Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after the Trump Administration missed a key deadline to distribute $6.2 billion in federal K-12 funding, including $108 million for Virginia schools, to support teacher training, after school programming, mental health resources, and more: “Virginians know that high-quality public schools and the well-being of our chil...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement: “Moving the FBI from the Hoover building to the Reagan Building isn’t a plan, it’s a punt. For years, Democratic and Republican administrations alike have agreed on the need for a secure, purpose-built headquarters that actually meets the FBI’s mission needs. This announcement brushes aside years of careful planning, ignores the ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement after they voted no on the Republican budget megabill: “Today, Republicans jammed through a partisan megabill that slashes Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs that Americans rely on in order to pay for massive tax breaks to the very rich. It’s clear that the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans are only interested in helping the wealthiest—even if ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, announced his amendments to President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ budget megabill in an attempt to thwart the legislation’s most catastrophic impacts. The partisan proposal—which Republicans are ramming through Congress using a legislative process that enables them to expedite it and pass it with a fewer number of votes than most Senate legislation—would slash critical funding for pr...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a former civil rights attorney, released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. CASA to limit federal courts’ ability to block President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional birthright citizenship order nationwide: “President Trump’s attempt to curtail birthright citizenship for those born in the U.S. is clearly unconstitutional. This is why every federal court until now had blocked the executive order from going into effect. ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after the Senate failed to advance his war powers resolution to require that any U.S. participation in offensive hostilities against Iran be explicitly authorized by Congress through a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force: “The Framers of our Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war because the...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following statement after Jim Ryan resigned as President of University of Virginia following pressure from the Department of Justice (DOJ): “Virginia’s economy and prosperity depend on the strength and integrity of our higher education system. It is outrageous that officials in the Trump Department of Justice demanded the Commonwealth’s globally recognized university remove President Ryan—a strong leader who h...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) are urging the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to swiftly take up and reapprove the authorization of 18 major Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility leases, including a proposed lease for an outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. The leases were originally authorized under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act which Sens. Warner and Kaine strongly...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, on the third anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner and Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate, Health, Education and Labor (HELP) Committee, joined Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Patty Murray (D-WA) in introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation to guarantee access to abortion care across the country. The bill’s introduction comes as the Trump Administration and Republican...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today urged their colleagues to reject proposed Republican Medicaid cuts that are projected to inflict severe harm on millions of families, citing a new analysis estimating that the GOP’s plans to slash health care would push 5.4 million people – including 2.2 million people currently on Medicaid and 3.2 million people with coverage through the Affordable Care Act – into medical debt and increase the total medical debt that America...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Angus King (I-ME), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Billy Long regarding the hypocrisy of their claims that they want to cut the deficit while simultaneously slashing the IRS workforce and cutting taxes for the ultra-wealthy.  In June last year, Secretary Bessent said he was “alarmed by the size of [the government’s] deficit,” ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, and Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the AUKUS Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) agreement by streamlining defense industrial base collaboration and co-production of Virginia-class submarines. This legislation builds upon provisions that Kaine pushed to ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today issued the following statement slamming congressional Republicans’ bill that would devastate rural communities across Virginia by gutting Medicaid and accelerating hospital closures: “The big GOP plan is a direct threat to families in rural Virginia who rely on Medicaid to access care and keep their community hospitals open. This bill would strip health care from thousands of Virginians, gut funding for struggling ru...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and 29 Senate colleagues introduced the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency (SECURE) Act, legislation to provide qualified Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients a path to legal permanent residency. The senators’ reintroduction of this bill comes as the Trump Administration and the Supreme Court undermine TPS, a program that has for years provided...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner, Tim Kaine (both D-VA), and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-03) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin urging the agency to reverse its decision to terminate two major Community Change Grants in Virginia. The cancelled grants – approximately $40 million – would have supported dozens of community projects aimed at strengthening flood resilience, reducing pollution, and improving energy efficiency in Hampton and...Continue Reading

VIDEO OF KAINE’S FLOOR SPEECH IS AVAILABLE HERE. WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, spoke on the Senate floor about a war powers resolution he filed this week to express concern about the escalating violence in the Middle East and its potential to pull the U.S. into conflict. The resolution requires that any U.S. participation in offensive hostilities against Iran be explicitly authorized by Congress thro...Continue Reading

VIDEO OF KAINE’S REMARKS IS AVAILABLE HERE. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, hosted a spotlight forum with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) to highlight how President Donald Trump and Republicans’ bill would make major cuts to vital programs that families rely on, including Medicaid and SNAP, in order to pay for massive tax breaks for the wealthy. “We’re here because of the reconciliation bill … whi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, introduced a war powers resolution expressing concern about the escalating violence in the Middle East and its potential to pull the U.S. into conflict. The resolution will require a prompt debate and vote prior to using any U.S. military force against Iran. “It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and their Senate colleagues urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume processing applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program following the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to narrow the nationwide injunction to Texas. Currently, more than 100,000 initial DACA applications are pending with USCIS. The letter comes in advance of the thirteenth anniversary of...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after Israel attacked sites in Iran: “I am deeply concerned about the escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran and the risks for U.S. personnel and citizens in the region. I commend the Trump Administration for prioritizing diplomacy and working to curb Iran’s nuclear program, and for refraining from participating in tonight’s actio...Continue Reading