Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked the Right to IVF Act, legislation he introduced to protect and expand access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services nationwide: “The first IVF baby in America, Elizabeth Carr, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1981. Since her birth, millions of Ame...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues in reintroducing the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, legislation that would streamline the prior authorization process under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to allow older Americans to get the care they need faster and to help health care providers prioritize patients over paperwork.   Prior authorization is...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg raising concerns about the near collision of two planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on May 29 and the airport’s capacity for more flights. They asked Secretary Buttigieg about how DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plan to implement a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which Warner a...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, on the same day that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved operations of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement regarding his vote against Mr. David Rosner. Mr. Rosner was nominated to serve as a member of FERC, the agency responsible for overseeing the permitting process and regulating the transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. Kaine’s vote follows significant concerns from Virginians r...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), announced the introduction of the State Department Integrity and Transparency Act, legislation to strengthen the State Department workforce and ensure senior State Department leaders are selected based on merit—not money or politics. The bill would ensure these positions are staffed by nonpartisan, experienced, and thoroughly vetted foreign policy professionals. The legislation is cospons...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mark R. Warner (both D-VA) introduced the Response to Conflict in Sudan Act, legislation to bolster and coordinate the U.S. response to the war in Sudan by codifying the Special Envoy for Sudan position at the U.S. Department of State. Specifically, the bill would elevate the position and require the Special Envoy to report directly to the Secretary of State; the Envoy currently reports to ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in introducing the Right to IVF Act, legislation to protect and expand access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services nationwide. The Senate is expected to vote on the Right to IVF Act soon. “For decades, mi...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the 21st Century Skills are Key to Individuals’ Life-Long Success (SKILLS) Act, legislation to help more Americans get the skills they need to find jobs in high-demand fields. The bill would make changes to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to expand access to job training programs to a broader set of workers who are underemployed or...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, (both D-VA) applauded the unanimous passage of a resolution they cosponsored to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and express gratitude and appreciation to the members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Allied troops responsible for carrying out this unprecedented and historic operation that proved decisive in securing victory in Europe during World War II. “80 years ago tomor...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked the Right to Contraception Act, legislation he cosponsored to protect Americans’ access to contraception and health care providers’ right to prescribe contraceptives: “Women deserve the right to make decisions about whether and when to start their family without interference from the government. It’s out...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, highlighted in a HELP hearing how the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision created a health care crisis for patients, providers, and the country. In the hearing, Kaine emphasized that in the wake of the Dobbs decision, Virginia has become the last southern state with access to reproductive care, and called for congressional action ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chair of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, issued a statement after Claudia Sheinbaum was declared the winner of the presidential election in Mexico, making her the first woman to be elected president in Mexico’s history. “The election of Claudia Sheinbaum as Mexico’s first woman President is a historic occasion, and we commend the peopl...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded the announcement that Envigo – a breeding facility in Cumberland, Va. that engaged in egregious animal welfare violations – has plead guilty to felony violations of the Animal Welfare Act and Clean Water Act. This victory was made possible by Sens. Warner and Kaine, who began shedding light on this issue in 2022 and demanding federal action. “Today’s settlement represents an enormous victory for animal welf...Continue Reading

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, announced $1,000,000 for Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond to educate and train the primary care and supportive care workforces to provide age-friendly and dementia-friendly care to older Americans. The funding, made possible by the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bill that Warner and Kaine helped pass, was awarded through the Health ...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to request a review of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to identify, prevent, and treat traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) related to servicemembers’ exposure to blast overpressure. In the letter, Kaine and his colleagues request more information about DOD’s strategy and plan to...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement regarding the near collision of two planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Wednesday morning, the second near miss in two months: “We’re deeply relieved that no one was injured after two planes nearly collided at DCA on Wednesday morning, but this incident is further evidence that the airport is severely overburdened and at capacity. It shows why the Senate’s decision to ja...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following statement on the sentencing of Virginia resident Tyler Wenrich: “I’m glad that Tyler Wenrich isn’t going to receive a lengthy prison sentence and will be able to soon return home to Virginia to be with his family. It’s clear he never intended to violate the laws of Turks and Caicos. When Tyler’s family reached out to my office about Tyler’s detention, my office contacted the State Department to highlight his case, and...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in introducing the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act, bicameral legislation that would boost the availability of mental health providers in America’s public schools and help combat the alarming increase in mental health challenges among young people. “If we want students to be successful, then we need to ensure they have...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (both D-VA) today applauded the Senate’s passage of the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act, legislation they cosponsored, which will direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set up a National Parkinson’s Project, under which HHS would create and update a national plan to address Parkinson’s an...Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following statement after voting to advance border security legislation that was negotiated by Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and James Lankford (R-OK), and the White House. The legislation was considered by the Senate again this week after it was torpedoed by congressional Republicans in February. “The Senate had before us a border security bill that resulted from months of bipartisan negotiations between...Continue Reading