Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, cosponsored emergency paid sick leave legislation to provide paid sick days immediately to workers in light of the coronavirus crisis and in preparation for future public health emergencies. The legislation was introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03). “A public health crisis like the coronavir...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as well as Representatives Connolly, Scott, Wittman, Griffith, Beyer, McEachin, Cline, Riggleman, Wexton, Luria and Spanberger sent a letter to Secretary Chao in support of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s (DRPT) application for an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant for the Long Bridge Project. “Long Bridge, the most heavily traveled railroad bridge connecting Washington, D.C. to...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement on today’s announcement that a Marine at Fort Belvoir in Virginia has tested positive for the coronavirus: “We are carefully monitoring the case of the coronavirus announced in Virginia today and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the Commonwealth is getting the federal support it needs to respond. This week, we voted to pass a bipartisan emergency funding bill that di...Continue Reading

~ Letter follows first cases of the coronavirus in the DMV ~ WASHINGTON – Today, amid reports of the first cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the national capital region, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD) urged the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to continue to work to ensure the safety of employees and travelers who rely on Metro trains, buses, and other facilities. In a letter to WMAT...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON ­– Today, U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) announced that the Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Commemorative Coin Act has unanimously passed the Senate. Their bipartisan legislation directs the U.S. Treasury to mint a coin to commemorate the Centennial of Negro Leagues Baseball. U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (Mo.) and Steve Stivers (Ohio) have introduced companion legislation in the House. “Several of the game’s greatest and most icon...Continue Reading

~ Bipartisan legislation includes millions in additional funding for local efforts in Virginia to protect against and prepare for coronavirus ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued a statement today after the Senate approved a bipartisan emergency funding bill to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) on a 96-1 vote: “We are pleased that Congress quickly passed this important coronavirus response package on a bipartisan basis, an...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 20 of their Senate colleagues in pressing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General to review the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) reported disclosure of confidential information from children’s therapy sessions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fo...Continue Reading

~ Virginia schools received more than $2 million through the Rural Low-Income Schools (RLIS) program last year – funding now in jeopardy due to sudden change in how eligibility is calculated ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter with a bipartisan group of Senators expressing their strong opposition to an abrupt decision by the Department of Education that jeopardizes funding eligibility for 800 rural, low-income schools across the cou...Continue Reading

 ~ Includes millions in additional funding for local efforts in Virginia to protect against and prepare for coronavirus ~  WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued a statement today after bipartisan Capitol Hill negotiators reached an agreement on an emergency funding bill to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19): “After the Trump Administration initially requested just $1.25 billion in new money for federal agencies to combat the spread of the co...Continue Reading

Senators demand Trump Health Department reverse efforts to promote junk plans and undermine Medicaid, and commit to ensuring that any potential coronavirus vaccine is affordable for all Senators: “We are deeply concerned both by your refusal to commit that a potential vaccine for coronavirus will be affordable to anyone who needs it, and this Administration’s numerous policies that make it harder for patients to get care during an outbreak.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today,...Continue Reading

~ Sent letters to insurers, state and federal policymakers ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today urged health insurers and federal and state officials to eliminate cost burdens that could disincentivize people with coronavirus symptoms from seeking testing and treatment for the contagious illness. “We are fortunate that to date there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Virginia. While public health offici...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today announced that major components of their Supporting America’s Caregivers and Families Act, a bill that would increase funding, training, and support for the more than 34 million family caregivers in America, passed the Senate unanimously as part of the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020.  Each year, caregivers provide more than $470 billion worth of unpaid care—more than the entire feder...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.— In a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine called for close collaboration with health experts and scientists as the government works to contain the emerging threat of the novel coronavirus. Kaine criticized the Trump Administration for proposing cuts to public health funding and attempting to eliminate the Affordable Care Act in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. President Trump’s budget request slas...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senator Patty Murray to call on Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia to provide details on their Departments’ plans for preparedness and response efforts to protect the safety and health of students, teachers, school staff, and workers in light of the emerging threat of the novel coronavirus. The Senators asked Secretary ...Continue Reading

~ A Heritage Area designation for the Northern Neck will preserve and protect a historically significant region ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) requested an update from the National Park Service (NPS) on the Northern Neck National Heritage Area Feasibility Study. Congress first directed NPS to conduct the study more than a decade ago as the first step in the process of designating the Northern Neck a National Heritage...Continue Reading

~ Celebrates the life and achievements of pioneering physicist and mathematician ~       WASHINGTON – The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution sponsored by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) along with U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to honor Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a NASA pioneer who passed away Monday at the age of 101. “Katherine Johnson was essential to NASA’s success in the Space ...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, introduced a resolution commending the work of GAVI and its partners for their efforts to expand vaccines and immunizations to the most vulnerable, especially children, in developing countries. The resolution also reaffirms the United States’ continued support for the Alliance as an efficient and effective mechanism to advance global health security and save ...Continue Reading

MLB has proposed eliminating or demoting 42 teams – including Virginia’s Danville Braves, Bristol Pirates, and Bluefield Blue Jays WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined a bipartisan group of colleagues, led by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), to introduce a resolution supporting Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and their efforts to fight Major League Baseball’s (MLB) proposed elimination or demotion of 42 MiLB clubs,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $1,844,898 in federal funding to support residents of public housing in five cities across Virginia. The funding, awarded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Resident Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) program, helps individuals and families work towards economic independence and housing self-sufficiency. The program aims to help residents increase earned income and ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Democratic Whip Dick Durbin along with 29 of their Democratic colleagues to introduce the Restoring Military Priorities Act of 2020.  The bill would reverse and restore the Trump Administration’s recent short-sighted transfer of $3.8 billion from Pentagon priorities to build part of President Trump’s border wall.  The bill also reduces DoD’s transfer authority so that DoD cannot once aga...Continue Reading