Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to help address the prescription opioid and heroin abuse epidemic in America. The Co-prescribing Saves Lives Act would encourage physicians to co-prescribe the life-saving drug naloxone alongside opioid prescriptions and make naloxone more widely available in federal health settings. The bill can no...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to support re-designing the high school experience by making courses more relevant to students’ future careers. The bill would provide federal funding for partnerships between school districts, employers and institutions of higher education  in Virginia and other states that integrate high-quality career and tec...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on President Obama’s nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court: “Merrick Garland is a well-respected jurist with impeccable qualifications and unrivaled experience. His legacy as an attorney includes overseeing high-profile domestic terrorism cases. He has also garnered enthusiastic support from Democrats a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on tomorrow’s Metro closure: “While this is an unprecedented step and a major inconvenience for thousands of daily commuters, it’s also the type of tough call that signals WMATA’s new management team is doing whatever it takes to ensure the safety of Metro riders.  Employers across the region - including OPM - should offer their employees flexibility tomorrow as they face limited tr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s decision not to allow oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean: “I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling, based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago, should be re-examined. Today’s announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management suggests that they have grappled with this question and concluded that the risks of such pr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the U.S. Navy’s announcement that the contamination of drinking water on and around Naval Air Landing Facility (NALF) Fentress in Chesapeake, Virginia is more widespread than previously reported, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine pressed Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to swiftly address the issue and ensure the immediate needs of local community members are met. Full text of the letter is below: Dear Secretary Mabus, We write to request information...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine praised passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), a bill that will help expand opioid abuse prevention and education efforts. The bill takes a comprehensive approach to addressing a crisis that claimed more lives in Virginia in 2014 than vehicle crashes. It also includes a bipartisan amendment that Kaine introduced to help protect seniors who are vulnerable to medication abuse.   “Across Virginia, we continue...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of the President’s November 2014 executive actions on immigration. The Court is slated to review the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in United States v. Texas — the legal case that currently blocks implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs. “President Obama made a lawful dec...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced today that Hampton Roads will receive $844,847 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for adaption and management strategies to address sea level rise. Hampton Roads is one of the communities most vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise in the country, second only to New Orleans. “Families in Hampton Roads are already experiencing the consequences of climate change through flooding roads...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that over $23 million will be awarded to promote ending homelessness in Virginia though the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. “I’m very pleased Virginia will receive this funding to combat homelessness in the Commonwealth,” Sen. Warner said. “This funding will help individuals and families return to self-sufficiency and ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Park Service (NPS) today announced that Arlington Memorial Bridge will need to close by 2021 absent funding for a full rehabilitation. The bridge has been undergoing emergency repairs since last year. Northern Virginia Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, and Barbara Comstock, along with Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, reacted to the news with urgent calls to fund repairs, estimated to cost as much as $280 million. “Memorial Bridge was built to symboli...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to abandon their obstructionist tactics and do their jobs by committing to hold a hearing and vote on the eventual Supreme Court nominee. Following a meeting with President Obama yesterday, Senator McConnell and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley doubled down on their pledge to forego a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing o...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: “Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Edward C. Byers Jr. demonstrated immeasurable courage, bravery and service to his country in Afghanistan. The Medal of Honor is our nation’s highest military award, and Senior Chief Petty Officer Byers’ actions to protect his fellow SEALs in the face of grave danger was heroic and truly a...Continue Reading

RICHMOND, VA - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the follwoing statement today: “The shooting yesterday in Hesston, Kansas underscores the need to take seriously this epidemic of gun violence. That’s why I support legislation that would keep guns out of the hands of individuals subject to a restraining order. It also emphasizes why Congress needs to support the President’s executive actions to combat gun violence with sufficient funding to strengthen background checks and provid...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined fellow members of the Senate Democratic caucus outside of the U.S. Supreme Court to call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to hold a hearing and vote on President Obama’s eventual Supreme Court nominee. This week, Senate Republicans reiterated their intentions to forego a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing or vote on any nominee President Obama names to fill the Court’s vacan...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the passing of veterans advocate and Department of Veterans Affairs grief counselor Lou Gunn: “Lou Gunn’s tireless advocacy made him a hero in the eyes of his fellow veterans and military families across the Commonwealth. Though he will be missed, his legacy lives on in the cause that he championed and in the immeasurable impact that he had on th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Rob Wittman announced today that the Pamunkey Indian Nation will receive $50,282 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the development and management of affordable housing. Earlier this month, the Pamunkey’s federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs became effective, which gives the tribe eligibility and access to federal benefits such as housing, education and health...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today: “Senator McConnell's pre-emptive statement that he will try to block any nominee of President Obama to the Supreme Court - no matter how qualified - is a perversion of the very notion of justice. Surely the American public is entitled to a Senate that will examine a nominee on his or her own merits. I urge the President to nominate a successor to Justice Scalia of stellar qualification and integrity. An...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced that Virginia has been awarded nearly $2.7 million in federal grants to help protect and preserve Civil War battlefields across the state. The grants were awarded by the National Park Services American Battlefield Protection Program, which Kaine led the bipartisan effort to reauthorize in 2014. The program leverages funds from states and landowners to preserve Civil War battlefields at risk of being lost to haphazard development. Kaine a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9) announced that Dickenson County will receive an additional $42 million in funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow for the environmental work, design and construction of a new elementary school. Today’s announcement is in addition to $17 million in funding announced Wednesday to offset construction costs for the new Ridgeview High School, which opened last year....Continue Reading