Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine signed a letter that calls on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clarify the agricultural exemptions and provide more concise guidelines on compliance with EPA-issued water rules, instead of undermining protections for streams and wetlands. While the letter, co-signed by U.S. Senators Angus King, Bill Nelson, Mark Warner, Dianne Feinstein, Brian Schatz, Chris Coons, Tom Carper, Jon Tester, ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised President Barack Obama’s announcement that federal employers will be required to “ban the box” on job applications, removing a barrier for former offenders seeking employment after incarceration. In May, Warner and Kaine urged President Obama to ban the box on federal job applications to help expand job opportunities and reduce recidivism among ex-offenders. “I’m very pleased the Preside...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement today: “15 months ago, President Obama announced the authorization of two narrow operations in Iraq – targeted airstrikes to protect American personnel in Erbil and a humanitarian effort to save thousands of Iraqi civilians trapped by ISIL on Mount Sinjar.  At that time, he stated that American combat troops would not be return...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Budget Committees, released the following statement today on Senate passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2015: “In my three years in the Senate, I’ve done everything I can to address the non-strategic sequester cuts that have been hurting our national security and economy. These across-the-board sequestration cuts, which have been in full effect for almost three years now, were set up to be s...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced a resolution honoring the life, legacy and example of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 20th anniversary of his death. “The 20th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination is a timely reminder of his pursuit of peace through dialogue,” said Kaine.  At this time of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians, we should remember his example and renew our efforts toward a ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Tom Carper (D-DE) joined a bipartisan group of Senators calling on Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Tom Perez to speed up the certification process for industries that rely on seasonal workers here on H-2B visas. The 25 Senators have requested that DOL get to the bottom of the agency’s lengthy delays in the processing of prevailing wage determinations (PWD) ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today pressed Senate leaders to take up and pass legislation to reauthorize the Perkins Loan Program. This critical lifeline for many low-income students expired on September 30, despite receiving a unanimous one-year, no-cost extension from the House of Representatives on September 28. Since its expiration, a bipartisan coalition of Senators has twice attempted to reauthorize the program with a “unanimous consent&rdquo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 17 of their Senate colleagues in writing a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter outlining their concerns over reports of significant harm to the finances and credit of active servicemembers while deployed and requesting specific information and feedback to help ensure all servicemembers have the tools they need to safeguard their financial security. “Even small credit events, such as a single missed payment, have ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after a series of hearings this week on the U.S. role in the Middle East with Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Carter and other administration officials: “Every official I heard from this week agrees with the likelihood that, as the ISIL threat continues to grow across the region and expand into North Africa and South Asia...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy and Dianne Feinstein in introducing legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. When a criminal background check indicates that a firearm purchaser may have a criminal record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tries to determine whethe...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on the announcement of a bipartisan budget agreement: “I’m pleased congressional negotiators and the Administration have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid a debt crisis and provide two years of sequester relief.  The deal provides more than $100 billion in sequester relief over two years for both defense and non-defense accounts, which will provide much-needed certainty to Virginia’s fa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined 119 of their congressional colleagues in a letter to Acting Commissioner of Social Security Carolyn W. Colvin and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to make sure that the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality decisions are implemented and that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is treating all marriages equally. The letter urges SSA not to penalize married same-sex couples who received Supplemental Securit...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today: “Joe Biden is one of the finest and most passionate public servants America has ever known. We are stronger as a nation having had he and Dr. Biden as the President and First Lady’s closest partners for the past seven years.  The respect for Vice President Biden, both across the country and around the world, is simply unmatched. I applaud him for the goals he has set for the next 15 months an...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that Virginia has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal planning grants to strengthen and improve community behavioral health clinics for mental and substance use disorder treatment. The grants, which are authorized under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, will improve the quality and access to behavioral care, strengthen payment options, and better utilize evidence-based practices on a more consiste...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – During National School Lunch Week, which is October 12-16, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) recommended ways Congress can streamline federal childhood nutrition programs to more efficiently feed hungry low-income children outside of school hours. The Senators’ suggestions come as the Senate prepares a bill to reauthorize those programs, including the national school breakfast and lunch programs – which serve nearly 400,000 hungry kids in Virginia...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine hosted a roundtable discussion at Up Center Books in Norfolk with local leaders and organizations focused on supporting ex-offenders as they return to their communities. Kaine is a supporter of legislation that provides communities with funding for reentry support – including substance abuse treatment and job training – to reduce recidivism. Up Center Books hosts two reentry programs for ex-offenders – the Responsible Fathe...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement today: “Our support for the Afghan military should be based on conditions rather than an arbitrary date on the calendar. I support the President’s announcement that the U.S. will continue to provide such transitional military support as Afghanistan battles the Taliban and a nascent emergence of ISIL in that country. “The Presi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded $275,000 in grant funding to Friends of Southwest Virginia in Abingdon, Virginia to promote and support tourism, outdoor recreation and entrepreneurial activities in Southwest Virginia. Today’s funding was competitively awarded through the EDA’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. &...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and a bipartisan group of 20 other Senators in calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to take immediate, overdue action to fully implement and enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). In a letter addressed to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and DOL Secretary Thomas E. Perez...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today in Richmond, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a group of ex-offenders for a roundtable discussion about the challenges of returning to their communities following incarceration. The discussion was co-hosted by Adult Alternative Program, a program based in Richmond that helps former offenders obtain the training and credentials to prepare them for employment after incarceration. “My takeaways from today’s discussion were, first, we need to determine what ed...Continue Reading