Press Releases

~ NEW TODAY: China has begun taxing Chinese consumers of U.S. goods to discourage imports ~ * See below for a detailed list of soybean producing areas in Virginia * WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) expressed increased concern over how President Trump’s trade war would hurt Virginia’s soybean production, which is the Commonwealth’s number one cash crop. China’s Ministry of Commerce has recently announced they will begin pro...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. ­-- U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Ensuring Access to Quality Recovery Living Act. This bipartisan legislation will give states the resources and guidelines necessary to ensure recovery homes are able to effectively help residents sustain recovery from opi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) today led a bipartisan group of senators in proposing legislation to replace the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs) with an updated AUMF against al-Qaida, the Taliban, and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The legislation, cosponsored by Senators Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), strengthens congressional oversight and tra...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on CBS News, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, reiterated that President Trump’s actions in Syria are illegal and reckless because he failed to get Congress’s approval or present a broader strategy. Kaine cited the risks of President Trump ignoring the powers set out in the Constitution, asking “What's to stop him from starting a bombing cam...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement announcing his opposition to Director Mike Pompeo’s nomination for Secretary of State: “I have decided to oppose the nomination of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State. I honor his public service and voted for him to be CIA Director. But in scrutinizing his nomination to be America’s principal diplomat, I cannot overlook gra...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement after President Trump launched airstrikes against Syria without seeking approval from Congress: “President Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes against the Syrian government without Congress’s approval is illegal and – absent a broader strategy – it’s reckless. Last week, President Trump was adamant that the U.S. was leaving Syria imminently. T...Continue Reading

~ Senators ask appropriators to fund federal program that helps local law enforcement bolster community policing ~ WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined a group of Senators in a letter to congressional appropriators requesting a minimum of $225.5 million in federal funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program to help local law enforcement bolster community policing efforts. While February’s bipartisan...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, participated in a confirmation hearing for Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State. Senator Kaine pressed Pompeo on the need for congressional approval for military action in Syria, Pompeo’s strong opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, and Pompeo’s 2014 comments that the United States should consider bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities instead of ...Continue Reading

~ Warn Virginia could lose up to 96,000 jobs if U.S. withdraws from the free trade agreement ~ WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) urged the Trump Administration to protect Virginia’s agriculture producers and the national agricultural economy as negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) enter a critical stage. Last week, President Trump threatened to stop the free trade agreement as a way to pressure Mexico on border security. &ld...Continue Reading

~ Senators ask appropriators to use full funding to improve and modernize VA facilities ~ WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) joined a group of Senators in a letter to Senate appropriators calling on them to commit to using the full $2 billion that was allocated in last month’s bipartisan budget agreement for its intended purpose of repairing and modernizing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) infrastructure. While that Cong...Continue Reading

~ More than $300,000 awarded to Norfolk’s Housing Authority ~ WASHINGTON— U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority will receive $354,192 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide housing assistance for families residing in the Diggs Park Community.  “All families deserve an equal opportunity to find safe and affordable housing,” said the S...Continue Reading

~ Helped high schools in Goochland and Stafford secure new JROTC status to preserve federal funding ~ WASHINGTON— After funding cuts threatened the future of National Defense Cadet Corps (NDCC) programs at Goochland High School and Mountain View High School, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) stepped in to help save their programs. In November 2017, the Goochland and Stafford County School Boards received notifications from the U.S. Marine Corp (USMC) that they would n...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN), and Doug Jones (D-AL), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Jobs Plus Recovery Act to incorporate job training into drug addiction recovery programs. The bipartisan legislation would establish a pilot program that gives individuals impacted by opioid addiction or substance use disorders access to job training and support services to aid in their recovery and lower t...Continue Reading

~ More than a half million dollars awarded to help reduce veteran homelessness ~ WASHINGTON— U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) announced today that the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) are awarding $693,962 in federal funding to Virginia housing authorities to help homeless veterans and their families find affordable and stable housing. “Those who have worn our nation’s uniform deserve to know that their countr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced $1,000,000 in federal funding from the National Science Foundation to support high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need as they pursue the cybersecurity program at Old Dominion University (ODU). “Ensuring students have the support they need to pursue careers in cybersecurity is critical to building our federal workforce and defending the nation’s economic and national security,” the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine raised concerns after Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirmed that proposed tariffs could hurt Virginia businesses and employees, as China is the Commonwealth’s biggest export market for agricultural goods. Yesterday China announced that it is considering raising tariffs on soybeans, beef, and other critical agriculture commodities produced in Virginia in response to Pr...Continue Reading

~ Blacksburg and Northern Virginia bus systems to receive funding ~  WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that three major Virginia bus transportation systems will receive $8.64 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The bus transportation systems receiving funding are: The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), the Blacksburg Transit, and the ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced $1,199,405 in federal funding for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to recruit STEM students and prepare them to become secondary school mathematics and science teachers. VCU will collaborate with the Richmond Metro Area’s school districts to address a shortage of math and science teachers that the area has faced for years. “We are proud to announce critical funding to support the recruitment of m...Continue Reading

Washington, DC – Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are calling for swift action from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to implement legislation to bring recently passed student debt relief to borrowers in public service.  The provisions, which passed as part of the omnibus spending bill last week, are based on a bill authored by Kaine and Whitehouse to fix a glitch in the Department of Education’s Public Ser...Continue Reading

~ Payday lending rule was developed over five years after CFPB reviewed more than one million public comments ~  WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined a group of 41 Senators in a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Leandra English and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney urging them to end any efforts to undermine and repeal the CFPB’s payday lending rule. The rule represents an important...Continue Reading