Press Releases
Warner, Kaine, Hurt Announce $48,100 For Pittsylvania Police Vehicles
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Robert Hurt announced that the towns of Chatham and Gretna will receive $48,100 in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants and loans for the purchase of police vehicles. The USDA awarded Community Facility Loans and Grants funding to the following towns: Town of Chatham will receive a grant of $15,600 Town of Gretna will receive a loan of $21,200 and a grant of $11,300 In 2015, USDA Rural … Continue Reading
June 02, 2016
Kaine Announces Support For Legislation To Lift De Facto Ban On Firearms Safety Research At The CDC & Strengthen Background Records Checks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced his support for two pieces of legislation to address gun violence - one that would lift a de facto twenty-year ban on firearms safety and gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and another that would dramatically strengthen background record checks on all private and online firearm sales. "I'm proud to support the CDC Research on Firearms Safety or … Continue Reading
May 31, 2016
Warner & Kaine Join Colleagues In Calling For Action On Miners’ Pensions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 27 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterating their call for action on the Miners' Protection Act before Congress' summer recess. Warner and Kaine are original cosponsors of the Miner's Protection Act and with nearly 10,000 retirees, Virginia has the fifth largest population of coal miner beneficiaries in the nation. "Seventy years ago this month, President Harry Truman … Continue Reading
May 27, 2016
Warner & Kaine Announce $2.6 Million For Greensville County Public Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the Greensville County Water and Sewer Authority will receive $2.6 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) for infrastructure improvements to support development of the Mid-Atlantic Advanced Manufacturing Center in Greensville County. "We are pleased to see the federal government partner with local authorities to provide Virginians with better public services while … Continue Reading
May 26, 2016
Warner, Kaine, Griffith Announce Bland County Service Authority Awarded More Than $2.4 Million In Rural Development Loan, Grant
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Rural Development has approved a water and waste disposal loan of $1,463,000 and grant of $1,000,000 for the Bland County Service Authority. Warner, Kaine, and Griffith said, "We are pleased by news of this funding, and are proud that local and federal agencies are working together to support Bland County's water system. … Continue Reading
May 26, 2016
Kaine & Armed Services Committee Members Press President Obama for Timely Decision on U.S. Troop Levels in Afghanistan
WASHIGNTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined nine of his colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee in sending a letter to President Obama regarding U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan. "A timely decision on U.S. force levels is necessary so that our allies and partners can generate forces and make appropriate pledges for the Resolute Support Mission beginning in January 2017," the bipartisan group of senators wrote. "We urge you to announce any changes to our current planned … Continue Reading
May 26, 2016
Kaine Examines Links Between Mexican Drug Cartels and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing today on the links between the dramatic increase in U.S. heroin use and opioid addiction and the rise in poppy cultivation and heroin production in Mexico, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the committee, discussed the opioid epidemic in Virginia as well as the importance of working with other countries to stem the "black market" availability of heroin. As witnesses pointed out, an addiction that starts with a medically … Continue Reading
May 25, 2016
Warner & Kaine Introduce NDAA Amendment To Block Commissary Privatization
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine today introduced an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would prevent the Department of Defense (DoD) from privatizing commissaries at five major installations until a study, requested in last year's NDAA, to assess the costs and benefits of privatization is completed and properly taken into consideration by Congress. "It would be imprudent for Congress to authorize this privatization of … Continue Reading
May 25, 2016
Statement of U.S. Sens. Mark Warner & Tim Kaine On Senate Vote to Repeal Wasteful USDA Catfish Inspection Program
Washington - U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following joint statement today after the Senate voted 55-43 to repeal a wasteful and duplicative U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspection program that is harmful to Virginia seafood producers: "The catfish inspection program is a waste of taxpayer dollars. This unnecessary, duplicative program offers no benefits for safety or consumer health, and simply creates extra burdens for Virginia seafood … Continue Reading
May 24, 2016
In Keynote Address, Kaine Discusses Formulating Cybersecurity Doctrine And Investments In Cyber Workforce
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine delivered the keynote address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' event, "Cybersecurity After Information Sharing," in which he argued that unanswered doctrinal questions and the effects of budget uncertainty have undermined the United States' cybersecurity posture. Kaine supported the creation of a commission that would offer lawmakers policy recommendations on how best to strike a balance between strengthening national … Continue Reading
