Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the University of Lynchburg will receive $1,446,533 in federal funding from the National Science Foundation to increase the effectiveness of future STEM teachers in teaching students with learning or developmental disabilities at schools in Lynchburg City, Amherst County, Bedford County, and Campbell County. “With national and local STEM teacher shortages, this funding could not come at a better time for...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen to re-introduce the Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act to ensure that all women who receive care through the United States military have access to all forms of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraception with no health insurance co-pay. This bill would overhaul current Department of Defense (DoD) policy on contraceptive coverage and family planning counseling by ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced legislation to strengthen America’s child welfare system. The Child Welfare Workforce Support Act would address high turnover rates among child welfare workers and the Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act would help prevent the maltreatment of LGBTQ youth – who are nearly four ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded $15,386,097 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for five Virginia health clinics. This funding will allow the clinics to provide quality, affordable health care and dental services to individuals in Southwest Virginia and on the Eastern Shore. “We’re pleased to announce federal funding to ensure these clinics can continue to offer valuable care to their co...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Tom Carper (D-DE), and 30 other Senators in condemning the President’s plan to cut national security funding to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In a letter to President Trump, the Senators reiterated that the U.S. Congress has already appropriated FY18 funds to advance the United States’ foreign policy priorities related to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.  &l...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) are sounding the alarm after President Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border to stop immigrant families from crossing the southwest border, no matter the economic impact. “Despite being thousands of miles away from the Southern border, Virginia has a lot to lose economically if we close our doors to one of our greatest trade partners,” said the Senators. “Mexico is one of Vir...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. – Los senadores estadounidenses Mark R. Warner (D-VA) y Tim Kaine (D-VA) están sonando la alarma ante la amenaza del presidente Donald Trump de cerrar la frontera entre EE.UU. y México para impedir que las familias inmigrantes crucen la frontera sudoccidental, sin importar las repercusiones económicas. “A pesar que Virginia queda miles de millas de la frontera sudoccidental, Virginia tiene mucho que perder económicamente si le cerramos la p...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today introduced the Supporting America’s Caregivers and Families Act, a bill that would increase funding, training, and support for the more than 34 million family caregivers in America.  Each year caregivers provide more than $470 billion worth of unpaid care—more than the entire federal Medicaid budget.  The average caregiver spends $7,000 of their own money every year to provide care to loved ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to introduce a pair of bills aimed at protecting federal health care benefits in the event of a government shutdown. Similar bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House yesterday, led by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). The two bills would amend current law to ensure that workers who have qualifying life events –...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today reintroduced legislation to create Medicare-X, a public plan that would offer families, individuals, and small businesses additional, low-cost health insurance choices and create more competition in the marketplace. The updated Medicare-X Choice Act of 2019 further lowers premiums and increases coverage for Medicare-X consumers and those in the individual market. “It is a disgrace that people’s li...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Chris Coons, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to use all leverage possible to help secure the release of the American citizens and residents imprisoned in Iran and elsewhere. In the letter, Kaine and Coons called on the Trump Administration to form a multinational task force to help secure the release of those wrongfully detained in Iran, raise this issue in negotiations...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), along with Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) called on the Senate Armed Services Committee to include in the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act portions of an essential bill to address hazards in private military housing. The Senators introduced the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act last month in response to a Reuters investigation that exposed health, safety and environmental hazard...Continue Reading

Washington – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and a bipartisan group of 43 other Senators to urge the Trump Administration to rescind a proposed rule that would take away nutrition benefits from Americans struggling to find stable employment. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Senators asked Secretary Sonny Perdue to withdraw this proposal, which would make it harder for states to provid...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement following Saudi Arabia’s temporary release of three women's rights activists, including Aziza al-Youssef, a U.S. legal permanent resident and graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University: “I’m relieved that Aziza al-Youssef, Iman al-Nafjan, and Ruqayyaa al-Mhareb have been released. But I remain concerned about the unjust char...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine are celebrating the culmination of their successful efforts to get federal employees in Virginia Beach and Norfolk a much-deserved pay raise, as the President signed an executive order that designates a locality pay adjustment for Hampton Roads. This adjustment will increase salaries for approximately 30,400 Virginians in Virginia Beach and Norfolk in order to better reflect the rising costs of living in the area. Warn...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, along with 45 of their colleagues, introduced the For the People Act, a sweeping package of comprehensive reforms that would make government work for the people. The landmark legislation aims to restore the promise of American democracy by making it easier, not harder, to vote; ending the dominance of big money in politics; and ensuring that public officials work for the public interest. Earlier this month, the House ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, U.S Senator Tim Kaine joined Senator Dick Durbin to introduce legislation to address the growing threat of white supremacists and other violent right-wing extremists. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would enhance the federal government’s efforts to prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess this threat and provide training and resources to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement in addressin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement on the Saudi-led coalition airstrike that killed seven people at a hospital in Yemen as the nation marks four years since the start of the war: "Yesterday, seven people – including four children – were killed when a missile struck a rural hospital in northwest Yemen. Both the Senate and House have voted to end U.S. support for the w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Senator Tom Carper, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced the Reclaiming Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2019 to restore the role of Congress in overseeing international trade matters. The bill would mandate expanded Congressional involvement in international trade decisions by requiring the Trump Administration – and future Administrations – to further analyze, communica...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) – all members of the Senate Committee on the Budget – filed four amendments to the Fiscal Year 2020 budget resolution aimed at protecting federal employees and contractors. The amendments would put the Senate on the record in favor of preserving retirement security for federal employees, and providing back pay to service contractors affected by the recent federal government ...Continue Reading