Press Releases
Kaine Statement On Release Of Otto Warmbier
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, released the following statement on the release of Otto Warmbier, an American citizen and University of Virginia student who was arrested by the North Korean government last year and unjustly sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison: "The release of Otto Warmbier from prison in North Korea is long overdue and I am relieved … Continue Reading
June 13, 2017
Kaine Introduces Bill To Address Chronic VA Workforce Shortages
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) to introduce the Better Workforce for Veterans Act to improve recruitment, hiring, and retention practices at the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA). Workforce shortages at the VA have led to longer wait times and harmed the institution's ability to deliver quality care to the nation's veterans. Currently, there are 45,000 staff vacancies at the VA, 38,000 of which are positions … Continue Reading
June 12, 2017
Senators Urge Appropriators To Maintain Critical Funding To Appalachian Regional Commission
~ Since its inception, ARC has created more than 300,000 jobs ~ WASHINGTON - A group of eight U.S. Senators representing six states is urging Senate appropriators to fully fund the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in 2018 at $152 million - in opposition to the Trump Administration's proposal to end the state-federal partnership. For more than fifty years, ARC has provided funding and support for job-creating community projects across the 13 Appalachian states, producing an average of … Continue Reading
June 09, 2017
Kaine Introduces Bill To Protect LGBT Americans From Housing Discrimination
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine led 15 of his colleagues to introduce the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2017, a bill that would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the classes protected from discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), to ensure equal housing opportunities for all Americans. U.S. Representative Scott Taylor (R-VA) introduced the original House version of this bill in early March of this year. The FHA only prohibits housing discrimination … Continue Reading
June 07, 2017
Kaine, Warner Introduce Bill To Make FERC Pipeline Process Fairer And More Transparent
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner will introduce legislation to strengthen the public's ability to evaluate the impacts of natural gas pipelines being considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith will introduce similar legislation in the House. This bill makes it easier for the public to offer input and clarify the circumstances under which eminent domain should and should not be used. Among other … Continue Reading
June 05, 2017
Kaine, Warner Ask For Highest Level Of Funding To Support Black Lung Health Clinics In Virginia
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner have requested the highest level of funding in Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) to support black lung health clinics that serve Virginia's coal miners. In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Kaine and Warner asked that the Subcommittee's annual funding bill include the full authorized amount of $10 million to support the clinics, which … Continue Reading
June 02, 2017
Warner, Kaine Announce More Than $2 Million In Federal Funding For Environmental Projects in Virginia
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award a total of $2,012,800 in federal funding to communities across Virginia. The grants will be used to support environmental site assessments, supervision programs, and community outreach activities with the goal of revitalizing unusable contaminated sites for productive use. "This funding will support Virginia's clean drinking water efforts and also support the … Continue Reading
June 01, 2017
Kaine Statement On President Trump's Decision To Abandon Paris Climate Agreement
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on President Trump's decision to abandon America's commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement: "President Trump's retreat from the Paris Agreement will turn over America's international leadership role to China and make it harder to deal with the realities of climate change we already see at home in places like Hampton Roads, Virginia. This retreat also … Continue Reading
June 01, 2017
Warner, Kaine Announce More Than $594,000 In Federal Funds For Four Virginia Fire Departments
WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced that Virginia fire departments will receive $594,707 in federal funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. The AFG program supports local fire departments by providing funds for new equipment and training. "We are pleased to announce this critical funding to support Virginia's brave firefighters. We must ensure they are always equipped with the tools … Continue Reading
May 26, 2017
Sens. Warner, Kaine Announce Nearly $5 Million To Advance Engineering Education At Virginia Colleges
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that Virginia Tech, Virginia Western Community College, and Northern Virginia Community College have been awarded $4,999,970 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish stronger networks between these institutions and increase the success of engineering transfer students following the community college-to-bachelor's degree pathway. This competitive grant will support scholarships for low-income students … Continue Reading
May 25, 2017
Flake, Kaine Introduce Authorization For Use Of Military Force Against ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Taliban
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) today introduced a bipartisan Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. Flake serves as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Kaine serves as a member of both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee. Nearly sixteen years after Congress passed the 2001 AUMF, the U.S. fight against … Continue Reading
May 24, 2017
Kaine Statement On Trumpcare CBO Score
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement on the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) updated cost estimate of the Republican health care plan: "President Trump made three very clear promises that under a Republican bill no one would lose coverage, premiums wouldn't rise, and Americans with pre-existing conditions wouldn't lose protections. Today's CBO score confirms again … Continue Reading
May 23, 2017
Kaine Statement On President Trump’s Budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement on President Trump's FY2018 budget: "The detailed budget released today confirms where President Trump's priorities lie: he wants to dismantle critical programs that support Virginia's families, children, seniors, and businesses in exchange for misguided spending and tax cuts that leave working families behind. After promising not to cut Medicaid, Trump's budget would slash the … Continue Reading
May 22, 2017
Kaine, Warner & Scott To Introduce Bill To Help Hampton Roads Invest In Sea Level Rise Resiliency Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Representative Bobby Scott will introduce the Building Up Infrastructure and Limiting Disasters through Resilience (BUILD Resilience) Act, a bill to establish a competitive grant program for resilient infrastructure investment. This legislation will bolster the ability of regions like Hampton Roads to implement projects and strategies to reduce regional vulnerability to threats like sea level rise and recurrent … Continue Reading
May 17, 2017
Kaine & Warner Bill To Grant Federal Recognition Of Virginia Indian Tribes Moves One Step Closer To Final Passage
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017, a bill reintroduced in March by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, cleared its first procedural hurdle with unanimous passage out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The legislation would grant federal recognition of six Virginia tribes: the Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, the Monacan, and the Nansemond. These tribes have … Continue Reading
May 17, 2017
Kaine & Warner Introduce Bill To Invest In Virginia’s Aging Schools
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and Budget Committees, and Mark R. Warner, a member of the Senate Budget and Finance Committees, will introduce the School Infrastructure Modernization Act to spur public and private investment in renovating active historic school buildings. This legislation amends the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit to apply to school buildings that continue to operate as schools. … Continue Reading
May 17, 2017
Senators To Trump Administration: Do Not Hurt Workforce By Cutting NASA Education Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, are leading a group of 32 Senators in a letter urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to support NASA's Office of Education in the coming fiscal year. President Trump's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) would eliminate NASA's Office of Education, which works to inspire and educate students across the country to pursue careers in … Continue Reading
May 16, 2017
Kaine, Cardin, Warner, Van Hollen Applaud Senate Passage Of Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) applauded passage of a joint resolution to establish the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. The Commission will be empowered to adopt and enforce tough rules to improve Metro safety. The resolution now heads to the House of Representatives for final passage. "I thank my Senate colleagues for quickly approving this Metro Safety Commission, and I encourage the House … Continue Reading
May 16, 2017
Kaine & Tester Introduce Bill To Protect Federal Student Aid For Gold Star Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and co-chair of the Senate Military Families Caucus, and Jon Tester (D-MT), ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, introduced the Protect our Gold Star Families' Education Act, legislation that would expand the Pell Grant program to include the children and dependents of those killed in action in Iraq or … Continue Reading
May 11, 2017
Warner & Kaine Introduce Miners Pension Protection Act
~ Legislation would secure pensions and fulfill promise to retired coal miners ~ WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced the Miners Pension Protection Act, legislation to secure our nation's retired miners pensions by shoring up the 1974 Pension Plan which is headed for insolvency due to coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis. The 1974 Pension Plan was well-managed and funded prior to the 2008 financial crisis, which hit at a time … Continue Reading
