Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, which called for greater individual and societal action to combat climate change: "Pope Francis today reiterated what has long been confirmed by overwhelming evidence: climate change exists, it is significantly driven by human activity, and we have an obligation to do something about it – for affected communities at home like Hampton Roads that are a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, applauded Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today, which includes amendments he introduced condemning sequestration cuts and strengthening credentialing programs, as well as a number of other provisions that benefit Virginia’s shipbuilding industry and defense community. Following passage of NDAA, Kaine voted against a motion to begin debate on the Fisc...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, called attention to the fact that while Congress is willing to vote on “all things great and small concerning our military” in the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress is still unwilling to have a meaningful debate and vote on the war against ISIL and the need for a new Authorization for Use of Military F...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine marked the third anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and called on his congressional colleagues to work together to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Since the program was announced in 2012, DACA has offered temporary relief from deportation to over 660,000 immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as young children, including nearly 10,000 who call Virginia home. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Jack Reed, Chuck Schumer, and seven other colleagues to introduce the Military Consumer Protection Act, which would better protect servicemembers and their families from abusive financial practices.  This legislation would empower the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to oversee and enforce compliance with certain existing provisions of the Servicemember Civi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON –  Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) called on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to do more to protect federal employees  whose personal information was compromised as a result of the massive data breach affecting OPM’s personnel records. “Sensitive information belonging to members of our nation’s federal workforce deserves the highest level of protection. Unfortunately,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine co-sponsored the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and introduced the Affordability is Access Act, legislation to protect female workers and expand access to affordable health care for women. After the U.S. Supreme Court case Young v. UPS left the workplace rights of pregnant workers uncertain, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act – closely modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – would address legal ambiguities and...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) today announced the introduction of legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino Veterans of World War II. They were joined in this effort by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV), Congressman Juan Vargas (D-CA), Congressman Mark Takai (D-HI), Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA), and C...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Robert Hurt, Dave Brat, and Don Beyer urged the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations to oppose language in the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that that would jeopardize funding for a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at For...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, at a U.S. International Trade Commission hearing, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine testified in support of the U.S. Steelworkers’ petition to ensure and enforce fair trade opportunities for U.S. manufacturers through relief from dumped and subsidized tire imports from China.  In his testimony, Kaine noted that the Yokohama plant in Salem incurred job losses and a decrease in tire production as a direct result of unfair tire imports from China....Continue Reading

Washington, DC – In the wake of a critical National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the National Capital Region’s Congressional Delegation today called on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to take immediate action to fix a serious safety issue resulting from improperly installed power connector assemblies throughout the Metrorail system. Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), joined by Senators Barbara M...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators David Perdue (R-GA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, Internal Operations, and Bilateral International Development, today introduced the Improving Department of State Oversight Act, a bipartisan bill that will facilitate necessary changes to improve the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to conduct more secure and more effective oversi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the 10-month anniversary of the U.S. launching military action against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced a bipartisan Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) as an amendment to the State Department reauthorization bill being considered in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. By introducing this compromise language as a starting point for debate, Kaine and Flake hope that fel...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) along with U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), Randy Forbes (R-VA-4), and Rob Wittman (R-VA-1) applauded the U.S. Navy for signing a more than $4 billion contract to award the construction of the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) to Newport News Shipbuilding. “Today’s announcement marks an important step forward in designing and building the second in this new Ford class of aircraft carriers,” said Sen. Warne...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the data breach that may have exposed the personal information of approximately 4 million current and former federal employees: “I’m deeply concerned that yet another data breach has compromised the personal information of approximately four million of our nation’s public servants, including many Virginians. As cyber-attacks become increasingly common, the government must do more to prote...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) considers new rules to address predatory practices in payday and similar types of lending, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a group of more than 30 Senators in expressing support for initial steps the agency has taken and urging the agency to issue strong rules to combat the “cascade of devastating financial consequences” that these high-priced loans often have on consumers. “We support the CFPB&rsq...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine called on his colleagues to get serious about finding relief from across-the-board sequestration cuts as they begin consideration of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Kaine announced his support for an amendment to NDAA introduced by U.S. Senator Jack Reed that would grant relief from sequestration cuts to both defense and non-defense accounts. The current legislation provides $38 ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today after final Senate passage of the USA Freedom Act, bipartisan legislation that would ban the bulk collection of telephone records and make other important reforms to current government surveillance programs: “In seeking reforms to our current government surveillance programs, my highest priority has been finding the right balance between civil liberties and national security. The USA Freedom Act achieves...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Congressman Don Beyer, U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, and National Park Service (NPS) Director Jonathan Jarvis today at a press conference near Memorial Bridge to urge Congress to pass a bipartisan, long-term federal transportation bill that makes critical investments in America’s aging infrastructur...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Representatives Randy Forbes and Robert Hurt announced that land has been purchased and construction will begin on a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at Fort Pickett in Nottoway County, Virginia.  Last week, the Director of the U.S. General Services Administration signed a Record of Decision (ROD), which identified Fort Pickett as the site to construct and operate the FASTC.  This d...Continue Reading