Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during National Recovery Month, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Braun (R-IN), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Providing Empathetic and Effective Recovery (PEER) Support Act, legislation to help peer support specialists serving individuals recovering from a mental health condition or substance use disorder. Specifically, the bill would elevate the role of ‘peer support specialists,’ individuals who have...Continue Reading

Video of Senator Kaine’s remarks is available here. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) hearing, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of SFRC and Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, highlighted the importance of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership and his work to make sure the AUKUS agreement—in which Australia will purchase Virginia-class submarines—is implemented effectively. The AUKUS partnership is critical to strengthenin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine sent a letter to the National Park Service urging them to designate the Town of Bedford as an American World War II Heritage City. The American World War II Heritage City Program was created in 2019 and allows one designation per U.S. state or territory. Receiving this designation would acknowledge the Town of Bedford’s critical role during World War II and help ensure the town’s contributions are recognized for generations to come. “The Town of Bedford ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) introduced the End Shutdowns Act, legislation to prevent government shutdowns and the senseless pain they inflict on federal employees, government contractors, and millions of Americans who rely on government services. Kaine has been outspoken against the use of government shutdowns as a negotiating tactic. In an effort to take that option away, this bill would initiate an automatic continuing resolution...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $16,395,565.20 in federal funding, courtesy of the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program, awarded to the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation (MBC) to deploy broadband and expand access to high-speed internet throughout Virginia. The funding will be used to construct approximately 130 miles of new fiber to build eight open-access middle mile fiber segments, the physical high-capacity fiber optic...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) today led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concerns about ongoing efforts to undermine the pre-electoral and primary processes leading up to critical presidential elections scheduled in Venezuela in 2024.  “The Venezuelan people cannot afford to see another fraudulent election, which will only bring further s...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded Press Glass Inc.’s decision to expand their operations at the Commonwealth Crossing Industrial Park in Henry County. Press Glass Inc. will invest $155.2 million and construct a 360,000-square-foot addition to its facility, and this will create 355 new jobs. “We’re thrilled that Press Glass Inc. is expanding their operations at Commonwealth Crossing—a site we’ve been proud to support during our time in the Senate,” sai...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) announcement of the first ten drugs covered under Medicare Part D that will be eligible for the drug price negotiation program. The Inflation Reduction Act, which the senators helped pass last year, allows CMS to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for the first time in history. Private insurers regularly negotiate with drug companies for the cost of prescript...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded $3,586,000 in federal funding for the Wise County Public Service Authority to improve the county’s water system. Currently, Wise County’s water system is unable to provide the minimum working water pressure of 20 PSI under Virginia state code. Wise County has a serious need for upgrades to its water system, and this funding will help upgrade the county’s water infrastructure to ensure the system is up to code. The fun...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $1,398,428 in federal funding for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to expand access to mental health care in Virginia. The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program. This program allocates funding to states to provide comprehensi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $1,000,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP), also known as GENEDGE Alliance, in Martinsville. This funding will help GENEDGE support small and medium-sized medical device manufacturers across Virginia in their efforts to strengthen medical supply chain resiliency and improve produc...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, released the following statement after the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) approved a proposal to expel Taiwan’s parliament and admit China’s rubber-stamp parliament as a permanent observer of the organization. PARLACEN has six member countries (Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua)...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $25,000,000 in federal funding from the Department of Agriculture awarded to Scott County Telephone Cooperative to deploy broadband and expand access to high-speed internet in Southwest Virginia. Tomorrow, Sen. Warner will join Rural Utility Services Administrator Andrew Berke, members of the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission, and community leaders in Big Stone Gap, VA to celebrate this funding and to...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA-08) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) designated the death of D.C. police officer and Northern Virginia resident Jeffrey Smith as a line of duty death. Officer Smith died by suicide after defending the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The lawmakers have been pushing for this designation and helped pass bipartisan legislation to honor the public service of police offi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s decision to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Sudan through April 19, 2025:  “Amid terrible violence and a tragic humanitarian crisis in Sudan, we’re pleased to see the administration act on our call for additional protections for Sudanese people already living in the United States. The decision to extend and redesignate TPS will ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced the inclusion of key Virginia priorities in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2024 draft funding bills. All 12 bills were passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan basis. “We are proud to announce that the Senate’s draft government spending legislation for Fiscal Year 2024 includes critical funding that will keep the government open, back record investments in infrastructure and U.S. competitiven...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers to submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of U.S. Army veteran and FBI Special Agent James Rudisill.  Rudisill, a resident of Richmond and a decorated Army veteran from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs’s denial of his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. On Monday, June 26, 2023, the Supr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine celebrated the one year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act becoming law. Last August, the senators voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation to lower health care and prescription drug costs, bring down energy bills, and tackle climate change—all while lowering the deficit. “From capping the cost of insulin to $35 per month for seniors on Medicare to helping more families make energy effici...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $25,144,014 in federal funding for Virginia Beach to protect critical infrastructure from the impacts of consistent flooding and rising sea levels. The project will fund several upgrades – including stormwater pump stations – to support coastal resilience across the city and along Shore Drive. “Rising sea levels threaten lives and livelihoods, and also risk the continued strength of...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Mark Warner (D-A) joined U.S. Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA-1), John Sarbanes (D-MD-3), Bobby Scott (D-VA-3) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7), Co-Chairs of the House Chesapeake Bay Task Force, to introduce a legislative package aimed at tackling the largest source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act (S. 27...Continue Reading