Press Releases

~  Bills to avert a government shutdown head to the President’s desk ~ WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) praised Senate passage of two bipartisan, bicameral spending bills to fund federal programs that are critical to Virginia and keep the federal government open through 2020. Following today’s Senate passage, the bills now head to the President’s desk for signature. “Today I voted to avert another painful government shutdo...Continue Reading

Senate approves bipartisan bill introduced by Senators McConnell and Kaine to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21. Utilizing his role as Senate Majority Leader, McConnell successfully secured their provision in the end of the year funding bills. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate approved today the Tobacco-Free Youth Act, introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), to raise the nationwide minimum age to buy all tobacco products, ...Continue Reading

~ Federal funding creates opportunities for innovative environmental solutions at Virginia Tech and Appalachian Sustainable Development ~  WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $1,269,461 in federal funding from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to support innovation in resource conservation and agricultural practices at Virginia Tech and in the Appalachian-Blue Ridge Forests ecoregion of Virginia. “When we...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today following the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision declaring the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate unconstitutional and directing a district court to determine whether the rest of the law can stand without the individual mandate: “The Fifth Circuit ruling is the result of the latest effort by Republicans — in this case Republican State Attorneys General acting in concert with...Continue Reading

~ Responding to concerns raised by Virginia farmers, the Senators suggest tweaks to USDA’s proposal for regulating industrial hemp  ~  WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) wrote to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to encourage the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make changes to its proposed hemp regulations to better help Virginia farmers seeking to grow industrial hemp. Responding to concerns raised by farmers in Virginia, the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced that the Senate unanimously passed their bipartisan legislation to expand access to veteran treatment courts for veterans in need today.  U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are co-sponsors of the legislation. The Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2019 establishes a program in coordination with the...Continue Reading

Legislation will now go to the President for signature You can watch video of Kaine talking about the legislation here  WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), released the following statement after Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes Kaine’s provisions to improve military housing and many of his other priorities for Virginia, including paid family leave fo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the news that his bipartisan legislation with Senate Majority Leader McConnell to raise the tobacco age to 21 will be voted on as part of the appropriations package in the House and Senate this week: “I’m thrilled that our bill to raise the tobacco age from 18 to 21 will get a vote in the ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $883,881 in federal funding from a collaborative program between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The funding will help homeless veterans find affordable and stable housing. “Our nation’s veterans have sacrificed so much in service to our nation, and we owe them our support as they make the transition to civilian life,&r...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded HELP Committee passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which includes key provisions of his legislation to strengthen America’s child welfare system: the Child Welfare Workforce Support Act and the Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act. The Child Welfare Workforce Support Act would address high turnover rates among child w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and Armed Services Committee (SASC), applauded SFRC passage of his bipartisan bill to explicitly prohibit any President of the United States from withdrawing from NATO without congressional approval. “Recent actions have raised serious questions among our allies about America’s commitment to NATO. This bill would clarify that no U.S. President can withdraw from NATO without...Continue Reading

~ Legislation to make contributions to the Virginia Beach Tragedy fund tax-deductible now heads to the President’s desk for signature ~ WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded the Senate passage of the Virginia Beach Strong Act, a bill that would make contributions to the Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund tax-deductible. The legislation cleared the Senate unanimously following Monday’s passage in the House of Representatives and will now head t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today introduced an updated version of their bipartisan Prevent Government Shutdowns Act. As Congress approaches the threat of a second government shutdown this year, Lankford and Hassan are joined by four of their Senate colleagues to push for this commonsense reform that protects federal employees and forces Congress to stay in DC to fund the government. If signed into law, the bill would set up an automatic Co...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the bipartisan health care agreement announced Sunday. Four of Kaine’s bills were included in this comprehensive package: one to raise the tobacco age to 21, one to improve the nation’s public health data systems, one to expand health care to rural areas through te...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), released the following statement after today’s announcement of the final conference report of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes Kaine’s provisions to improve military housing and many of his other priorities for Virginia. The Senate and House of Representatives will vote on the final legislation.  “After seeing the ...Continue Reading

Foreign Imports Account for 80% of U.S. Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Text of the Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper raising concerns about the national security risks posed by U.S. reliance on foreign-manufactured pharmaceutical products. The senators' letter follows the publication of the U.S.-China Economic an...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Chris Coons (D-Dela.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have introduced a resolution expressing grave concern over irregularities following Bolivia’s general elections held on October 20, 2019, and encouraging the Stat...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, applauded Senate passage of the FUTURE Act, bipartisan legislation he cosponsored to renew expired funding for minority-serving institutions of higher education, including the five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Virginia.  “I’m thrilled the Senate was able to find a compromise and pass our bill to support HBCU...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after the Navy signed a contract to block buy nine Virginia-class submarines: “We’re glad the Navy reached this deal to save taxpayer dollars and help protect our nation. We’ve long supported Virginia-class submarines, and we’re excited that this move will strengthen our shipbuilding community in Hampton Roads,&nb...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper today, requesting a briefing to explain the expanded presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. Last week, the Trump Administration sent a formal war powers notification to Congress stating that additional U.S. forces are being deployed to Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of servicemembe...Continue Reading