Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte introduced legislation in the Senate and House to remove federal land use restrictions on an area used by a day care center in Rockingham County.  The Plains Area Day Care Center in Broadway, VA, has provided affordable childcare for 25 years and currently provides care for 94 children, many of whom are eligible for free and reduced lunch.  The Center’s building is in need of repair and m...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to overhaul the nation’s chemical safety law. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act updates the outdated 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider only the health and safety impacts of a chemical – never the cost or burden to manufacturers – when assessing chemicals for safety. The bill also ensures special protectio...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 24 of their Senate colleagues today in urging President Obama to expand job opportunities and reduce recidivism by taking executive action and requiring federal contractors and federal agencies to “ban the box” on job applications. “Our nation’s legal and moral underpinnings provide that anyone who makes a mistake and learns from it deserves a second chance. Those who have accepted the consequences of their ac...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement after final Senate passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, 98-1. The bipartisan legislation, of which Kaine is a lead cosponsor, includes significant provisions he negotiated to set up a prompt, deliberate and constructive process for Congressional review of a final nuclear agreement with Iran.   “With passage of the Iran N...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the eve of the 9-month anniversary of the U.S. launching military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, delivered remarks on the Senate floor, challenging his congressional colleagues to finally have a meaningful debate and vote on the U.S. mission against ISIL. Kaine pointed out that over the past 9 months of war, the U.S. has deployed thousands of ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with 37 of their Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell following reports that insurers, in violation of the Affordable Care Act, are failing to cover forms of FDA-approved contraception and neglecting to provide women with accurate information about the range of essential health care services that are now available without cost-sharing. In the lett...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today released new data on Title IX sexual violence complaints and the Department of Education’s efforts to combat sexual assault on college campuses. In a letter responding to calls for transparency from Senators Boxer and Gillibrand, the Department highlighted its efforts to close difficult cases and urged Congress to increase funding to handle its increasing case load. Senato...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Obama’s nomination of General Joseph Dunford to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “In nominating General Dunford to succeed General Dempsey as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Obama has selected a proven leader with extensive experience in Iraq & Afghanistan - a tremendous asset as we continue to fac...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON –  As the 2015 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill comes before Congress, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), along with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Don Beyer (D-VA-8), and Barbara Comstock (R-VA-10) urged the Congress not to exacerbate overburdened operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by adding more flight traffic. In their letter, the members point out that when Congress es...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Kelly Ayotte to co-sponsor the Preventing All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, bipartisan legislation that would protect horses from the abusive practice known as soring – where show horse trainers apply blistering or burning agents, laceration, sharp objects, or other substances or devices to a horse's limb to intentionally make each step painful, forcing a horse to perfo...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine co-sponsored the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act. The bipartisan bill would end restrictions on travel by American citizens and legal residents to Cuba, restrictions that do not exist for travel by Americans to any other country in the world. The bill would also end restrictions on related transactions incident to such travel, such as banking transactions. “Ending the travel ban will encourage the free exchange of ideas and values, inclu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine cosponsored legislation with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and others to better protect local communities by getting unsafe oil trains off the tracks. The legislation would provide firefighters and other first responders in local communities the resources they need if accidents occur, and provides a tax credit to incentivize the owners of older tanker cars to transition to newer, safer models. “Today marks exactly one year since the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray and 31 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020 and help expand economic opportunity for hardworking families. Beginning in 2020, the minimum wage would be indexed to median wages. Raising the federal minimum wage would directly raise the wages of approximately 786,000 Virginians. “No one who works full time sh...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine along with U.S. Representatives Randy Forbes and Robert Hurt announced that the U.S. Department of State has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at Fort Pickett in Nottoway County.  The FEIS will be released to the public today through the Federal Register.  This notification is a major milestone in efforts to provide a facility dedicate...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on Senate confirmation of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General of the United States: "In confirming Loretta Lynch as our next Attorney General, the Senate has chosen a distinguished legal mind and experienced public servant to lead the Department of Justice. Throughout her career, Lynch has developed a reputation for her integrity and trusted leadership, which will serve the nation well as she addresses recent t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement on the announcement from President Obama today regarding a U.S. airstrike that killed an American and Italian aid worker in January: “My deepest condolences go out to the families of Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto who we learned today were accidentally killed in an American counterterror operation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan borde...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine introduced legislation that would prohibit discriminatory racial profiling by law enforcement at all levels nationwide. The End Racial Profiling Act eliminates racial profiling by changing the policies and procedures underlying the practice. It also promotes best practices in community-based law enforcement. Joining Kaine in introducing the End Racial Profiling Act are Senators Ben Cardin, Richard Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Debbie St...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, met with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to discuss Central American efforts to address the factors driving irregular migration in the context of President Obama’s $1 billion budget request for Central America.  Kaine last met with President Hernandez in February 2015 during a three-day visit to Honduras focused on economic and security challeng...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ), sent a letter to President Obama calling on him to immediately establish and enforce humanitarian safe zones in Syria to protect civilian lives and supply lines for food, water and medical supplies. “With the brutal Syrian conflict entering its fifth year, the Syrian people are facing a humanitarian nightma...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 18 of their colleagues to send a bipartisan letter calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to support harbor maintenance funding to maintain the nation’s shipping channels and ports of entry. Additional funding could help expand the Port of Virginia’s capacity and bolster commerce along Virginia’s inland waterways. “As you work on the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, we re...Continue Reading