February 20 2025

Kaine Files Amendments to Republican Budget Resolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, filed amendments to the Senate Republicans’ budget resolution in an attempt to improve the bill, which currently tees up tax cuts for billionaires by cutting critical funding for programs that Virginians rely on. Republicans are using a legislative process known as “reconciliation,” which allows certain legislation to be expedited and passed in the Senate by a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote threshold needed for most other legislation. The Senate will begin consideration of the budget resolution later today.

“I’d like to focus on cutting taxes for the middle-class. Unfortunately, Republicans disagree. Instead, they are coming after your Medicaid and Medicare benefits, your health care, education programs, and other critical funding that Virginians rely on so that they can tee up their tax cuts for billionaires. I’m filing several amendments to safeguard Virginians from President Trump’s proposed tariffs, which would raise costs; protect federal employees who provide essential services to millions of Americans; prevent cuts in funding for community health centers and national security programs; and more. I will be pushing to get votes on my amendments and will do everything I can to stop Republicans from passing policies that hurt Virginians and our economy and make us less safe,” Kaine said.

Kaine filed a series of amendments, including:

To cut taxes for middle-class Americans.
To protect Americans from new, senseless taxes by preventing abuse of emergency authorities to launch trade wars with Canada and Mexico.
To prevent cuts to federal funding for air traffic safety.
To prevent the Department of Veterans’ Affairs from reducing its workforce below levels needed to staff and provide services at new or remodeled facilities.
To prohibit funding for agency efforts to reclassify federal employees in the civil service outside of any schedule not currently in the competitive service.
To prevent federal agencies and departments from terminating, rescheduling, or furloughing federal workers who are also veterans.
To prevent federal employees in harm’s way overseas from losing critical protections.
To protect Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and federal prosecutors from political retribution.
To deny access to classified materials to anyone without a proper security clearance.
To protect Virginians who receive health insurance coverage through Medicaid expansion.
To protect rural hospitals from cuts that would threaten rural communities’ access to health care.
To protect access to health care services provided by Federally Qualified Health Centers.
To ensure working families are able to access affordable and high-quality child care.
To prevent a reduction of programs that support high-quality teacher and school leader preparation.
To protect seniors and people with disabilities who use long-term services and supports.
To prevent reductions in staff at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, who ensure miners do not get hurt or die on the job.
To undo the harm that the January federal funding freeze did to Head Start programs.
To protect the Pell Grant program from facing cuts or changes to the program that will hurt low- and middle-income students most.
To prohibit termination of national security programming implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
To prohibit termination of foreign assistance contracts with U.S. farmers or with faith-based organizations.
To prohibit funding for a new Middle East war in Gaza or appeasement of Russia in Ukraine.
To prevent cuts to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
To prevent cuts to voluntary conservation agriculture programs.
To ensure that much-needed funding comes to Virginia to repair federally maintained trails—such as the Virginia Creeper Trail—impacted by natural disasters in 2024.
To prohibit any efforts to privatize or defund the United States Postal Service.

Kaine has spoken out against Republicans’ proposal on the Senate floor and during a Senate Budget Committee markup.

President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are currently negotiating an extension to Trump’s 2017 tax law, which cut taxes for large corporations and the highest-income earners and substantially increased the federal deficit. They are now proposing broad-based tariffs and massive, across-the-board cuts to federal programs like Medicaid to fund these tax cuts for billionaires. Tax estimates have shown that if fully enacted, Trump’s tariffs could raise costs by $2,500 to nearly $4,000 per household, and American consumers could lose between $46 billion to $78 billion in spending power each year.

###