Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s directive that lifts the federal hiring freeze on government agencies, but also directs agencies to submit plans for long-term cuts to their workforce: “It was a mistake for President Trump to impose a federal hiring freeze without first assessing the needs of federal agencies. As a result, our government’s ability to carry out basic functions, like processing S...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, along with Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), has introduced legislation to grant Purple Heart recipients full Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It also includes a provision to make Purple Heart recipients eligible to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which is an optional program for universities to provide additional funding to veterans if their Post-9/11 GI Bi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined 19 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump urging him to address the nationwide opioid epidemic. Last year as part of the 21st Century Cures Act, Congress included $1 billion for states to expand opioid addiction services, but nearly four months since this funding became available it has still not been allocated to states based on need. “Th...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today on NBC’s Meet the Press, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, questioned the legality of President Trump’s use of military force in Syria without Congressional approval. Acknowledging the horrible atrocities committed by the Assad regime, Kaine reiterated that while he has called for a strong response to Syria since his vote for military action following the chemical weapons attack in 2...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – A coalition of 21 U.S. Senators strongly urged U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to reconsider proposed budget cuts to airport, seaport and mass transit security programs in order to fund President Trump’s request for more than $4 billion to construct a wall along America’s southern border.  The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Al Franken (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-M...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement regarding U.S. military action in Syria: “Assad is a brutal dictator who must be held accountable for his actions. But President Trump has launched a military strike against Syria without a vote of Congress. The Constitution says war must be declared by Congress.  I voted for military action against Syria in 2013 when Donald Trump w...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on Senate Republicans changing the rules after the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch failed to receive the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture: “We have given Judge Gorsuch serious consideration. He’s been granted meetings, hearings, a Committee vote, full floor debate, and a vote from the full Senate, and he fell short of the bipartisan support needed to move forward with final confirmation to the Supreme ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON — As Congress prepares to begin work on the 2017 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation, a bipartisan coalition of 15 regional members of Congress today urged their colleagues not to further overburden operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by adding more flight traffic. In their letter, the members point out that when Congress established the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) in 1986, it was charged with operating, pro...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor about the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. In his remarks, Kaine shared his belief that Gorsuch has repeatedly taken an activist approach to cases involving a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. “I don’t think you have to be an activist on everything to be an activist. But, I do believe he is an activist. It shows through in no area clearer than i...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), reintroduced the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2017 to reform the federal program that provides benefits to coal miners suffering from black lung disease. The legislation would amend the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) of 1973 to ensure that claims for benefits for coal miners and their family members are processed in a fair and timely manner. Federal law requires that co...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Gerry Connolly, along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, Mark Warner, Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John P. Sarbanes, John Delaney, Don Beyer, Barbara Comstock, Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin, have sent a letter to Congressional appropriators calling for continued federal investment in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for safety and other improvements to Metrorail. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on Equal Pay Day, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) to reintroduce the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and guarantee that women can challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable. According to the National Women’s Law Center, today’s wage gap in Virginia would cost a woman on average $482,000 over a 40-year career, when compared to a man...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), wrote a letter to President Donald Trump to request that he raise the case of Aya Hijazi when he meets with Egyptian President al-Sisi today.  Hijazi, a dual Egyptian-Amer...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources unanimously passed the bipartisan 400 Years of African American History Commission Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, that would establish a commission to plan programs and activities in 2019 across the country to recognize the arrival and influence of Africans and African Americans in America. The bill was also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Cory Booker, and a comp...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Ten U.S. Senators representing six states and both political parties are urging President Donald Trump to reverse his proposal to eliminate federal funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission. Since ARC was created in 1965, the federal-state partnership has partnered with states, localities and the business community to support the creation of thousands of new jobs and helped leverage billions of dollars in new economic investments across the Appalachian region, but the Wh...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today calling on President Trump to veto a resolution that guts landmark privacy protections for customers of internet and telecommunications companies: “President Trump should veto this bill, which jeopardizes the privacy of Virginians. This is an effort to weaken a regulation that prohibits broadband and other telecommunications companies from selling information about their customers without consent. C...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) Co-Chair of the Career and Technical Education Caucus and Roger Wicker (R-MS) Co-Chair of the Community Colleges Caucus, both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced legislation to further improve the cybersecurity workforce pipeline by expanding and enhancing an existing federal scholarship program for students pursuing degrees in cybersecurity fields. The Cyber Scholarship Opportunities Act would expand and improv...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on his intent to vote against cloture and final confirmation for the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court: “After meeting with Judge Gorsuch and reviewing his testimony and past decisions, I've observed that he has repeatedly taken an activist approach to cases involving a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her health. He has made the astounding argument t...Continue Reading

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine introduced the RECLAIM Act. This legislation accelerates $1 billion in funding from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AML) Fund over the next five years to revitalize coal communities hit hardest by the downturn of the coal industry. It promotes economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affec...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement regarding President Trump’s Executive Order that dismantles the Clean Power Plan and starts to undo progress made under President Obama to fight climate change and improve public health: “The Clean Power Plan requires the U.S. to reduce its carbon pollution by about 1/3 over 15 years. America went to the moon in half that time. For people who say they want to make America great again, I’m struck b...Continue Reading