Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Bob Casey (D-PA) wrote Secretary of State John Kerry today ahead of the upcoming U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue, urging that “political reform, human rights, and fundamental freedoms” are made a central element of the agenda. In the letter, the Senators write ...Continue Reading

Video: KAINE_FR_QA072315.mp4 WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing today on the Iran nuclear agreement with Secretary of State John Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine pressed the witnesses on Iran’s obligations 15-25 years from now after various provisions of the agreement begin to expire, as well as how we can preserve the most credible military threat should Iran break toward producing a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of the tragic shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee last week, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter urging the Department of Defense to explore all options in its review of force protection measures to better protect servicemembers at traditional and non-traditional military facilities across the country. “The threats we face today are unconventional and without borders. T...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statements supporting today's announcement that the Scott County Telephone Cooperative will receive a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)  Community Connect Grant program.  The funds will establish a broadband network in Edwards Ridge and the surrounding area in Dickenson County. “Broadband access is vital to support and prom...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved bipartisan legislation to help older Americans live longer with independence and dignity in their communities. The reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), provides vital programs and services for nearly 12 million low-income seniors, including nutrition programs like Meals-on-Wheels, preventive health services, transportation assistance, part-time c...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine today welcomed Senate passage of the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), bipartisan education legislation that includes key provisions he authored to help prevent sexual assault and strengthen career and technical education (CTE) in schools across the country. The bill reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the chief federal law addressing K-12 education. With passage of ECAA, 81-17, key provisions of the Teach Safe Relationsh...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the Iran nuclear deal: “I applaud the U.S. negotiating team for its hard work to find a diplomatic solution to peacefully limit Iran’s nuclear program.  A nation’s commitment to diplomacy is every bit as important as its commitment to military strength.  Now that the negotiations have concluded, Congress must give the deal a thorough...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to help ensure students are ready for postsecondary education and the workforce. The amendment encourages states to create work-based learning opportunities through partnerships with businesses that allow students to earn industry-recognized credentials and credit for postsecondary education. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was named to the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Committee by Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI). The bipartisan, bicameral committee is tasked with ironing out differences between the Senate and House versions of the annual defense authorization bill. “As a member of the NDAA Conference Committee, I’ll be an advocate for a bipartisa...Continue Reading

Video of Senator Kaine’s remarks available for download: HD Version -- https://s3.amazonaws.com/sdmc-media.senate.gov/Kaine/071015_KAINE_12_WEB_HD.mp4 SD Version -- https://s3.amazonaws.com/sdmc-media.senate.gov/Kaine/071015_KAINE_12_WEB_SD.mp4 WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine spoke about the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), which incorporates key provisions of his legislation to help prevent sexual assault b...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) with Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) have introduced legislation to better protect federal workers and all those potentially affected by the recent cyberattacks on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data system. Outraged by the expanse of the breach, the senators found the response by OPM to be severely lacking in the duration and extent of coverage for those who had their most sensitive info...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine introduced new legislation providing equal dignity for all legal marriages in the tax code.  The Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act seeks to remove gender-specific references to marriage in the tax code consistent with recent developments that, extend equal treatment under the law to LGBT Americans. “The debate is over and marriage equality is the law of the land. Our tax code must reflect that,” said W...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on Secretary of State John Kerry’s update on the nuclear talks with Iran today: “I support giving our negotiators the time to make sure they get the best deal possible with Iran to protect U.S. national security interests. Extending negotiations is much better than the alternative—walking away from significant progress that’s been made, inc...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the U.S. Army’s plan to cut 40,000 troops over the next two years: “Today the Army announced its plan to reduce its active duty ranks by 40,000 soldiers. The impact on Virginia is less significant than we feared, but I remain concerned that decisions like this have also been affected by years of crisis budgeting and other self-inflicted budgetary const...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today congratulated the players, coaches and staff of the U.S. women’s national soccer team on winning the World Cup by sponsoring a Senate resolution recognizing the team’s accomplishments and contributions to U.S. soccer history. “We couldn’t be prouder of all the players and coaches on the U.S. Women’s National Team for bringing home our nation’s third World Cup title,” said Sens. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, members of the Senate Budget Committee, joined eight of their colleagues to call on Congressional leadership and the President to reach a budget deal that responsibly invests in middle class families, veterans, national security, infrastructure, education and access to public lands. Along with Senators Michael Bennet, Heidi Heitkamp, Angus King, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, Jeanne Shaheen, Jon Tester and Tom Udall, Warn...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Claire McCaskill welcomed the inclusion of key provisions of their Teach Safe Relationships Act in the compromise version of the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (ECAA) introduced on the Senate floor today by U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). Kaine and McCaskill introduced the Teach Safe Relationships Act in February to ensure pub...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today introduced the Miners Protection Act. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that the federal government and coal operators honor their obligation of lifetime pensions and health benefits to retired miners and their families who are facing uncertainty as a result of the financial crisis and corporate bankruptcies. “I’ve always been proud to stand up for co...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised the announcement by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that the Pamunkey tribe will be granted federal recognition. Since serving as Governors of Virginia, Warner and Kaine have been strong supporters of the Virginia Indian tribes’ efforts to gain federal recognition. “I congratulate the Pamunkey Indian Tribe on finally receiving this long-overdue federal recognition,” said Warner. “This histo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) today pressed Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta for more details on how the agency plans to address the government security clearance processing backlog after OPM identified a vulnerability in the web-based platform that is used to complete and submit background investigation forms, which resulted in taking the system offline for an estimated...Continue Reading