May 19, 2016
Sens. Warner, Kaine Applaud Senate Passage of Bipartisan Appropriations Legislation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded Senate passage of bipartisan legislation to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and military construction and facilities. On a bipartisan vote of 89-8, the Senate voted to approve Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations legislation for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) and Transportation, … Continue Reading
May 19, 2016
Kaine Introduces Legislation To Protect Women’s Access To Contraceptives
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced the Access to Birth Control (ABC) Act, legislation to ensure that any woman with a valid prescription is not denied or intimidated when requesting birth control or emergency contraception at pharmacies. "No woman's access to contraception should be denied at the pharmacy counter after she has made a decision with her doctor," said Kaine. "I'm proud to sponsor this important piece of legislation that will defend the freedom of women's … Continue Reading
May 19, 2016
Kaine Introduces Legislation To Promote Apprenticeships, Help More Students, Workers And Employers Compete In The Global Economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, introduced the Effective Apprenticeships Rebuild National Skills (EARNS) Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen the nation's workforce development system through high-quality, registered apprenticeship programs. The EARNS Act would support pre-apprenticeship programs as well as new or expanding programs that provide nationally recognized credentials and help secure academic … Continue Reading
May 18, 2016
Kaine Calls For Increased TSA Funding To Help Address Long Wait Times, Ensure Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the summer's busy travel season rapidly approaching and lines growing longer at the nation's airports, today U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined 22 of his Senate colleagues in calling for increased funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to help address long wait times and better ensure passenger safety. TSA funding has decreased by nearly $250 million since 2011 even though the number of passengers screened has increased. In 2015, TSA screened more than … Continue Reading
May 18, 2016
Kaine Calls On President Obama To Fulfill Commitment To Resettle 10,000 Syrian Refugees In America
WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a group of 26 Senators calling on the President to fulfill the Administration's commitment to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States this fiscal year. So far in the first seven months of FY 2016, only 1,736 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States. Kaine has previously called for U.S. resettlement of Syrian refugees and has urged the Administration to establish humanitarian safe zones in Syria. "We write to … Continue Reading
May 17, 2016
Warner & Kaine Vote To Advance Emergency Zika Virus Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine voted to advance $1.1 billion of emergency supplemental funding for the prevention and treatment of the Zika virus outbreak. The provision is expected to be included in the Fiscal Year 2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act, which is currently being considered by the full Senate. "There's still a lot we don't know about the Zika … Continue Reading
May 17, 2016
Kaine On Obstruction Of President Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee: We Cannot Blind Ourselves To How Our Actions Are Perceived
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In remarks on the Senate floor today, the 62nd anniversary of the historic Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine addressed the importance of having a fully functioning Supreme Court while sharing a sense of how the continued obstruction of President Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court has been perceived by many of his constituents across Virginia. "I cannot say why the Senate would be so willing to break … Continue Reading
May 16, 2016
In VMI Commencement Address, Kaine Urges Graduates To Uphold Constitution, Renews Calls For Authorization Against ISIL
LEXINGTON, VA - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, delivered the 2016 commencement address at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). In his remarks, Kaine urged the cadets to uphold their oaths to protect the Constitution of the United States by never compromising on the "strict moral compass and a passion for integrity" VMI ingrains in its graduates. Kaine cited Congressional members' unwillingness to take up an authorization of … Continue Reading
May 13, 2016
Kaine Joins Colleagues Calling For Change In Culture At Department Of Veterans Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined Senate colleagues to introduce the bipartisan Veterans First Act, legislation that would strengthen services for veterans and help change the culture at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). "We owe every veteran - including nearly 800,000 veterans who call Virginia home - timely access to quality health care. That starts by addressing their medical needs and correcting VA inefficiencies," … Continue Reading
May 12, 2016
Kaine Applauds Virginia Wins in 2017 Defense Bill, Calls For Transparent Approach To DOD Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the Committee's Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a number of provisions he advocated for to benefit Virginia's shipbuilding industry and defense community. The bill was reported out of committee today and will now advance to the full Senate for consideration. "I'm proud this bill includes many provisions that will benefit … Continue Reading
