Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide: “By recognizing the constitutional right of all people to marry the person they love, the Supreme Court has guaranteed that, across the country, same-sex couples will have their relationships treated with the full legal dignity and respect that they deserve. With our country’s fundamental ideal that ‘all men are created...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Richard Burr (R-NC)  to introduce the Treatment of Certain Payments in Eugenics Compensation Act, which would exclude payments from state eugenics compensation programs from consideration in determining federal benefits. American eugenics and compulsory sterilization laws were implemented by 33 states in the early 20th century, and led to the forced sterilizatio...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project: “Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms the importance of fighting the effects of housing discrimination, whether intentional or unintentional. As a former fair housing attorney, I have seen how communities can be harmed by inequitable housing policies. We have made significant pr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold key provisions of the Affordable Care Act: “I applaud the Supreme Court for its decision to uphold the important tax credits that millions of Americans - including nearly 300,000 in Virginia - rely on to access high quality, affordable health care. The decision is a direct rejection of the heartless effort led by health care law opponents to push families &ndash...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement upon the passing of Sharon Bryant, former Chief of the Monacan Nation: “I am deeply saddened to hear of Chief Bryant’s passing. Bryant was a strong leader for the Monacan people and a pioneer for women. Her death is a loss to the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, and my heart goes out to the Monacan Nation during this time of mourning.” During her tenure as Chief, Kaine worked with Bryant in the ong...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two years after the Supreme Court removed core protections in the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined a group of their colleagues to introduce the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 (VRAA), legislation that would restore and advance voting protections for all Americans. Since the Supreme Court ruling, states and localities throughout the country have passed sweeping laws that disproportionately suppress the voti...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a group of senators in sending a letter to federal housing, finance, and consumer protection regulators calling for an investigation into potential violations of the Fair Housing Act by banks and lenders neglecting the maintenance of foreclosed homes based on the racial makeup of communities where the properties are located. The letter asks the regulators to take appropriate actions to put a stop to any unequal tre...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today: “I support Governor McAuliffe’s call to remove the Confederate battle flag from state-issued Virginia license plates. The use of the flag by public bodies is integrally connected to celebration of the cause of the Confederacy, which is inimical to American values. With the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., prior court rulings ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and 11 of their colleagues to introduce the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act, bipartisan reform legislation aimed at providing safer and more effective pain management services through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA). The bill, crafted in close consultation with medical professionals and veterans service organizations, focuses...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Barack Obama signed an executive order recognizing U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education (CTE). The announcement came in response to a bipartisan letter from U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Rob Portman and Tammy Baldwin urging the White House to expand the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program to commend the efforts of students who have chosen CTE pathways. Kaine, Portman and Baldwin, co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education Ca...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement in commemoration of Juneteenth: “On this day 150 years ago, Major-General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas bearing news that would fulfill the Emancipation Proclamation's promise of freedom. As word broke that the war had finally ended, people began to celebrate the end of slavery in the South. This day has become known as Juneteenth, and a century and a half later, Juneteenth celebrations cont...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, along with U.S. Senators Mark Warner, Barbara Boxer, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Bob Casey, introduced the Middle School Technical Education Program (Middle STEP) Act that would expose middle school students to CTE programs focused on career exploration. The Middle STEP Act would establish a pilot program that allows middle schools to partner with postsecondary institutions and...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, which called for greater individual and societal action to combat climate change: "Pope Francis today reiterated what has long been confirmed by overwhelming evidence: climate change exists, it is significantly driven by human activity, and we have an obligation to do something about it – for affected communities at home like Hampton Roads that are a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, applauded Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today, which includes amendments he introduced condemning sequestration cuts and strengthening credentialing programs, as well as a number of other provisions that benefit Virginia’s shipbuilding industry and defense community. Following passage of NDAA, Kaine voted against a motion to begin debate on the Fisc...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, called attention to the fact that while Congress is willing to vote on “all things great and small concerning our military” in the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress is still unwilling to have a meaningful debate and vote on the war against ISIL and the need for a new Authorization for Use of Military F...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine marked the third anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and called on his congressional colleagues to work together to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Since the program was announced in 2012, DACA has offered temporary relief from deportation to over 660,000 immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as young children, including nearly 10,000 who call Virginia home. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Jack Reed, Chuck Schumer, and seven other colleagues to introduce the Military Consumer Protection Act, which would better protect servicemembers and their families from abusive financial practices.  This legislation would empower the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to oversee and enforce compliance with certain existing provisions of the Servicemember Civi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON –  Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) called on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to do more to protect federal employees  whose personal information was compromised as a result of the massive data breach affecting OPM’s personnel records. “Sensitive information belonging to members of our nation’s federal workforce deserves the highest level of protection. Unfortunately,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine co-sponsored the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and introduced the Affordability is Access Act, legislation to protect female workers and expand access to affordable health care for women. After the U.S. Supreme Court case Young v. UPS left the workplace rights of pregnant workers uncertain, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act – closely modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – would address legal ambiguities and...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) today announced the introduction of legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino Veterans of World War II. They were joined in this effort by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV), Congressman Juan Vargas (D-CA), Congressman Mark Takai (D-HI), Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA), and C...Continue Reading