Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement tonight on the shutdown of the federal government: "The House of Representatives has shut down the government of the United States by rejecting an interim spending measure passed by the Senate, even though that bill accepted the House's own spending target through November 15.  This action hurts the American economy and millions of Americans.  The House should reconsider its action and re-open government i...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on his vote to reject continued attempts by House Republicans to use the threat of government shutdown to delay or defund the Affordable Care Act. A motion to table House amendments to an interim spending measure to fund the government was agreed to by the Senate, 54-46. “I have now twice voted for a clean spending bill that would keep the government funded through November 15. The spending bill is a compromis...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement tonight after the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons. “The United Nations Security Council resolution passed tonight that legally binds Syria to eliminate its chemical weapons stockpile is a tremendous step forward. I'm pro...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on his vote for a clean spending bill to fund the government through November 15 and avert a government shutdown. The continuing resolution passed the Senate 54-44.   “Today I voted in support of a spending bill to continue funding the government and prevent an unnecessary shutdown of operations that would have serious economic consequences in Virginia and across the country.  The interim spending me...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) announced that Virginia has received $3,271,000 in U.S. Department of Justice grants today to fund law enforcement jobs and expand community policing initiatives with a focus on programs designed to promote school safety. Virginia will receive $1.9 million through the COPS Hiring Program to support five officers in Arlington County and 10 officers in the City of Newport News.  These grants go directly to law enfor...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and  Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today announced that the Highland Center in Monterey has been awarded a $1.2 million federal grant from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to support the development of a business incubator and resource center in a landmark former school building. When completed, the project is expected to leverage up to $100,000 in additional private investment and create at least 27 local jobs. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner today announced that the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission in Middlesex County has been awarded $58,000 from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to help establish a wireless broadband development plan for the Middle Peninsula.   The investment will support the creation of a framework, process and strategy for developing a wireless broadband network that would expand high-sp...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and Chairman of the U.S.-Mexico Interparliamentary Group (IPG), participated in a meeting with Vice President Biden to discuss the Administration’s approach to the Western Hemisphere, including the Vice President’s recent trip to Mexico to launch the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue. On Wednesday, October 2, Kaine will host 15 Mexican Senator...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaking on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine warned against the harmful consequences of a government shutdown and urged his colleagues to pass a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government. “The consequences of shutdown are severe,” Kaine said. “Our active-duty military are required to stay on duty but…Their paychecks get delayed. They and their families don't deserve that treatment. Many civilians working in our mi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Budget Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine questioned leading economists Dr. Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics, Dr. Chad Stone of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Dr. Allan Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University, on the serious economic consequences of crisis-budgeting.  With last week’s action in the House of Representatives proving that many in that body – as well as some Republican Senators - are willing t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a bipartisan group of 33 U.S. Senators in an effort to ensure that in the midst of a potential government shutdown, low-income Americans who need heating assistance are not left out in the cold.  As Congress considers a short-term spending plan, the group of Senators is seeking to ensure it restores vital federal heating aid funds. The Senators sent a bipartisan letter urging a level of $3.46 billion for the Low Income Home Energy...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on action taken in the House of Representatives this week regarding food assistance and the continuing resolution: "This week, the United States House of Representatives voted to slash food assistance to poor families and also defund the Affordable Care Act. Many in that body are willing to shut down the government because they are opposed to a health care law that Congress passed, that the President signed, t...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senator Ron Wyden and nine other Senators in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to examine the protections for consumers facing tax liens and foreclosure in light of consumer abuses revealed in recent media reports. A letter from Warner, Kaine, Wyden, and Senators Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Robert Menendez, Christopher Murphy, Bill N...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule on future power plants: "This summer, I asked EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to release separate carbon standards for new coal and gas power plants to reflect key differences in those technologies. I appreciate that the EPA has done so and will now begin a dialogue with constituents and energy experts to determine whether the announced standar...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, discussed the importance of security training for State Department personnel during the confirmation hearing today for Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security nominee Gregory Starr. During his questioning, Kaine highlighted a July 2013 hearing where Starr described the advantages of building a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) in Fort Pickett, Virginia. According to Starr, Fo...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement on today's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard:  "My thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by today’s tragic shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. As we learn more about the horrific events that unfolded this morning, my deepest sympathies go out to the friends and families of the victims, as well as the surrounding community. I am thankful for the bravery of the first responders ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan urging him to take additional steps to help Virginia housing authorities alleviate the worst effects of severe budget cuts caused in part by sequestration. Sens. Warner and Kaine called on HUD to help authorities streamline program operations while ensuring resident and community needs are met. In addition to serving as a safety net for Virgin...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement on the U.S.-Russian agreement on a framework for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons:  "The announcement of a tentative deal between the U.S. and Russia regarding Syria's chemical weapons is promising and demonstrates real progress. While much work remains, we would not have reached this point without American resolve to ensure that use of che...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, discussed the situation in Syria today on the Senate floor, outlining why he believes Bashar Al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons to kill Syrian civilians must have consequences, as well as praising current efforts to pursue a diplomatic path with Russia and Syria – an opportunity he argues would not have been possible without American pressure and resolve. “The Ameri...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel urging him to consider relocating the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) from Germany to Hampton Roads. The joint letter followed the release of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report  on Monday which was critical of the Defense Department’s lack of transparency when it decided earlier this year to maintain its AFRICOM headquarters in Europe. GAO est...Continue Reading