Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined his Democratic colleagues to advocate a clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and block Republican attempts to play politics with the agency’s funding and risk a shutdown of the critical agency over disagreements with the President’s immigration actions. “Republicans are threatening to stop funding DHS unless we reverse the President’s immigration actions,” Kaine said in remarks on ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on Pope Francis’s approval of a martyrdom declaration for Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero:  "I am thrilled by the Vatican's announcement today of a martyrdom declaration for Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered in 1980. I worked in neighboring Honduras in late 1980-81 and came to know of Archbishop Romero's powerful Christian advocacy for the poor and his courageous witne...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on passage of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act: “I’m proud the Senate has voted overwhelmingly in support of this important bill in honor of Marine veteran Clay Hunt. Increased access to mental health services for veterans is critical to preventing military and veteran suicide. By creating peer support networks to help transitioning servicemembers and expanding efforts to recrui...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Claire McCaskill introduced the Teach Safe Relationships Act of 2015, legislation that would improve health education in public secondary schools where it is taught, by including information on “safe relationship behavior” which would focus on preventing sexual assault, domestic violence, and dating violence. Currently there is no federal requirement that health education courses cover topics like sexual assault prevention a...Continue Reading

FACT SHEET Teach Safe Relationships Act of 2015 Background: It’s widely recognized that relationship violence and campus sexual assault are major issues facing our nation. According to the Department of Justice more than 290,000 Americans are victims of rape and sexual assault each year with young women between the ages of 16 and 24 consistently experiencing the highest rate of intimate partner violence. Secondary schools can play an important role in increasing public safety by educating ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both members of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statements on President Obama’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016: Senator Warner said: “The President’s budget proposal alleviates the harmful impact of across-the-board sequester cuts, which hits the federal workforce and military and civilian defense workers across Virginia especially hard. These sequester cuts are due to return in full for...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine visited Lewis & Clark Elementary School in Ruther Glen to speak with school administrators about the impact of early childhood education on Caroline County school children. During the discussion with educators and administrators, Kaine learned about the success of the Pre-K program at Lewis & Clark Elementary, as well as the high demand for more preschool classes to serve children who...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the one year anniversary of the coal ash spill into the Dan River: “As we mark one year since a degraded pipe in a Duke Energy impoundment pond released more than 30,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River - putting Danville and surrounding communities at risk - we must recommit to protecting safe drinking water and natural resources across the Commonwealth, while developing energy resources that are cleane...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on passage of Keystone XL Pipeline legislation: “Today I voted against passage of legislation to summarily approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Our national goal should be to generate energy cleaner tomorrow than we do today, not to embrace tar sands oil that is 15-20% more pollution-intensive than conventional oil. Instead of accelerating the use of tar sands oil, we should grow our economy by embracing cleaner ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the report released today by the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC): “After two years of hard work, the Commission has released a comprehensive set of proposals that lawmakers must consider as we examine our national security strategy, the defense budget, and commitments we have made to our servicemembers.  Last spring...Continue Reading

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced the Providing Resources Early for Kids (PRE-K) Act, legislation to expand access to high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age five. The PRE-K Act will help more kids enter kindergarten ready to succeed by establishing federal-state partnerships that incentivize states to both improve the quality of state preschool programs and expand those programs to serve more children in need.   “Expanding acc...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced today that he will serve as the Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Management, International Operations and Bilateral International Development for the 114th Congress. Kaine will also continue to serve on the Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, participated in a hearing with the four Joint Service Chiefs on the impact of sequestration on national security. In his opening comments, Kaine expressed serious concern over the harm sequestration continues to inflict on the U.S. military during a period of intense global challenges.  “Since August of 2011, as you’ve also testified, the world hasn’t gotten simpler,&rd...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Together with the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass a clean bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year.  “As we rapidly approach the date on which the Department of Homeland Security’s funding expires, and as law enforcement officials face major threats to our nation’s safety and security, we write with one simple r...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following joint statement on the U.S. Interior Department’s release today on the 2017-2022 draft strategy for offshore oil and gas leasing. Sens. Warner and Kaine  introduced the Virginia Outer Continental Shelf Energy Production Act, which provided for revenue sharing for Virginia and participating coastal states: "This is a significant step in a multi-year process that should result in the safe, re...Continue Reading

RICHMOND, VA – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced that his Southwest Virginia regional office will move from Norton to Abingdon on February 2nd, 2015 in order to better accommodate all constituents across the region, from Blacksburg to the Cumberland Gap. The new office location will be 121 Russell Road, Suite 2 in Abingdon. “For the past two years, the people of Norton have welcomed me and my regional staff as a part of their community,” Kaine said. “Our Southwest V...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Five years after the Supreme Court issued its Citizens United decision, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Sheldon Whitehouse, and more than 30 of their colleagues reintroduced the DISCLOSE Act, legislation that would crack down on secret money by requiring organizations that spend money to influence elections to disclose their spending as well as their major sources of funding in a timely manner. “The DISCLOSE Act would make long-overdue changes to our nation’s campai...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement surrounding oral arguments in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project before the Supreme Court.   “As a fair housing attorney for nearly two decades, I specialized in representing people who had been denied housing due to their race or disability.  I know that discrimination in housing does not have to be intentional to result in unfair and damaging e...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Morgan Griffith, Robert Hurt, Scott Rigell, Dave Brat, Don Beyer, and Barbara Comstock wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel expressing their continued support for the 11 aircraft carrier fleet in advance of the release of the President’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal. In 2014, the House and Senate Armed Serv...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address tonight: “In reflecting on the significant economic progress we’ve made over the past six years, President Obama made a strong case for why America is well-positioned for success, as well as what it will take to ensure all Americans see it – and feel it - in their daily lives and communities.  By announcing key workforce, education and trai...Continue Reading