Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine along with 19 other Senators sent a letter calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to support robust investment for a Safe Transportation of Energy Products program to address increasing safety concerns related to the transportation of Bakken crude and other energy products. One week after an April 30, 2014 oil train derailment in Lynchburg, Warner and Kaine urged USDOT to issue regulations requiring the str...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced today that his office successfully helped convince the city of Greensboro, N.C. to erect signs to Danville on Route 29 North. Following Kaine’s address to the Danville Economic Development Summit in January 2014, Karl Stauber of the Danville Regional Foundation voiced concern over the absence of signs to Danville on Route 29 in North Carolina, and suggested that displaying signs could help attract tourism and economic activity to th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement after voting against the Fiscal Year 2016 Senate Budget Resolution in committee, which passed 12-10: “I applaud Chairman Enzi and Ranking Member Sanders for their commitment to doing this budget on time, as well as the inclusion of a number of amendments I introduced, cosponsored, and supported, but believe this budget would need a major overhaul in order to be ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2015, a bill reintroduced in February by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, cleared its first procedural hurdle with passage out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.  The legislation would grant federal recognition of six Virginia tribes: the Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, the Monacan and the Nansemond. These tribes have receiv...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) for providing interim relief to Virginia businesses that rely on seasonal workers, including the seafood industry, but underscored that many details must still be worked out. Last night, DOL filed an uncontested motion to stay a March 4th U.S. District Court ruling that had caused the immediate suspension of application processing, allowing H-2B visa processing to ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) and 11 bipartisan Senators in calling on Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to coordinate and immediately resume accepting and processing H-2B visa applications. Seasonal workers returning to the United States under H-2B visas are critical to ensuring Virginia’s seafood businesses have the labor force they need during peak harvest season....Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the passing of former Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Meyera Oberndorf. Meyera and I served as Virginia mayors at the same time, and she was exceptional in so many ways. In addition to being the longest-serving mayor of Virginia Beach, she was the first woman to hold that office and was beloved by the entire Virginia Beach community. Because of t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Aging Committee, highlighted how burdensome student loan debt can hinder young people’s savings and retirement plans. “I have three kids—25, 22 and 19—so I’m interested in this age group and savings,” said Kaine at an Aging Committee Hearing before asking witnesses how student loan debt is impacting young people’s saving habits. “I think student loan debt is a very...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine urged his colleagues to confirm Attorney General nominee Loretta E. Lynch. Lynch was nominated by President Obama 124 days ago and her nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February. “Ms. Lynch is a no-nonsense, hardworking prosecutor, known for her aplomb, her demeanor, her intelligence and her ability to work with a wide variety of stakeholders,” said Kaine. &ldquo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Barbara Boxer and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Survivor Outreach and Support on Campus Act (S.O.S. Campus Act), legislation that would require colleges and universities to ensure that an independent advocate is available to support survivors of sexual assault on every campus. Congresswoman Susan Davis will introduce the House version of the bill next week when the House is back in session.   “Our responsibility is twofold – ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act to protect first responders, health professionals and family members who are educated in administering an opioid overdose prevention drug, such as naloxone (also known as Narcan) in an emergency situation of overdose. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks. &ldqu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine questioned Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey on the proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against ISIL, announced by President Obama last month. For more than eight months, Kaine has been a leading voice calling for Congress to debate and vote on a new authorization against the terrori...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced legislation that would protect some of the most endangered Civil War battlefields in the country by authorizing the National Park Service to acquire more than 7,000 acres to add to Petersburg National Battlefield. “The Petersburg National Battlefield bore witness to the longest sustained siege in our nation’s military history,” said Sen. Warner. “I am pleased to introduce this legisl...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Tammy Baldwin, co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, introduced the Next Generation (NextGen) High Schools Act, a bill to help high schools that enroll traditionally underserved students in the development and implementation of comprehensive, evidenced-based reform. Specifically, the legislation would create a competitive high school redesign program to increase the number and percentage of students who gr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-sponsor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, called for Congress to “pull back from the brink of irresponsible and partisan action” and seek a constructive path to engage on the Iran nuclear negotiations, criticizing a partisan letter sent to Iran’s leaders yesterday that was signed by 47 Senate Republicans. “Yesterday,...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Heidi Heitkamp  reintroduced legislation this week to support children in foster homes and the families that care for them by encouraging more Americans to offer safe loving homes for foster children. Longtime advocates for a better, brighter future for children facing undue hardship, Kaine and Heitkamp’s Foster Care Tax Credit Act would seek to help the many families who care for children for six months or less, who unlike longer t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-sponsor of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, joined nine of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to object to the bill’s partisan handling, which defies regular order by bypassing the committee process and going directly to the Senate Floor for debate and vote. Joining Kaine in sending the letter were Senators Robert Menendez, Heidi ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement as oral arguments in King v. Burwell began at the Supreme Court:  "The latest effort to attack the Affordable Care Act in court is particularly heartless. The case being heard today involves an effort to strip health care subsidies away from millions of Americans – including more than 300,000 eligible Virginians - that have enabled many people to have health insurance for the first time in their li...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today on a decision by Republican Senate leadership to begin a Rule 14 process on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act: “As a co-sponsor of this important bipartisan bill, I believe the effort by the Republican leadership to force the bill to the floor prior to full committee consideration is contrary to the important interests at stake. Premature action al...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on House passage of a clean bill to fully fund the Department Of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of the fiscal year: “I applaud the House of Representatives for following the Senate’s lead in passing a clean bill to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and protect our national security. This is welcome news for DHS and Coast Guard employees around the country – includ...Continue Reading