Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and John Fetterman (D-PA) released the following statement on the decision by the Department of Labor (DOL) Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to pause enforcement of its final rule to better protect America’s miners from health hazards related to exposure to respirable crystalline silica, or silica dust: “Coal miners deserve to go to work every day and come back healthy, and the recent decision by the Min...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), alongside their Maryland colleagues Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-MD), renewed their efforts to create a unified Chesapeake National Recreation Area (CNRA). The CNRA Act proposes to unite a series of voluntarily contributed park areas and iconic Bay properties under the operation of the National Park Service (NPS) in order to spur more federal resources for environmental conservation, celebrate the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wrote to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer regarding the proposal from the “Department of Government Efficiency” to close 35 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) field offices. The senators request specific information regarding how the office closures will impact personnel and inspections of underground mines. They also ask about how MHSA will comply with the n...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement regarding an incident at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) where two airplanes bumped into each other on the tarmac: “Thank God no one was hurt this time. We need a full investigation into this incident as soon as possible. We have said this over and over and hate having to say it again: when planes are taking off and landing every minute of the day, FAA funding is cut, air traffic ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined 43 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the Tax Cut for Workers Act and the American Family Act, legislation that would cut taxes for workers and families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and permanently expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC), respectively. “As the Trump administration continues to sow chaos with policies that help his billionaire friends and hurt everyday Americans, I’m pr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and his Senate colleagues introduced the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act and the bipartisan Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts (BUMP) Act, two pieces of legislation that will help protect communities from gun violence by limiting large capacity ammunition feeding devices and prohibiting the sale of bump stocks, devices that are used to turn semiautomatic weapons into machine guns by increasing their rate of fire. “No Vir...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) along with U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09) issued a statement on the formal approval of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration in response to the February winter storms that caused widespread flooding and damage to Southwest Virginia. This declaration triggers the release of Public Assistance for Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Franklin, Grayson, Lee, Pula...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the Protecting Global Fisheries Act, bipartisan legislation to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Predatory IUU fishing, particularly by China, disrupts international trade and undermines maritime security, marine ecosystems and biodiversity, and food and economic security. It often involves forced labor, human trafficking, unsafe workin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined 23 of their Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father who was living legally under protected status in Maryland with his family until he was wrongfully deported without due process by the Trump Administration last month and sent to a maximum-security prison in E...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushing back on his decision to gut the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), firing nearly 900 employees. Recent reporting has indicated that these firings include all employees tasked with protecting the health and safety of coal miners. “According to reports, HHS is laying of...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) were joined by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in announcing their intent to file legislation to repeal the cost-raising, across-the-board tariffs President Donald Trump announced on April 2, which will cost the average American household nearly $4,000 ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson demanding that he schedule a vote in the House of Representatives on Senate Joint Resolution 37, legislation led by Kaine to reverse President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, which amount to a 25 percent tax on imported goods. S.J. Res. 37 passed in the Senate last week by a 51-48 vote. “...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced the Religious Workforce Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to allow religious workers already present in the U.S. on temporary R-1 status with pending EB-4 applications to stay in the U.S. while waiting for permanent residency. Representatives Mike Carey (R-OH-15) and Richard Neal (D-MA-1) today introduced an identical companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Under curr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Jim Banks (R-IN), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Providing Empathetic and Effective Recovery (PEER) Support Act, bipartisan legislation to support mental health care and substance use disorder recovery. Specifically, the bill would elevate peer support specialists—individuals with lived experience with a mental health condition or substance use disorder who are certified to ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (both D-VA) joined 19 of their senate colleagues in writing to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to emphasize the detrimental effect shuttering the Department of Education will have on approximately 9.5 million students with disabilities and their families. Programs at risk include those authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), members of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted to advance a budget resolution that will slash programs that Virginians rely on in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires: “The Trump Administration has thrown our economy into needless chaos by enacting universal tariffs that will raise costs. Now, despite our strong opposition, Republicans in Congress have ...Continue Reading

BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO IS AVAILABLE HERE. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to highlight his strong opposition to Republicans’ budget plan. President Donald Trump and Republicans are proposing using the revenue from tariffs and massive, across-the-board cuts to programs that Virginians rely on—including Medicaid—to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Republicans are using a legislative process known as “rec...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, led 18 of his colleagues in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to reconsider the Trump Administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans who applied for TPS under its designation in 2023. The Administration’s decision has been temporarily put on hold by a court order, postpo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), joined by Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Gerry Connolly (D-VA-10), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), Eugene Vindman (D-VA-07), and Rob Wittman (R-VA-01), wrote a letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pushing back against the cancellation of $500 million in previously-...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the bipartisan Save Our Seafood (SOS) Act, which would exempt fish processors—which are critical to Virginia’s economy—from the H-2B visa cap, which has made it difficult for local seafood processors to hire the seasonal workforce they need. “The seafood industry is a critical part of Virginia’s economy, especially in Hampton Roads and on the Eastern Shore,” said Kaine. “I often ...Continue Reading