Press Releases

Defense bill includes key Kaine priorities to boost servicemember pay, address military spouse unemployment, and support shipbuilding   WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on President Trump signing into law the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a majority of Kaine’s military spouse employment provisions and many of Kaine’s other priorities...Continue Reading

~ Senators urge VA Secretary to examine if politically motivated actions have impacted the VA’s delivery of care and benefits for veterans after ProPublica report ~ WASHINGTON – Following a ProPublica investigation showing potential political influence on policy decisions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) joined Senate colleagues urging the recently confirmed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to review the actions taken by ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced $400,000 in federal funding for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Drug Court Program and $350,000 in federal funding for the Richmond Adult Drug Treatment Court (RADTC) Program. “We are pleased to announce funding to ensure drug courts in Virginia can provide treatment services, enhance public safety, and reduce crime in local communities. Drug courts are a critical part of our criminal justice system because they ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine highlighted how Americans have stood up to reject hate in the year since the violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi marches in Charlottesville. Kaine spoke about the need for all leaders to redouble their commitment to equality, criticizing President Trump’s repeated actions that have stoked hatred and exacerbated divisions in America. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkgp...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement to mark this weekend’s one-year anniversary of the violent white supremacist marches in Charlottesville: “A year ago, white supremacists and neo-Nazis from all over the country gathered in Charlottesville to spew hateful rhetoric and bigotry. The violence and chaos that erupted from the Unite the Right rally resulted in the murder of a peaceful protester and paralegal Heather Heyer, the tragic deaths of ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, released the following statement concerning Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on women’s rights activists: “I am deeply concerned by the detention of women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia over the past three months, including the recent arrests of Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada....Continue Reading

~ Letter presses the Administration on carrying out actions to combat hate crimes as outlined in joint resolution led last year by Warner and Kaine ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) wrote a letter to John Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ), pressing for more answers on how the Administration is implementing actions specifically outlined by S.J.Res.49, a joint resolution condemning racial ...Continue Reading

~ Research will bring together local stakeholders to tackle growing opioid epidemic ~  WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) will receive $99,705 in federal funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The funds will be used to conduct a two-year research project that will bring together community partners and stakeholders in Martinsville, VA ...Continue Reading

~ Health Wagon clinic will serve 3,500 patients annually ~  WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has approved $500,000 in grant funding for St. Mary’s Health Wagon, a non-profit organization that provides health services to underserved individuals. The funding will be used to construct a new healthcare clinic in Clintwood, Va. that is expected to serve 3,500 uninsured and underinsured...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised the Town of Appomattox receiving $3,501,000 in federal funding to support improvements to the existing sewage treatment and collection system to avoid health hazards. The funding will replace and repair collection lines, rehabilitate manholes, construct a new wet well and new wastewater pump station, level sensors, and improve gas monitoring. “We are pleased that Appomattox will receive funding to support the renewal ...Continue Reading

~ DOT grants will provide funding to improve infrastructure and increase safety at local airports ~  WASHINGTON— U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that nearly twenty Virginia airports will receive a total of $11,725,371 in federal funding from the Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program. “We are pleased these funds will allow Virginia airports to continue improving their infras...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced $456,000 in federal funding to support the James River Expansion Project. The funding will be used to purchase equipment to assist in the expansion around the Richmond Marine Terminal. “We’re pleased to announce funding to increase shipment capacity at the Port of Virginia and ensure that it continues to serve as an important economic hub in the region,” the Senators said. The funding was awarded through...Continue Reading

Legislation will award Congressional Gold Medals to Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden for their work at NASA  WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined Chris Coons (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Kamala Harris (D-CA), along with 43 of their colleagues, to introduce a bipartisan bill to award Congressional Gold Medals to Katherine Johnson and Dr. Christine Darden and to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to Dorothy...Continue Reading

Includes key Kaine priorities to boost servicemember pay, address military spouse unemployment, and support shipbuilding  Bill now heads to President’s desk for signature  WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on final Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a majority of Kaine’s military spouse employment provisions and many ...Continue Reading

~ Package includes funding for Metro, Chesapeake Bay cleanup, and new Virginia tribes ~  WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded Senate passage of bipartisan legislation to fund federal programs under the Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of the Treasury (USDT), Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Interior (DOI). On a bipartisan 92-6 vote, the Senate approved t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and 20 of their Senate colleagues to introduce legislation that would block the online publication of blueprints that can be used to make fully functioning 3D-printed guns. “3D-printed guns are a threat to public safety in our communities and a danger to our law enforcement officers,” Kaine said. “Our nation knows too well t...Continue Reading

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