Sen. Kaine swings through Northern Virginia to discuss CHIPS act, Korean American family reunification

United States Sen. Tim Kaine made his way around Virginia this week to discuss everything from childcare to STEM to family reunification.

Kaine and his team held events in Petersburg, South Prince George, Fredericksburg, Quantico, Manassas and Centreville.

Kaine, along with Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan and Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell, toured Phlow Corp., a part of part of the Virginia Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Cluster, in Petersburg on Aug. 27 to receive an update on Phlow’s work and discuss how he’s working to expand domestic manufacturing of medicines. 

Following his visit to Phlow, Kaine traveled to Richard Bland College in South Prince George to learn more about the college’s Guided Pathways for Success program, for which Kaine helped secure $694,000 in congressionally directed spending in the fiscal 2023 government funding bill. The program provides services, education, training and job-placement support for students from rural areas, underrepresented STEM groups and individuals who were highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Aug. 28, Kaine joined seniors and health care professionals at Healthy Generations Area Agency on Aging in Fredericksburg for a roundtable discussion on how the Inflation Reduction Act has lowered health care and prescription drug costs for millions of Americans, an act Kaine voted for and passed in the Senate by one vote. 

Later that day, Kaine visited rine Corps Base Quantico to discuss childcare, where afterwards he visited the Quantico Child Development Center South and met with staff and parents to discuss childcare needs and staffing shortages.

Data centers and tech in Manassas

Kaine on Aug. 29 visited Northern Virginia Community College in Manassas to celebrate the nearly $4 million in federal funding to expand access to apprenticeships in the chip manufacturing and data center industries in Northern Virginia. 

The program will partner with Micron Technology’s apprenticeship program and with local high schools to create pathways for students. On Aug. 9, Kaine voted to pass the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to boost domestic manufacturing of chips. America currently only produces 12% of the global supply of chips, which are required  to operate cars, computers, phones, TVs, LED light bulbs and more. 

After touring the facility and meeting with staff, Kaine held a roundtable discussion with some of the program’s current students, during which he said he has long championed efforts to expand access to job training. 

Kaine sat with students Sean Williams, Francisco Arzeta, Nga Tran, Fernando Cueva, Marvin Medina Martinez, Hannah Duenas and Ulises Chavarria to discuss how they came to choose the program and their thoughts on what they’ve learned thus far.

“What I'm looking forward to is having hands-on experience and having good communication skills to network with people to create a great opportunity,” Chavarria told Kaine. “I'm looking forward to getting more certifications for right now to next year, getting a great internship and getting my associate's degree in engineering technologies and also meeting the right people that will help me get where I want to go.”

Several students said the financial aspect of secondary education was a roadblock for them to pursue careers in STEM, but the federal program made it possible.

“I didn't really have enough money to further my education in college,” Duenas said. “I confided in my engineering teacher ... at Unity Reed High School ... about what I should do, any guidance on what I can do to make it work, because he always wanted me to get into the engineering field ... I wanted to further my education, but I don't really have the funds necessary to do it.”

Duenas, like the other students in her cohort, were surprised to first hear about the program and how they could acquire technical skills without the burden of steep tuition.

“I used to be a teacher. I knew I wanted to be in tech, but I had no connection. Nobody to show me where to go, what to do,” Tran said.” I found out about this program, and it's very fortunate that it pays to go full time.”

Kaine is advocating for passage of his bipartisan JOBS Act to help more Americans access short-term job training by allowing them to use federal Pell Grants.

Reunifying Korean families

Later that day, Kaine switched gears by traveling to Centreville to meet with Korean American families who have been separated from their relatives in North Korea since the Korean War. Kaine is pressing for passage of his Divided Families National Registry Act, bipartisan legislation to help reunite the families.

Earlier this year, Kaine introduced Senate Bill 3876 to establish the first national registry for Korean American families wishing to be reunited with their family members in North Korea.

Kaine in Centreville spoke about the significance of his initiative with Korean American people seeking to reconnect with family members. The proposed registry aims to identify families, facilitate eventual reunions and serve as a repository of information about separated families. 

The event, held at the Centreville Regional Library, provided an opportunity for two Virginia residents to share  personal stories of separation and loss and discuss the ongoing efforts for Korean American family reunification.

Esther Im, the senior policy advisor for peace and security at Foreign Police for America, or FP4A, said the legislation is an important first and timesaving step to move this issue forward.

“This bill and other efforts before it ... are important in trying to raise awareness and try to encourage our government to prioritize Korean American families achieving reunification,” Im said.

“You know, maybe family connection and family reunification is something that we can start when other things seem harder. Why not begin that discussion? And that's part of the reason for the bill,” Kaine said. “We recognize that the registry isn't the same thing as guaranteed reunification, but if we demonstrate a desire to do that work with South Korea, then possibly that can open up.”

Kaine said he is unaware of any opposition to the bill and is hopeful it will pass the Senate this September.