Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense asking them to protect funding for the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) during the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations process. If the Department of Defense is funded through a Continuing Resolution, the Navy will lose the authority to execute advance procurement funding for the program—halting shipbuilding, jeopardizing national secu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined 13 Senators to introduce a bipartisan resolution in the Senate designating the week of November 14, 2016, National Apprenticeship Week. Senators joining Kaine to introduce the resolution were U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Al Franken (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Amy ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine sent a bipartisan letter to the leadership of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), calling for the improvement of mail delivery service to be a critical component of any comprehensive USPS reform bill.  “While the importance of reliable mail delivery for customers, especially those living in rural areas, has not changed, the ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Combatting European Anti-Semitism Act, legislation to address the troubling trend of anti-Semitism across Europe. “I am alarmed by the steady increase in anti-Semitism we’re witnessing in America and Europe. We must be vigilant in reporting any incidents of anti-Semitism to ensure the safety, security and inalienable rights...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement after voting against cloture on the motion to proceed to the American Energy and Conservation Act: “I voted no on this bill in large part because of findings from the Obama Administration earlier this year, as well as increasing opposition to speculative oil drilling off Virginia’s coast from constituents in Hampton Roads and on the Eastern Shore. Department of Defense concerns about the impact mi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Investment Area Consortium in Radford, VA will receive a $6,000,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to strengthen and expand regional workforce partnerships in Southwest Virginia. The funds are available through DOL’s America’s Promise Job Driven Grant Program. “Today’s economy requires workers to have knowledge of new and emerging t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will award $3,684,248 in Rural Development grants to various Virginia enterprises. The USDA’s Value Added Producer Grant Program, part of the 2014 farm bill, assists farmers with developing new product lines and expanding markets for their products, with a specific focus on small and medium-sized family farms and beginning farmers and ranchers. The grant...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded more than $70.4 million to help finance projects to increase reliability of rural electric utility systems in Virginia. These loans, which are part of the Electric Program of the Rural Utilities Service, are targeted to rural regions where capital is limited, and will help finance infrastructure upgrades, create jobs and improve operations for rura...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded more than $6.6 million to promote cybersecurity readiness, unmanned aerial systems, and other workforce development programs in southwest Virginia. The funding comes as part of the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, a multi-agency effort aligning and targeting federal economic and workforce de...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has designated Pulaski County and Wythe County as Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), as well as Frederick County as a Washington/Baltimore HIDTA. The designations will enable each county to receive federal resources and tools to improve drug control efforts and coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement. “...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalizes a new rule to address predatory practices in payday and similar types of consumer lending, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine expressed support for the agency’s efforts to protect consumers from the predatory lending practices associated with these high-priced loans. “The issue of predatory lending is not new nor will it improve without strong action from the CFPB. Too many consumers are stuck in high-cost debt...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded $823,341 in grant funding to support community policing efforts and strategies throughout Virginia. The funding, awarded to state and national organizations headquartered in Virginia, was made available through DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services’ (COPS) Community Policing Development Awards program. “I am pleased that Virgini...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the passing of civil rights activist Walter Fore: “I am saddened to hear of the passing of civil rights activist Walter Fore, and I send my prayers to his family and friends and to all of Lynchburg. As a Freedom Rider, President of Lynchburg’s Voter League and decades-long union advocate, Walter was a warrior for justice and equality. I last saw Walter at a meeting of African American leaders in Lynch...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the Department of Justice has awarded Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia $299,892 to support programs that help prevent and respond to sexual assault and domestic violence on campus. “This grant will provide on-campus training for Emory & Henry College students and employees to help put a stop the this alarming epidemic,” said Sen. Warner. “We can and should do more to add...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the passing of former Israeli President Shimon Peres:  “I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Shimon Peres, and I send my condolences to his family and the entire nation of Israel. During his eight decades of service to his nation—which included roles as Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister and President—Peres embodied the devotion of Israel’s founding generation and played a critic...Continue Reading

 [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led Democratic Senators in calling for a hearing and a vote on the nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland before adjourning for another Republican-scheduled recess. Because of Republican obstruction, Judge Garland’s nomination has been stalled for 195 days, making him the longest pending Supreme Court nominee in history. Despite this f...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded today the House’s unanimous passage of the Treatment of Certain Payments in Eugenics Compensation Act (S. 1698), which would exclude eugenics victims’ compensation payments from being used in determining eligibility for, or the amount of, federal public benefits. Without this legislation, eugenics victims who receive compensation payments could see their federal benefits reduced or even have their eligib...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) led a bipartisan group of 18 Senators seeking to improve veterans’ access to healthcare by introducing the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act to authorize leases for 24 Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities in 15 states. Most of the leases have been pending congressional approval for more than a year. Under law, the Department of Veterans Affairs (V-A) must receive specific legislative authorization to lease medical facilit...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, applauded the U.S. Army for committing to reforming its policies, regulations and documentation practices in the wake of its multidisciplinary review of misconduct separations of soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In a written response to a request from Kaine and 11 of his Senate colleagues, Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning conceded the A...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which authorizes $10.6 billion in water infrastructure projects across the nation. This bill makes investments in harbor dredging, maintenance of locks and dams, flood control, ecosystem restoration and other water-related priorities around the nation. Additionally, the bill includes a package of measures to address the drinking water crisis in F...Continue Reading