Press Releases

County data below shows high teacher shortages across Virginia  WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, introduced the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act to address teacher and principal shortages, especially in rural communities. This legislation will help ensure that there are enough teachers and principals with the right skills and tools to educate students and prepare them for ...Continue Reading

Kaine has led career and technical education efforts in the Senate WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s legislation to improve job training and career and technical education was signed into law by President Trump. Kaine, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and a co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, wrote three bills that were passed as part of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act. Kai...Continue Reading

~ On the status of the FBI headquarters ~ WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the below statement on the status of a new headquarters building for the Federal Bureau of Investigation: “Congress worked with GSA and the FBI for years to put together a comprehensive plan and bidding process to replace the current deteriorating headquarters building. With no warning and no rationale, the Trump Administration halted that process, and since th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jack Reed (D-RI), and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a bipartisan bill to explicitly prohibit the President of the United States from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval. The bill requires the President to seek the advice and consent of the Senate to modify or terminate U.S. membership in NATO and formalizes the Senate’s opposition to withdrawing from the treaty. If the President attempts to withd...Continue Reading

You can watch video of Kaine questioning Pompeo here  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine pressed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to explain why senior U.S. military leadership had not been briefed on what President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to during their meeting in Helsinki last week. Russian media has reported that Trump and Putin made military agreements during their meeting, yet the Head of U.S. Central Command General Votel and Chairman of th...Continue Reading

~ Includes Airports in Culpeper, Halifax, Henry, and Washington Counties ~ WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced a total of $12,223,523 in federal funding for four airports in Virginia. The funding, awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation, will support efforts to extend, rehabilitate, and reconstruct a taxiway and runways at Virginia Highlands, Culpeper Regional, William M. Tuck, and Blue Ridge Airports. “We are thrilled t...Continue Reading

Legislation to boost training programs includes provisions from three Kaine workforce bills  WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and a co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, praised the Senate passage of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act. The updated legislation was last reauthorized in 2006 and aims to increase access to high-quality career and tec...Continue Reading

~ Funds will help improve living environments and increase economic opportunities ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that Virginia communities will receive $1,465,474 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program. The grants will help develop urban communities across Virginia by providing affordable housing and improving infrastructure in order to expand economi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement after President Trump tweeted last night about Iran: “President Trump’s belligerent tweet is another alarming warning sign that he’s blundering toward war with Iran. Just months after the President backed out of the deal that prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the Administration’s hostile rhetoric and efforts...Continue Reading

~ Resolution gives Senate Legal Counsel authority to defend health protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions – including 1.3 million Virginians – in Texas vs. United States ~ WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined their Senate Democratic colleagues in introducing a Senate resolution that would authorize Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in the Texas vs. United States lawsuit, on behalf of the U.S. Senate, to defend prot...Continue Reading

~ Bill would ensure federal workers have additional taxes on their moving costs fully reimbursed ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide financial relief to certain civilian federal employees who move for work. The Relocation Expense Parity Act would close a loophole that prevents certain federal workers from having additional taxes on their ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) to introduce the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2018. Defendants have raised “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses against criminal charges like murder and assault. The defense blames the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity for the defendant’s violent reaction against them. The legislation would curtail the availability and effectiveness of the ga...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced a bill to assist young people with finding summer or year-long jobs that will help them succeed in future careers. The Opening Doors for Youth Act of 2018 is focused on the nearly 5 million at-risk young people ages 16 – 24 who are disconnected from both school and work. The bill provides federal funding so local communities can create partnerships with businesses, guaranteeing young people can be placed in a job that is als...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) to introduce the Reunite Every Unaccompanied Newborn Infant, Toddler and Other Children Expeditiously (REUNITE) Act. The bill would require the immediate reunification of all families separated by President Trump’s policies and establish a permanent system of coordination between agencies and non-governmental organizations to protect det...Continue Reading

Bill Supports Survivors and their Dependents, Emergency Shelters, Critical Helpline and More WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine has joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to cosponsor legislation to aid survivors of domestic violence by directing federal resources to emergency shelters, supportive programs, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “An unconscionable gap remains between the need and availability of resources to support survivors of domest...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, cosponsored the Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act of 2018 introduced by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, to make veteran small business owners eligible to acquire equipment and property that the federal government no longer has a use for. The bipartisan bill would add veterans to the list of eligible recipients for federal surplus property, which already includes women and mi...Continue Reading

Legislation protects American jobs from outsourcing and ensures Virginia consumers have access to U.S.-based call centers WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine has joined a group of his colleagues to cosponsor the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, legislation to protect American jobs in call centers in Virginia and across the U.S. With over 67,000 Virginians working as ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) cosponsored a bill to create a privacy bill of rights to protect the personal information of Americans on the internet. The Customer Online Notification for Stopping Edge-provider Network Transgressions (CONSENT) Act, introduced by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish privacy protections for customers who use websites and applications like Facebook and Go...Continue Reading

The FY15 National Defense Authorization Act required DoD to collect, report, and assess data regarding military family suicide, yet recent reports failed to include this information  Senators: “We owe it to military families to support them through these challenges and ensure they have access to the care and services they need” WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are urging Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to release any data on military d...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pressed a Trump Administration official on President Trump’s trade war and the concerns he’s heard from Virginia farmers and business owners about the negative effect it is having on their business. In a Committee hearing on tariffs, Kaine, with a bottle Catoctin Creek Whiskey from Purcellville, VA in hand, told the success story of the Loudoun County company’s expansion ...Continue Reading