Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement following President-elect Trump’s announcement that he will nominate Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State:  “I have significant concerns about the nomination of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State that I intend to explore thoroughly as part of the confirmation process. His close connection to Vladimir Putin and the Russian...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was in Chesterfield to meet with members of Paralyzed Veterans of America and discuss veterans’ healthcare. In the Senate, Kaine has been a strong advocate for improved healthcare services at the VA. “My work on the Senate Armed Services Committee keeps me very involved in veterans’ healthcare and service reform issues, so I was glad I had the chance today to hear directly f...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine applauded final passage of the bipartisan Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act), also known as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which authorizes water infrastructure projects across the nation. This bill makes investments in harbor dredging, maintenance of locks and dams, flood control, ecosystem restoration and other water-related priorities. Additionally, the bill includes a package of measu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on his vote for a spending bill to fund the government through April 28 and avert a government shutdown: “I voted in favor of this short-term spending measure because the alternative—a government shutdown—would be disastrous for Virginia. But the default to a continuing resolution rather than a long-term appropriations package is a Congressional failure that has real-world consequences across the C...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award $17,631,822 in grants for various health care organizations, medical research and Head Start programs across the Commonwealth. “This funding is an investment in the health and education of our communities,” the Senators said. “Community health centers and Head Start programs help create a strong foundation for Virginia familie...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on final passage of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains provisions he helped secure that will benefit Virginia’s shipbuilding industry and defense community: “Each year, I work across the aisle with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee to craft an annual defense bill that supports our military and...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on President-elect Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “There are few agencies that depend more on careful review of science than the EPA. Every rule or regulation depends on an intellectually honest review of scientific consensus. And the consequences for the health and safety of the American public are cri...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced co-sponsorship of legislation to reform the benefits appeals process for veterans. Because of redundancies and inefficiencies in the current process, most veterans wait years for a decision on their appeals. The Department of Veterans Affairs Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 would replace the current process – which today stands at over 450,000 appeals awaiting a decision &nd...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine discussed the positive impacts of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid in Virginia, and why it is critical that Congress defend these landmark health care programs going into the next administration. Repealing the Affordable Care Act, Kaine argued, would inject needless uncertainty into the economy and have a painful impact on American families. He instead urged his colleagues to meet for bipartisan d...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on final Senate passage of the 21st Century CURES Act, which passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law: “Thanks to this bipartisan legislation, our nation’s top researchers will have additional resources they need to find cures and treatments for the devastating diseases that touch us all. The bipartisan 21st C...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement on the President’s address and memorandum outlining the rules governing the use of force: “I strongly agree with the President that democracies should not operate in a state of perpetual war and that Congress has a solemn duty to authorize the current mission against ISIL. I also agree with what the President wrote in the memo released...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on President-elect Trump’s nomination of Dr. Ben Carson to serve as the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): “The next HUD Secretary will lead an organization with over 8,000 employees and a budget of $47 billion that is charged with addressing the housing needs faced by our most vulnerable populations and enforcing the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits hous...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine toured a community health center in Alexandria, Virginia to discuss the importance of protecting health center funding, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid going into the next administration. Kaine also highlighted how community health centers are critical in providing quality healthcare to underserved communities in Virginia and received an award from the Virginia Community Healthcare Association for his legislative work on behal...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on President-elect Trump’s nomination of General James Mattis to be the next Secretary of Defense: “General Mattis has unquestionable expertise in military operations and a unique understanding of our complex security environment. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I look forward to hearing General Mattis’ plans for addressing both the sec...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations & Armed Services Committees and co-author of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, released the following statement on the unanimous vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), a critical component of the U.S. sanctions architecture against Iran: “We voted today to extend ISA because it is consistent with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JC...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined 16 of their Senate colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter urging Congressional leaders to authorize leases for 24 Department of Veterans Affairs (V-A) medical facilities before the end of the 114th Congress. Congress has not authorized major medical facility leases since 2014, which are necessary to enable the department to deliver vital care and services to veterans in Virginia and across the country. Most of the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that legislation to add more than 7,000 acres to the Petersburg National Battlefield is on track to be approved by Congress as soon as next week. Text of the annual defense authorization bill released by a congressional conference committee includes legislation sponsored by the two Virginia Senators authorizing the National Park Service to acquire additional historic land sites related to the Siege of Petersbu...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced that Virginia preschools have been awarded $17.5 million in grants from the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue their work ‎expanding access to high-quality preschool for children from low- to moderate-income families in the communities of Brunswick, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Giles, Henrico, Norfolk, Petersburg, Prince William, Richmond, Sussex, and Winchester. Bot...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, renewed his call for Congress to vote on an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) specific to the terrorist group ISIL. He also paid tribute to Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton of Woodbridge, Virginia who was killed in combat in Syria last week, highlighting the costs of two and a half years of war against ISIL. “I ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) asked the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to protect funding for the Carrier Replacement Program during the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations process. If the Department of Defense is funded temporarily through a Continuing Resolution, as is currently expected, the advance procurement funding for the program will continue at FY 2016 levels – delaying shipbuilding, jeopardizin...Continue Reading