Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH), co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, and U.S. Representatives Andy Levin (D-MI-09) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16) reintroduced the Jumpstart Our Businesses By Supporting Students (JOBS) Act. This legislation would better support today’s students by making high-quality, shorter-term education and training programs eligible f...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the subcommittee that oversees the Western Hemisphere, today introduced a resolution recognizing the 9 th Summit of the Americas and reaffirming the United States’ commitment to a more prosperous, secure, and demo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after the nominations of Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Rachel Levine as Assistant Secretary for Health were sent to the Senate floor for confirmation: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most mismanaged crises in Amer...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is supporting two major projects designed to increase the reliability of rural electric utility systems in Virginia. The Senators today announced two low-interest loans of $25 million to the Northern Neck Electric Cooperation in Warsaw, Va., and $16 million to the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative in Palmyra, ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) urged congressional leaders to quickly confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees to oversee the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which has experienced unacceptable delays under the current Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. Once Biden’s nominees to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors are confirmed, they can provide strict oversight over DeJoy’s ten-year strategic plan for postal operat...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) highlighted some of the ways in which the American Rescue Plan will help families, workers, small businesses and local governments across Virginia defeat COVID-19 and recover from the health and economic impacts of the virus.  “The American Rescue Plan will help us defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and put our nation on a clear path to rebuild from this crisis. Already, Virginians are seeing the benefits, w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced legislation to ease the burden on the surviving families of miners who perish due to black lung disease. Too often, survivors of deceased miners face difficulties in securing the benefits to which they are entitled, due to bureaucratic proof requirements that are often too difficult to meet. The Relief for Survivors of Miners Act would ease t...Continue Reading

Watch Kaine’s floor speech highlighting Virginia wins here. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on President Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan: “When President Biden assumed office, each day was met with over 3,000 COVID deaths and fewer than one million vaccinations. Fifty days later, daily COVID deaths are nearly cut in half, and daily vaccinations have more than doubled. By signing the American Rescue Plan today, the Pre...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced $38,564,692.58 in federal funding to support vaccination efforts in Virginia.  “Getting shots into arms is what will end this pandemic,” said the Senators. “That is why we’re glad to see these federal dollars will provide support for vaccination efforts throughout the Commonwealth, and we remain committed to ensuring that every...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the COVID-19 Mental Health Research Act to study the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of Americans, including health care workers, children and adolescents, older adults, and members of racial and ethnic minority groups. This legislation follows recent reports that U.S. cases of depression and anxiety have significantly increased during the pandemic. Companion legislation is led in ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Elaine Luria and Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, sent a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) urging them to expedite regulatory processes for offshore wind development in Coastal Virginia. “Virginia’s diverse maritime industry, workforce, port assets, deep, wide channels, and no overhead obstructions have positioned the Commonwealth to become a hub for manufacturing and ongoing operations and maintenance activities f...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine applauded Senate passage of the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that includes numerous critical wins for Virginia. The bill will now return to the House of Representatives.  “Because of this bill, millions of Virginians will receive a stimulus check, unemployment benefits will last through the summer, and 85,000 of the Commonwealth’s children will be lifted out of poverty,” said Kaine. “T...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senator Brian Schatz and their colleagues in reintroducing the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, a bill that would provide federal employees with a 3.2 percent pay increase in 2022. “For years, federal employees have faced pay freezes, furloughs, and government shutdowns all while continuing to protect and serve the American people,” the Senators said. “The FAIR Act will finally give the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD) today urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to quickly make available the maximum number of Congressionally-authorized H-2B visas in order to ensure that seafood processors in Virginia and Maryland have the seasonal workforce they need ahead of the seasonal start date on April 1.  “In the rural and remote coastal regions in our states, even i...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined today by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ranking Member and Chairman of the SFRC Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, as well as Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in reintroducing legislation authorizing the tenth general capital increase for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the hemisphere’s leading international...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee and Congresswoman Susan Wild (D-PA-07) announced the reintroduction of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals. Health care professionals have long experienced high levels of stres...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced they are now accepting applications for the position of United States Circuit Court Judge for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond to succeed Fourth Circuit Judge Barbara M. Keenan, who will assume senior status effective August 31, 2021. An independent panel of lawyers assembled by the Senators will review applications and interview qualified individuals. The Senators will then use those recommendations, as well as...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today sent a letter to the White House recommending candidates for the U.S. Attorney vacancies in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and the Western District of Virginia (WDVA). In their letter, the Senators recommended Jessica Aber, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and John Hall, civil litigator at Covington & Burling, for the EDVA position. The Senators recommended Christopher Kavanaugh...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. The bill would formally end the authorizations for the Gulf and Iraq wars – 30 and 19 years, respectively, after these AUMFs were first passed, reasserting Congress’ vital role in not only declaring wars, but in ending them. The repeal of these authorizations also recogn...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senator Chris Murphy and their colleagues in reintroducing the Background Check Expansion Act to expand federal background checks to all gun sales. Under current federal law, unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. Research indicates that nearly a quarter of all gun sales in the United States may occur without a background check. U.S. Repr...Continue Reading