Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Congressmen Bobby Scott, Don Beyer, G. K. Butterfield, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Hilary Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau introduced the 400 Years of African American History Act – legislation that would establish a commission to plan programs and activities in 2019 across the country to recognize the arrival and influence of Africans in America. Similar commissions have been estab...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Armed Services Committees, released the following statement after passage of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act today, 96-0:  “Recent provocations by the North Koreans, including the ballistic missile launch and nuclear tests, violate numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a significant threat to both the United States and our allies in the region. I&rsqu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith announced long-anticipated funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Dickenson County, Virginia to offset construction costs for the new Ridgeview High School. Dickenson County will receive at least $17 million as part of the three-state Army Corps flood control project on the Levisa and Tug Forks and Upper Cumberland River. The funding comes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fund...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement on possible changes to the perimeter rule at Reagan National Airport being considered in the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s markup of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill this week: “We are closely watching the House’s work on FAA reauthorization. From our perspective, one way to seriously complicate this work right out of the gate i...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today praised the Committee’s passage of S.Res. 330, which congratulates the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for winning the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize.  The resolution commends the Quartet for forging peaceful political compromises and reaffirms the United States’ commitment to support Tunisia as it continues on the path to democrac...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both members of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statements on President Obama’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY 2017): Senator Warner said: “The President’s budget contains funding proposals to grow our economy and strengthen our national security against 21st century threats such as cyberattacks. As we saw with the OPM hack that exposed the personal information of millions of people,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Rob Portman, Tammy Baldwin and Johnny Isakson – co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus – applauded unanimous passage of a bipartisan resolution to encourage educators to promote career and technical education (CTE) as an option for students. In addition to recognizing the importance of career and technical education in preparing a skilled workforce, the resolution also designates the month of Februa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON –U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Commerce that Virginia Tech will receive almost $500,000 in federal funds to support startup creation, innovation, and help turn technology into jobs across Southwest Virginia. “CatalyzeVT: Expanding the Innovation Ecosystem in the Roanoke-Blacksburg Region of Virginia” was chosen to receive the funding as part of the Economic Development Administration...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – As the threat of the Zika virus grows, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined colleagues in urging President Obama to devote increased funding to the Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) Program at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to enhance efforts to control outbreaks, counter the spread of the disease in Puerto Rico and other areas in our country where it is already present, and prevent transmission in the United States. With at least one...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine commended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today for taking steps to address the prescription opioid epidemic in America – a crisis that claimed more lives in Virginia in 2014 than vehicle crashes. The FDA’s plan includes many initiatives Kaine has advocated for through legislation in the Senate, including expanding the use of advisory committees to ensure careful review of new opioid drugs and increasing access to the life-saving...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with a bipartisan group of 25 other senators, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary Penny Pritzker supporting U.S. steel producers in antidumping remand proceedings.  The investigations are in response to petitions filed by U.S. steel rebar manufacturers, which allege Turkish rebar companies are illegally subsidizing the manufacture of rebar and dumping it on the U.S. market, unde...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, along with Governor Terry McAuliffe, U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Robert Hurt, Dave Brat, Don Beyer and Scott Rigell released the following statement welcoming the groundbreaking of a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at Fort Pickett in Blackstone, Virginia. “After years of unnecessary delays and hurdles, the brave men and women who serve in our embassies ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his support for fully integrating female servicemembers into all combat units and operations today at a hearing examining the implementation process of the new military policy. “A story that I find relevant: women were not allowed to run the marathon in the Olympics until 1984. There was a belief that physically they would not be able to run it,” Kaine said. “Today, 30 ye...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision to grant federal recognition to the Pamunkey tribe: “We are thrilled that federal recognition of the Pamunkey tribe is finally official. With this long-overdue designation, the Pamunkey is the first Virginia tribe to be recognized and receive access to critical federal benefits – a development we hope will pave the way for Congress to grant...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, held a field hearing in Loudoun County to examine the ongoing fight against opioid misuse and abuse among older Americans. In the past, Kaine has met with families, law enforcement and business leaders across Virginia to discuss the harmful impacts of opioid abuse on communities in the Commonwealth. "This is an issue of passion for me because it's an issue that affects every last zip code and regi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that the Navy is providing additional predictability to the ship repair industry following a shortfall in workload requirements for the Hampton Roads area that has led to layoffs at several shipyards. Specifically, the Navy will expedite repair work on the USS Gettysburg, USS Tortuga, and USS Winston Churchill and will outsource two submarine maintenance availabilities to the private sector, in order to provid...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Student leaders from 20 Virginia colleges traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to discuss their challenges paying for college and the impact of rising student loan obligations during a roundtable conversation organized by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA). The students represented a diverse cross-section of Virginia’s public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities. An estimated 60% of Virginia college students graduate with student de...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined five of his Senate colleagues to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to release delayed opioid prescribing guidelines. Over-prescription of opioid painkillers puts patients at risk of abuse, misuse and addiction and is closely linked to an escalating heroin crisis. Also signing the letter were U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Manchin and Edward J. Markey. “The United States is in ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy to introduce the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act which would ensure that the gun industry – manufacturers, sellers and interest groups – is not shielded from liability when it acts with negligence and disregard for public safety. The bill would repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). A companion bill in the House of Representatives was introduced ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined 21 of his Senate Colleagues to express profound concern in a letter to President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson regarding DHS’s targeted immigration enforcement operations against mothers and children from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. “We are troubled by ...Continue Reading