Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today: “The President’s decision to authorize 1,500 more U.S. troops to deploy to Iraq in non-combat roles is another reminder why we need to debate and vote on a new Authorization for Use of Military Force to combat ISIL as soon as possible in th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine wrote to the heads of eleven federal agencies and departments, including the Departments of Defense, Energy and Transportation, asking them to support a pilot program aimed at coordinating the response to the challenges that sea level rise and recurrent flooding pose to the Hampton Roads region. The two-year pilot program, which was unveiled by Old Dominion University (ODU) this summer, would involve collaboration by a team of federal, s...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement on the President’s comments in a news conference earlier today: “I welcome President Obama’s remarks today about the importance of working in a bipartisan manner with Congress on a positive agenda for the American people.  While there are many important issues to tackle in 2015 under new...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement on Tunisia’s parliamentary elections: “On October 26th, Tunisian voters went to the ballot box to elect a new parliament, embracing democracy and setting an example for the region.  The elections marked a milestone in Tunisia’s political transition and a victory for national unity...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement applauding today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that Scott County Telephone Cooperative (SCTC) will receive a $3,000,000 Community Connect Grant to establish a broadband network in Caney Ridge and the surrounding area in Dickenson County. Kaine wrote to the Rural Utilities Service in August urging USDA to award SCTC the grant. “This major investment in broadband development w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine sent letters to Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Services William Hazel and President and CEO of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) Sean Connaughton requesting information on what is being done to ensure Virginia hospitals and health professionals have the supplies, training and information they need to effectively identify and treat any patients who present symptoms of Ebola. The Senators asked ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, have returned from a nine-day visit across the Middle East and South Asia that included stops in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Qatar. “The opportunity to meet face-to-face with top government official...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Capping a nine-day visit across the region that included stops in India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Angus King traveled to Qatar, where they met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani and visited Al Udeid Air Base, home of the Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) which functions as the “nerve center” for the ongoing air campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria and for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghan...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, were in Pakistan October 12-14 to meet with U.S. Embassy officials as well as high-level Pakistani officials. The Senators met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Advis...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, were in Afghanistan the past two days to visit with U.S. troops and U.S. Embassy personnel, as well as meet the leaders of the new Afghan government. The Senators were the first members of Congress to meet wit...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, wrapped a four-day visit to India that included stops in New Delhi and Mumbai. In New Delhi, the senators met with senior Indian defense and foreign affairs officials, including National Security Adviso...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In light of the recent attack against the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rep. J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) and Rep. Robert Hurt (VA-05) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry requesting action on the long-awaited construction of a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at Fort Pickett, Virginia. In April 2014, the State Department reaffirmed its earlier decision in 2011 to locate such a facility at Fort Pickett. Unfortunately over the past...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, have arrived in India. Their visit, October 7-11, includes stops in New Delhi and Mumbai and comes on the heels of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States last week. In New Delhi, the sena...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision not to review same-sex marriage cases in Virginia and four other states, clearing the way for same-sex marriages to begin taking place in the Commonwealth: “In letting the Fourth Circuit's decision stand, the Supreme Court has given loving couples across the Commonwealth the freedom to marry. I join countless Virginians in celebrating the end of the discriminatory constit...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, reiterating his concern over recent decisions by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to consolidate the mail processing facilities in Roanoke and Norfolk. Noting that both consolidations would move the centers by nearly 100 miles, Kaine requested that the Postmaster General respond to his questions regarding the moves’ effects on jobs and mail service in Virginia. Kaine ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kainejoined 65 of his Senate colleagues to urge Senate leaders to support community health centers, which will face a nearly 70 percent funding cut next September if Congress does not intervene. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the bipartisan group explained that this financial cliff will likely result in site closures and devastating staff layoffs, preventing millio...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine yesterday joined hundreds of stakeholders in responding to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) request for public comment on new rules it has proposed, highlighting areas to further strengthen DOT’s rules in order to ensure the safe transport of crude-by-rail.  On April 30, 2014, a train carrying crude oil derailed in Lynchburg along the James River, resulting in a fire in the downtown area and the release of ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine submitted comments to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on a proposed rule regarding the Federal Acknowledgment of American Indian Tribes. Kaine recommended the BIA adopt greater flexibility in its recognition process to account for extraordinary circumstances like the barriers Virginia Indian tribes have encountered on the path toward federal recognition. “Virginia’s Indian tribes contrib...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern, South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement today on Afghanistan’s political and security transitions: “I congratulate both Dr. Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on this historic moment in Afghanistan’s political transition. Despite the challenges in recent months, both leaders have displayed incredible statesmanship and resolve and ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement: “Today the multinational coalition to defeat ISIL was made stronger with new commitments of support from Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom. I applaud these nations for answering President Obama's call at the United Nations this week by authorizing...Continue Reading