Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today issued the following statement: "President Trump's remarks today failed to acknowledge the pain and suffering he has caused to federal workers, contractors, and millions of Americans with this unnecessary government shutdown, and his rhetoric toward immigrants was inflammatory and unproductive. We would be glad to review, starting this week, any proposals he has to respo...Continue Reading

~ Letter encourages USDA Secretary to ensure continued funding for the program, which provides aid to 776,000 Virginians ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter today to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, stressing the importance of sustained funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The lawmakers expressed concern with the agency’s ability to support states and grocery stores, following a decision by the United Sta...Continue Reading

Senators urge the President to immediately re-open the Department of Housing and Urban Development  2.2 million low-income households are at risk of eviction because of Trump’s shutdown  WASHINGTON – Senator Tim Kaine joined over 170 Members of Congress, led by Senator Mark R. Warner, in sending a letter to President Trump expressing concern that the shutdown will force Americans from their homes. Affordable housing programs in Virginia and acr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jack Reed (D-RI), Lindsey Graham, (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced a bipartisan bill to explicitly prohibit any President of the United States from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval. Just this week, reports indicate that over the past year, President Trump repeatedly raised withdrawing the United States from NATO. The bil...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) in introducing legislation to secure back pay for the federal contractor service employees who continue to go without pay during the government shutdown. The bill—the Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act—aims to help low-wage federal contractor employees—including janitoria...Continue Reading

Senators Urge Trump to Meet Face-to-Face with Federal Workers  WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led a letter with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) to President Trump urging him to meet with federal workers suffering from the impacts of the shutdown. The Senators write, “We are writing to ask that you meet with some of the federal civil servants who are either working without pay or locked out of their job as a ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement announcing he objects to the Senate leaving town while hundreds of thousands of federal employees – many of them Virginians – are going without pay:   “Millions of Americans have been hurt by President Trump’s shutdown, but Majority Leader McConnell has refused to hold a vote to end it. It would be outrageous for Senators to leave town this Wedne...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 32 colleagues in writing to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb asking how the government shutdown has impacted the FDA and its work to protect public health. Warner and Kaine wrote out of concern about how the shutdown’s effects on the FDA could harm Virginians. “The shutdown has severely limited federal oversight of the nation’s food supply and medical products and may r...Continue Reading

Watch here: https://timkaine.box.com/s/u2vphs4p46sdkx4e0rlj2m2igqh9yfx2 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine highlighted the pain President Trump’s shutdown is causing federal workers, including public safety professionals, in Virginia and across the country. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of public servants began receiving paychecks for $0. As of this weekend, President Trump has now caused the longest shutdown in history. ...Continue Reading

~ Md. & Va. Senators express concern about the effect of a prolonged shutdown on vital transportation networks ~ WASHINGTON – Today Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), along with Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD), wrote a letter to Paul J. Wiedefeld, General Manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), seeking information on the impact that the partial government shutdown has had on WMATA’s transit system, ridership, operati...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine applauded House passage of a Senate bill he helped champion to guarantee back pay as soon as possible for federal workers who go without a paycheck during the government shutdown. On Wednesday, Kaine lodged an objection to the Senate adjourning for the weekend while hundreds of thousands of federal employees – many of them Virginians – were set to miss paychecks starting today. His objection led to negotiations with Senate Majori...Continue Reading

Virginia is home to 170,000 federal employees and tens of thousands of federal contractors WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 32 colleagues in writing to the Trump Administration urging them to direct federal agencies to work with contractors to pay low- and middle-income employees for the wages they have lost during the shutdown. The Senators point out that federal contracting officers typically have existing authority that allows them to modify th...Continue Reading

~ Bill would cut costs for 43 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D ~  WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 29 other Senators in reintroducing legislation today to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs—a move that would cut costs for nearly 43 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D. “Medicare Part D enrolls over 43 million seniors nationwide, meaning that they have enorm...Continue Reading

Last night, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sent a letter to their Democratic colleagues urging them to refuse to conduct business as usual on the floor of the Senate this week. They argue that the first vote we take this year should be to end the government shutdown. “We write to urge you to join us in voting against the motion to proceed on Tuesday evening because the Senate should vote on the House-passed Appropriati...Continue Reading

~ Letter requests answers from the Department of Treasury on how the short-staffed IRS will process tax returns for Virginia families ~ WASHINGTON – Today Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking how Virginia taxpayers will be affected by the government shutdown, which has left the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) short-staffed and potentially underprepared for the beginning of the 2019 tax-filing season. Funding for t...Continue Reading

Virginia is home to 170,000 federal employees and tens of thousands of federal contractors  WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced plans to introduce legislation to secure back pay for the federal contractors who have gone without pay during the government shutdown. Warner and Kaine were joined by Senators Tina Smith, Sherrod Brown, Chris Van Hollen, and Ben Cardin. Each day, thousands of federal contractors provide critical services to support the federa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a bill to reopen the government last night and sent it over to the Senate to consider: “Yesterday, the House passed funding bills that the Senate already supported in the last Congress. Leader McConnell should let us take a vote on those bills to reopen government and force President Trump to decide whether to sign them. Virginia is home to m...Continue Reading

~ The American Miners Act of 2019 will also fund the black lung trust fund ~ Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced the American Miners Act of 2019, legislation that would secure pensions and healthcare benefits for our nation’s retired coal miners – including 500 Virginians affected by the recent bankruptcy of a Colorado-based mining company. “Congress made a promise in 1946 to protect coal miners after a lifetime of arduous a...Continue Reading

Currently, 420,000 federal workers are being forced to work without pay, and another 380,000 federal workers were sent home over the holidays without pay. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined 28 colleagues, led by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME), in introducing legislation to guarantee back pay as soon as possible for federal workers who go without a payche...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was sworn in to the 116th United States Congress in a ceremony on the floor of the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Mark Warner escorted Kaine to the floor. Kaine was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and reelected in 2018. In the 116th Congress, Kaine will continue to serve on the Senate Armed Services; Foreign Relations; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Budget Committees. Download video of Kaine’s official swearing in, her...Continue Reading