Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined 15 of his Senate colleagues in urging President Obama to prioritize a new, strengthened Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on security assistance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington this week. A new MOU would help ensure Israel has the tools and resources necessary to prepare for, respond to, and defend against threats in the Middle East. In a letter to President Obama, the lawmakers wrote, “In ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today:   “I applaud the public release of the negotiated version of the Trans-Pacific trade pact. Contrary to claims that this is a ‘secret deal,’ the text is being made available – significantly earlier than required – for all to review and analyze in the coming months before it is subject to a vote in both houses of Congress. I look forward to having extensive dialogue with ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) released the following statement in response to today’s announcement that Paul Wiedefeld has been named Metro’s new General Manager and Chief Executive Officer: “We’re pleased to finally see this progress in bringing on new management for Metro after a year-long search. “As federal lawmakers, we have been strong advocates and effective partners for Me...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced legislation to help prevent opioid overdose deaths by encouraging physicians to co-prescribe the life-saving drug naloxone alongside opioid prescriptions and by making naloxone more widely available in federal health settings. The Co-prescribing Saves Lives Act will enable more health professionals to get naloxone – a safe and effective antidote to opioid overdoses - into the homes of people who are at-risk of overdose. “In every corner...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Virginia’s congressional delegation is urging President Obama to support funding to expand the Port of Virginia. In a bipartisan letter signed by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Randy Forbes (R-VA), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Robert Hurt (R-VA), Scott Rigell (R-VA), Dave Brat (R-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA) and Barbara Comstock (R-VA), the members urged the Administration to support fun...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined 11 of his colleagues in calling on the Department of Defense to conduct a full investigation into recent allegations that the U.S. Army has, since 2009, wrongfully dismissed more than 22,000 soldiers for misconduct after they returned from deployment and were diagnosed with mental health disorders. In a letter addressed to Acting Under Secretary of the Army, Eric Fanning and Chief of S...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined a letter sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging the agency to strengthen financial protections for a particularly vulnerable population: men and women seeking to reenter society after leaving prison. Upon release, many prison banking services turn over any money saved while serving time in the form of a prepaid card, or “prison release card,” which are largely unregulated and often c...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine signed a letter that calls on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clarify the agricultural exemptions and provide more concise guidelines on compliance with EPA-issued water rules, instead of undermining protections for streams and wetlands. While the letter, co-signed by U.S. Senators Angus King, Bill Nelson, Mark Warner, Dianne Feinstein, Brian Schatz, Chris Coons, Tom Carper, Jon Tester, ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised President Barack Obama’s announcement that federal employers will be required to “ban the box” on job applications, removing a barrier for former offenders seeking employment after incarceration. In May, Warner and Kaine urged President Obama to ban the box on federal job applications to help expand job opportunities and reduce recidivism among ex-offenders. “I’m very pleased the President will implement fair hiring practi...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: “15 months ago, President Obama announced the authorization of two narrow operations in Iraq – targeted airstrikes to protect American personnel in Erbil and a humanitarian effort to save thousands of Iraqi civilians trapped by ISIL on Mount Sinjar.  At that time, he stated that American combat troops would not be return...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Budget Committees, released the following statement today on Senate passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2015: “In my three years in the Senate, I’ve done everything I can to address the non-strategic sequester cuts that have been hurting our national security and economy. These across-the-board sequestration cuts, which have been in full effect for almost three years now, were set up to be s...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced a resolution honoring the life, legacy and example of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 20th anniversary of his death. “The 20th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination is a timely reminder of his pursuit of peace through dialogue,” said Kaine.  At this time of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians, we should remember his example and renew our efforts toward a ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Tom Carper (D-DE) joined a bipartisan group of Senators calling on Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Tom Perez to speed up the certification process for industries that rely on seasonal workers here on H-2B visas. The 25 Senators have requested that DOL get to the bottom of the agency’s lengthy delays in the processing of prevailing wage determinations (PWD) ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today pressed Senate leaders to take up and pass legislation to reauthorize the Perkins Loan Program. This critical lifeline for many low-income students expired on September 30, despite receiving a unanimous one-year, no-cost extension from the House of Representatives on September 28. Since its expiration, a bipartisan coalition of Senators has twice attempted to reauthorize the program with a “unanimous consent&rdquo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 17 of their Senate colleagues in writing a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter outlining their concerns over reports of significant harm to the finances and credit of active servicemembers while deployed and requesting specific information and feedback to help ensure all servicemembers have the tools they need to safeguard their financial security. “Even small credit events, such as a single missed payment, have ...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 after a series of hearings this week on the U.S. role in the Middle East with Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Carter and other administration officials: “Every official I heard from this week agrees with the likelihood that, as the ISIL threat continues to grow across the region and expand into North Africa and South Asia...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy and Dianne Feinstein in introducing legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. When a criminal background check indicates that a firearm purchaser may have a criminal record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tries to determine whethe...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on the announcement of a bipartisan budget agreement: “I’m pleased congressional negotiators and the Administration have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid a debt crisis and provide two years of sequester relief.  The deal provides more than $100 billion in sequester relief over two years for both defense and non-defense accounts, which will provide much-needed certainty to Virginia’s fa...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined 119 of their congressional colleagues in a letter to Acting Commissioner of Social Security Carolyn W. Colvin and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to make sure that the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality decisions are implemented and that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is treating all marriages equally. The letter urges SSA not to penalize married same-sex couples who received Supplemental Securit...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today: “Joe Biden is one of the finest and most passionate public servants America has ever known. We are stronger as a nation having had he and Dr. Biden as the President and First Lady’s closest partners for the past seven years.  The respect for Vice President Biden, both across the country and around the world, is simply unmatched. I applaud him for the goals he has set for the next 15 months an...Continue Reading