Press Releases

Highlights coronavirus’ impacts on local governments in Abingdon, Fredericksburg, Blacksburg, Staunton, Prince William County Video: https://timkaine.box.com/s/dhr9o6dvcucmo28jx9373bugj0ldulnd WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine gave a floor speech pushing his colleagues to swiftly pass more relief funding for individual Americans and state and local governments to combat the hard-hitting effects of the coronavirus in Virginia and across the country. In the speech, ...Continue Reading

~ CARES Act allocated funding to the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company ~  WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced $7,630,020 in federal funding for the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company (GLTC). The funding was authorized by the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Sens. Warner and Kaine. “During this health crisis, our public transit has adapt...Continue Reading

Senators warn evictions & foreclosures could have a ripple effect on the economy & could exacerbate public health crisis WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senator Reed to introduce legislation to create a $75 billion Housing Assistance Fund to help protect renters, homeowners, and communities by preventing avoidable foreclosures, evictions, and utility shut offs. With the potential for a massive wave of evictions and foreclosures due to COVID...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded $7,387,190 in federal funding to help promote access to housing in the Commonwealth. The funding was awarded through the CARES Act Admin Fee Regular and Mainstream Voucher Program, which was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Sens. Warner and Kaine. “In this time of deep uncertainty, the last thing fa...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and 39 of their Senate colleagues today to send a letter to President Trump, calling on his administration to develop a comprehensive national strategic plan of action by May 24th to ensure states have sufficient tests to begin safely re-opening. The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was diagnosed in Washington state on January 20, 2020. After 12 weeks, and the appearance o...Continue Reading

~ Virginia’s five HBCUs will be eligible to receive federal funding under the CARES Act ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), members of the Congressional Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Caucus, applauded $36,475,848 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education to support Virginia’s five HBCUs. The federal funding was made possible through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund es...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that Lee and Wise Counties will receive $259,000 and $22,500 in federal funds, respectively, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for water improvement projects. “We are pleased to announce these federal dollars to improve water infrastructure in these communities,” said the Senators. “These projects aim to improve water quality for Virginia families.” The Wise County Public ...Continue Reading

Watch here: https://timkaine.box.com/s/xa5ad4i4xey3zzb9auc6bmv3hbiz8ll9 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine called for Congress to pass more COVID-19 relief funding for state and local governments to prevent layoffs of critical personnel, including firefighters, police officers, and other first responders. “Most states are doing their budgets right now. Most localities are doing their budgets right now. And get this – they are having th...Continue Reading

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) keeps food on the table, families from slipping into poverty WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined their colleagues, led by Senators Jeff Merkley and Chris Murphy, in urging Senate leadership to support and strengthen SNAP— formerly known as food stamps—to help ensure that families across America can keep food on their tables despite the mounting economic consequences of the coronavirus pande...Continue Reading

~ Funding can be used to pay for necessary equipment and supplies, as well as to address inmate needs ~ WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded $10,832,775 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to assist the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services in preventing, preparing for and responding to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The federal funding was made possible...Continue Reading

~ Virginia is estimated to have the third highest number of 501(c)(6) employees ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) urged Senate leaders to ensure that nonprofit organizations like regional chambers of commerce, state restaurant associations, and groups representing law enforcement are able to receive the financial relief they need during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. In a letter, the Senators asked Se...Continue Reading

~ Funds can be used by Virginia Department of Health to better evaluate outbreak and implement response measures ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $14,857,347 in federal funding to strengthen the Commonwealth’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The funding, awarded through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) cooperative agreement...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $200,000 in federal funding to support a project by the Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) at Virginia Tech that seeks to help the global computational molecular sciences community quickly provide their scientific data and expertise to address the COVID-19 crisis. The funding, awarded through the National Science Foundation (NSF), was made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic...Continue Reading

~ Inclusion in Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program would help fight food insecurity for children during health crisis ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging swift approval of Virginia’s request to operate a Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program that would ensure that children in Virginia continue to have access to healthy and nutritious foods&...Continue Reading

~ Treasury announcement gave families less than 48 hours’ notice to enter additional information needed to receive $500 COVID-19 payment per child ~ WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and 34 of their Senate colleagues calling on the U.S. Treasury Department to ensure that families who are not normally required to file taxes &n...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded $1,854,974 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assist the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in supporting rural hospitals across the Commonwealth as they combat the COVID-19 crisis. The federal funding was made possible through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allocated $150 million t...Continue Reading

Watch his video announcing the contest here. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine launched the “Everybody’s the Graduation Speaker” video contest. With many in-person graduations likely to be postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus, Kaine is encouraging Virginia’s graduating high school seniors to submit a video of an original speech they would like to give at graduation. Kaine will select speeches to feature on his Facebook page and website during ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Senator Tammy Baldwin to introduce legislation to protect U.S. workers from COVID-19 in response to disturbing, widespread reports of unsafe workplaces leading to preventable illnesses and deaths. The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard that establishes a legal obligation for all workplaces to implement comprehensive inf...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined more than 20 of his colleagues in a letter, led by Senators Jeff Merkley and Richard Blumenthal, pressing Senate leadership to include critical workforce development and career and technical education (CTE) funding in the next coronavirus relief bill. The letter comes as nearly 22 million workers filed for unemployment in the course of a month and as the economy shed nearly all of the jobs gained over the past five years.  “Althoug...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan coronavirus relief package that provides $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (including $60 billion for women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, and businesses in rural communities), $60 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, $75 billion for health care providers, and $25 billion for testing. “This legislation wi...Continue Reading