Press Releases

Washington, D.C.—In a bipartisan effort to encourage competition in the prescription drug marketplace and put an end to the harmful patent strategies that block new drugs from coming to market, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the Biologic Patent Transparency Act.  The legislation was cosponsored by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). “The past century could be termed the Age of Miracle Drugs.  Today...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced a bipartisan bill to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. The legislation will formally end the authorizations for the Gulf and Iraq wars – 28 and 17 years, respectively, after these AUMFs were first passed, reasserting Congress’ vital role in not only declaring wars, but in ending them. The repeal of these authorizations also recognizes the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in calling for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protect U.S. military personnel and their families from predatory lenders. In a letter addressed to CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger, the Senators urged CFPB not to cease checking for compliance with the Military Lending Act (MLA) in the Bureau’s routine lender examinations. &ldquo...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) sent a letter to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urging him to call for the immediate release of Virginian Aziza Al-Youssef. Al-Youssef, a U.S. legal permanent resident and graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, has been detained in Saudi Arabia since May of 2018 with no access to legal representation. She is currently being held in al-Hair prison, and has shared accounts with the National Human Righ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to cosponsor the Advancing Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act. The bill would allow health care providers to coordinate care, lower costs, and improve quality outcomes for children with complex medical conditions on Medicaid.       “Families deserve support when accessing care for their loved ones,&r...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) as original co-sponsors of Senate legislation to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. The Washington, D.C. Admission Act would establish congressional boundaries for the 51st state and grant D.C. residents Congressional representation.   “It’s time to end taxation without representation,” said Warner. “It’s time for Virginia&rsquo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) wrote today to the Secretaries of the U.S. Navy, Army and Air Force, asking for detailed information regarding the military’s contracts with private companies to provide on-base housing for military families in Virginia. Prompted by pervasive allegations of health hazards – including lead poisoning, cockroaches, mice, mold blooms and water leaks – the Senators raised concerns about existing contracts w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the U.S.-Mexico Economic Partnership Act which aims to strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries by expanding educational and professional exchange programs. “The partnership shared between the U.S. and Mexico has long benefited our countries both economically and culturally,” said Cornyn. “This partnership is exemplified in Texas, where our vibrant border re...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 44 of their Senate colleagues to introduce the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 to restore and strengthen the landmark Voting Rights Act. “There is no more sacred right as an American than the right to vote. Unfortunately, more than 50 years after the enactment of the landmark Voting Rights Act, and particularly after the Shelby County decision, many Americans still face barriers to fair par...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) were joined by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and six other Senators in introducing legislation that would allow states that expanded Medicaid after 2014 or expand in the years ahead to receive the same full federal matching funds as states that expanded earlier under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. The States Achieve Medicaid Expansion (SAME) Act of 2019 is also co-sponso...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, announced that the Senate passed their resolution recognizing February 2019 as Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. The resolution was cosponsored by a total of 50 bipartisan Senators.  “Career and technical education provides students with hands-on experience and real-world skills to better prepare th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), along with Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD), wrote a letter to the WMATA Board of Directors in support of maintaining Metrorail’s current overnight safety maintenance schedule, to ensure that critical safety work is completed as soon as possible and to prevent more daytime single-tracking. Warner, Kaine, Cardin, and Van Hollen agree with oversight officials that riders’ safety ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after voting against advancing S. 311:                                                                                 “...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for awarding $2,296,533 in federal funding to communities in Southwest Virginia through its Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) program. “We are thrilled to support this economic investment in Southwest Virginia,” the Senators said. “This funding aims to stimulate the local economy by promoting jo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $524,670 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Centra Health, a regional nonprofit healthcare system based in Lynchburg. This funding will allow Centra Health to expand medication assisted treatment (MAT)  for patients struggling with addiction.  “Substance abuse has had a devastating effect on our communities,” the Senators said.  “...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement after a judge’s ruling regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s plea agreement: “A judge has confirmed what we've known for some time – that when Secretary Acosta was a federal prosecutor, his office violated survivors’ rights under federal law when giving serial sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein what the Miami Herald calls ‘the deal of a li...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement on the government funding bill becoming law, averting another shutdown. The legislation fully funds the government through September 30th and includes numerous provisions the Senators championed to benefit Virginia, including a salary boost for federal workers and more funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration. “We’re relieved hundreds of thousands of federal employees won’t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent the Acting Secretary of Defense a letter raising concerns over the President’s plans to take $3.5 billion from the Department of Defense’s military construction budget to build a border wall. In the letter, Kaine requested a list of projects that will lose funding as a result of the President’s emergency declaration and highlighted the maintenance backlog that has left ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) were joined by every member of the Virginia congressional delegation in urging U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to relocate the F-22 Flight and Maintenance Formal Training Units (FTU) to Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton Roads. Originally located at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Michael in October of 2018, the squadron is being temporarily held at Eglin Air Force Base...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Ron Wyden, and Patty Murray to introduce the Emergency Relief for Federal Contractors Act of 2019, a bill to ensure that federal contractors affected by a government shutdown can withdraw funds from their retirement savings without being penalized. “For 35 days, many federal contractors suffered steep financial costs because of President Trump’s shutdown,” Kaine said. “This bill provid...Continue Reading