Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, who serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded the HELP Committee’s passage of his bipartisan Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, legislation to continue funding the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First) through Fiscal Year 2033, with an increase in the annual authorization from $12.6 million to $25 million over the 10 years. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $100,000,000 in federal funding to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority to design and build the Franconia-Springfield Bypass, a critical bridge that will alleviate congestion on one of busiest railways in Virginia. Once completed, the project will allow Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains to seamlessly cross over two freight rail tracks, preventing delays and expanding capacity for additional service. “Pass...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) today introduced a resolution in support of the Alliance for Development in Democracy (ADD). The ADD includes Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Cruz said, “In the last few years, countries across Latin America who were once among America’s closest democratic allies have pivoted away from the United States towards Russia and the Chinese Communist Party. Meanwhile the countries in the Alliance for Developm...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) introduced the Cost of Police Misconduct Act, legislation to increase transparency and accountability about the costs of police misconduct. The bill would require federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to report judgments and settlements related to police misconduct, including court fees and insurance payments, to the Department of Justice. The introduction comes days after the family of Irvo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine sounded the alarm about the costs of a government shutdown and called on Republicans in Congress to fund the government by the October 1 funding deadline: “During my time in the Senate, I’ve seen the unnecessary harm a government shutdown inflicts upon federal employees, government contractors, and millions of Americans who rely on government services. While I will continue working with my colleagues to prevent a shutdown, we should never be in th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $4,352,000 in federal funding for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (VCWRLF). The VCWRLF offers low-interest loans to local governments in order to support efforts to address emerging contaminants that pollute Virginia’s clean water supply.  This federal funding will help manage the VCWRLF in order to better support local initiatives to protect wate...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in calling on the Biden Administration to swiftly enact and continue to strengthen a proposed rule to limit the availability of short-term limited duration insurance (STLDI) plans, which are commonly referred to as “junk plans.” Junk plans provide inadequate coverage and deny...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine met with Charlottesville residents Jennifer and Corey Feist to congratulate them ahead of a ceremony tonight where they will receive a Surgeon General’s Medallion for successfully advocating for the enactment of Senator Kaine’s bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, legislation to promote health care provider mental health. The bill was named in honor of Jennifer’s sister Dr. Lorna Breen, a physician from Charlottesville w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the bipartisan Success for Military Connected Students Act, legislation to extend the maximum student to teacher ratio directive for Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools around the world. Included in the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by Congress, the maximum teacher to student ratio for grades K-3 were set at 1:18 and approximately 1:24 for grades 3-12. D...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in introducing the Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2023, legislation that would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care. While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) currently offer some forms of fertility treatment ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine applauded the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for taking a first step to better protect the merit-based federal workforce system and safeguard federal employees from losing due process rights: “From protecting national security to inspecting food to ensure it’s free of disease, federal workers do critical work to serve the American people. Every American benefits from having federal workers who are hired on the basis of their qualifications, ...Continue Reading

Letter Text (PDF) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, along with Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), today called for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement a pilot program to provide mental health, substance use, and other supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, at ris...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor to call for an end to Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on military promotions, which Tuberville has issued to protest a rule the Biden Administration issued to protect servicemembers’ access to reproductive health care. Kaine, who is also Chair of the SASC Subcommittee on Seapower overseeing the Navy and Marine Corps, has been vocal about how the hold hu...Continue Reading

**WATCH: Kaine, Murray, Sanders, colleagues reintroduce Child Care Stabilization Act** WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in introducing the Child Care Stabilization Act to extend vital federal child care stabilization funding—which is set to expire at the end of this month—and ensure that child care providers can keep their doors open ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill authorizing the formal designation of an African Diaspora Heritage Month, traditionally celebrated by the diaspora community in September, recognizing and reaffirming the significant contributions of the African diaspora to the growth and prosperity of the United States. “The African diaspora makes our Commonwealth and country stronger,” said Kaine. “I’m proud to introduce this...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced his cosponsorship of the bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act, legislation to establish new, independent oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), including the BOP facilities in Pennington Gap and Hopewell, Virginia. Kaine’s cosponsorship of the legislation follows a number of concerning reports regarding Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Petersburg in Hopewell. In June, two FCI Petersburg employees were indicted for wil...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees, joined Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in cosponsoring the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act. The legislation would expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS), including long term services and supports (LTSS), for aging veterans and improve the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s support for veterans and careg...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $17,259,239 in federal funding to improve infrastructure at airports across Virginia. The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s 2023 Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Grant Program, which funds airport infrastructure projects such as runways, taxiways, airport signage, airport lighting, and airport markings. In 2023, Virginia’s regional airports have alr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded $939,669 in federal funding to help people in recovery from substance use disorder rejoin the workforce in Southwest Virginia. The funding was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Initiative, which provides funding across Appalachia to address the substance use disorder crisis. “In addition to expanding access to substance use treatment p...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) praised an announcement by United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai that the Republic of India will reduce prohibitively high tariffs on U.S. turkey products – an important Virginia commodity. “For months we’ve urged the U.S. Trade Representative to work to reduce the tariffs that make it difficult for Virginia’s producers to export poultry products to India. Today, we’re proud to report that ...Continue Reading