Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded the Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval of Jasmine Yoon to become a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Virginia (WDVA). Yoon was nominated by President Biden after the senators recommended her to fill the position when Chief Judge Michael F. Urbanski assumes senior status in July 2024. The senators spoke at her confirmation hearing in February. Her nomination will now be considered by the full Senate. “...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), introduced the Divided Families National Registry Act, bipartisan legislation to help reunite Korean Americans who have been separated from their relatives in North Korea since the Korean War. For Korean Americans who have immigrated to the U.S. since the war, there is no official channel to reunite with family members still in North Korea. Virginia is home t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a former civil rights attorney, have joined 48 of their colleagues in introducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The legislation would update and restore critical safeguards included in the original Voting Rights Act after the Supreme Court weakened crucial tenets of that landmark law prohibiting discriminatory voting practices. “The Voting Rights Act was one of the most pivotal and transformative laws of the 20th c...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chair of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, issued the following statement underscoring the need for the Peruvian Congress to respect judicial independence. “We are deeply disappointed and concerned by the Peruvian Congress’ decision to move forward with its efforts to purge the country’s autonomous National Board of Justice (JNJ) by seeking to ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced that Elizabeth Carr will join him as his guest at Thursday’s State of the Union address. Carr was the first person in the United States born via in-vitro fertilization (IVF). She was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1981. Carr’s attendance at the State of the Union follows a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that has already led to restricted access to IVF in A...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), James Lankford (R-OK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced a bipartisan resolution to express support for international religious freedom as a fundamental right and a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. This introduction comes amid concern over increased attacks on religious freedom worldwide. “The Virginia General Assembly passed a statute in 1786 that became the basis of religious freedom in America. Because of our example, m...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement after the Senate approved a stopgap funding bill to fund some parts of the government through March 8 and others through March 22. This bill will keep the government open by reauthorizing spending at Fiscal Year 2023 levels. “Passing a stopgap funding bill is undoubtedly better than shutting down the government, but what would be really great is if Congress could pass a real spending bill,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Guatemala is one of seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Today, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Boozman (R-AR), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Steve Daines (R-MT) sent a letter to President Bernardo Arévalo urging him to not succumb to pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and instead continue to recognize and support Taiwan. “In the face of...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $1,900,000 in federal funding for three projects in Bland, Stuart, and Lee County, Virginia. The funding, courtesy of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), will go towards building a dental clinic in Bland, investing in downtown revitalization projects in Stuart, and improving water service to 38 homes in Lee County. “Communities across Virginia have tremendous momentum, ideas, and initiative for project...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, which comes on the heels of congressional Republicans’ decision to kill bipartisan legislation to secure the border and tackle the fentanyl crisis: “It’s clear that President Biden is committed to addressing our challenges at the border. But he shouldn’t have to do it alone. I’m deeply frustrated that congressional Republicans refuse to act because they’d ra...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine—a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee—delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the Access to Family Building Act, legislation he cosponsored to protect Americans’ right to access in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology services. Kaine’s remarks followed Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-MS) objection to passing the bill through a procedural method that requires una...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the unanimous Senate passage of their legislation to rename a federal building in Roanoke, VA the “Reuben E. Lawson Federal Building” in honor of the life and legacy of civil rights lawyer Reuben Lawson. The senators introduced the legislation on December 6, 2023, on what would have been Lawson’s 103rd birthday. “We are thrilled that our legislation to honor Reuben Lawson’s immense contrib...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Roger Marshall (R-KS), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced a bipartisan resolution designating March 18, 2024 as Health Workforce Well-Being Day of Awareness. The date was selected to coincide with the day that the senators’ bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Act was signed into law by President Biden in 2022. “Our health care providers protect our health and well-being ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, cosponsored the Access to Family Building Act, legislation to protect Americans’ right to access in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology services. Kaine’s announcement follows a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that has already led to restricted access to IVF. “The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has opened the floodgates fo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s appointment of Tom Perriello of Virginia as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan. Warner and Kaine have consistently pressed the Administration to appoint a Special Envoy for Sudan to coordinate and lead diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the horrific violence and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Nearly 4.8 million people have been internally displaced due to ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Two years ago today, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the face of Russia’s horrific assault on a sovereign nation, the Ukrainian people have shown incredible resilience. Democracies around the world have linked arms, and NATO is stronger ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $2,869,000 in federal funding to improve water quality and increase access to safe drinking water in Wythe County and to assess the public health risk from harmful chemicals in local landfills in rural communities across Virginia. This funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The funding will impact thousands of residents and help ensure Virginians have access to safe, reliable drinking water....Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following reports of a pending major weapons transfer from the U.S. to Israel, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, urged the Biden Administration today to ensure that the transfer is comprised primarily of defensive weapons critical to the security of the Israeli people, such as restocking the Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defense systems. Consistent with concerns raised by the Biden Administration regarding the pot...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock (both D-GA) in urging the Biden Administration to continue U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure the immediate release of hostages, stop the violence in Gaza, provide access for desperately needed humanitarian assistance, and deescalate tensions across the Middle East. “Since the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, in which Hamas abducted more than 200 civilians — including...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press Editorial Board wrote an editorial highlighting the critical role the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) plays in ensuring the prosperity and security of the U.S. and our allies. The editorial underscored the importance of Kaine’s recent, successful efforts to get his bipartisan bill to prevent any U.S. president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act....Continue Reading