitkamp today reintroduced the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation (ACCTION) Act to help encourage coal plants to lower their carbon pollution through the use of advanced clean coal technologies. By making capital more accessible, this legislation would ultimately make the clean coal technology more affordable. The bill provides a path forward for clean coal energy production, so coal-fired power remains within our n...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 40 of their colleagues to write a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald raising serious concerns about the implementation of the Veterans Choice Card program, which was created as part of the Veterans Choice, Access, and Accountability Act of 2014, passed last year. The program was established in response to the nationwide crisis of veterans’ access to care but has yet to be implemented as Cong...Continue Reading