Press Releases

Sen. Warner to Host 2nd Annual Virginia Leadership Summit

Co-hosted by Lt. Gov. Bolling, University of Richmond President Ed Ayers

Jun 19 2013

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) will host the second annual Virginia Leadership Summit on Saturday, June 22, 2013, at the University of Richmond. The nonpartisan Summit brings together graduates of Virginia’s leadership development programs for high-level conversations about challenges and opportunities for Virginia in education, workforce development, and job creation.

Sen. Warner, Udall Introduce Amendment to Encourage More Immigrant Entrepeneurs to Start U.S. Businesses

~ Amendment ensures visas are in reach for additional qualified entrepreneurs, startups ~

Jun 19 2013

Sens. Warner (D-VA) and Mark Udall (D-CO) introduced an amendment today to the immigration-reform bill before the U.S. Senate to encourage foreign entrepreneurs and highly skilled college graduates of U.S. universities to start businesses in the United States and create good-paying, middle-class jobs.

Sens. Warner, Kaine Announce Progress on Military Whistleblower Protection Legislation

Senate Armed Services Committee includes Warner & Kaine provisions in NDAA markup

Jun 14 2013

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today announced that the Senate Armed Services Committee has incorporated their proposals to strengthen military whistleblower protection laws to ensure that victims of sexual assault and other misconduct are protected from retaliation.

Sen. Warner Urges Presidential Election Commission to Take Steps to Reduce Voting Wait Times

Senators call for public hearings in Virginia, Florida, and other states where voters endured hours-long delays

Jun 11 2013

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) today sent a letter to the chairmen of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, Robert F. Bauer and Benjamin L. Ginsberg, urging them to take strong steps to address the hours-long election lines that too many voters endured during the 2012 election. The Commission, a non-partisan panel created by the President earlier this year to promote more efficient elections, is set to have its first public meeting in Washington on June 21.

Sen. Warner Successfully Maintains Ches. Bay, Rural Broadband as Priorities in Farm Bill

~ Broad, bipartisan legislation incorporates two Warner amendments ~

Jun 10 2013

The Senate today voted in support of the bipartisan Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013, which will benefit Virginia farmers. The final bill included amendments sponsored by Sen. Warner that provide a strong foundation for restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and tools to extend high-speed Internet service to rural America.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement regarding today’s Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled “Managing for Results: Leading Practices Should Guide the Continued Development of Performance.gov.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today issued a statement welcoming the announcement of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, or VOICE, on a neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing strategy that will help restore communities in Prince William County that were hardest-hit by the 2008 housing foreclosure crisis.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today asked U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to reconsider a decision to close schools and furlough almost 11,000 teachers at Department of Defense (DoD) operated schools for up to five days this fall as part of the Pentagon’s plan to comply with budget cuts required by the sequester.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) has introduced legislation to strengthen existing military whistleblower protection laws to ensure that victims of sexual assault and other misconduct are protected from retaliation after they report the alleged offenses. The Military Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2013 improves overall protections for military men and women who report any type of misconduct, requiring timelier investigations by the inspector general
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Jim Moran (D-08) joined Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner, Congressmen Rob Wittman (R-01), Bobby Scott (D-03), and Gerry Connolly (D-11), and members of Virginia tribes to announce legislation to grant federal recognition to six Virginia Native American tribes. The bill, the “Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Act” was introduced by Moran and Kaine in the House and Senate, respectively.

Sens. Warner & Kaine Submit Legislation to Expand Offshore Energy Leases

Senate proposal includes U.S. revenue sharing with Virginia

May 22 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today cosponsored the introduction of The Virginia Outer Continental Shelf Energy Production Act of 2013. The legislation would expand American offshore energy production with a revised five-year leasing plan, and provide revenue sharing

Sens. Warner & Portman Introduce Bipartisan DATA Act

Expands transparency and accountability for federal spending, allows taxpayers and policymakers to track spending

May 21 2013

Sens. Mark Warner and Rob Portman (R-OH) today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve and expand federal fiscal accountability. The legislation requires standardized reporting of federal spending to be posted to a single website.

Senator Warner: Pentagon Should Rethink Furloughs of Teachers at DoD Schools

~ Planned five-day teacher furloughs will negatively impact children, disrupt families ~

May 16 2013

Senator Warner today urged Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reconsider his decision to furlough almost 11,000 teachers at Defense Department-operated schools for up to five days as part of the Pentagon’s plan to comply with budget cuts required due to the sequester.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine today applauded the confirmation of Marilyn Tavenner of Virginia as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) by a vote of 91 to 7. Tavenner is the first Senate-confirmed CMS Administrator since 2006. CMS oversees Medicare and Medicaid and is charged with health care services for millions of Americans.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Mark Begich (D-AK), Harry Reid (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Tim Scott (R-SC), introduced a resolution yesterday recognizing National Travel and Tourism Week to emphasize the importance of the travel and tourism sector for the economies of communities throughout the nation.
WASHINGTON – On Monday, May 6, 2013, the California State Senate unanimously passed legislation calling on Congress to pass, and the president to sign into law, Startup Act 3.0 – the strongest, most comprehensive jobs and high-skilled immigration reform bill on the table in Congress. U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), authors of Startup Act 3.0, lauded the passage as an important step toward breaking the log-jam of inaction in Washington.

Sens. Warner, Rubio, Wyden Introduce Student Right to Know Before You Go Act

Bipartisan legislation will make relevant higher education data available to students, families

May 09 2013

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced The Student Right to Know Before You Go Act to ensure that a wide range of comparative data about higher education programs is more readily available for prospective students and their families. They discussed their bipartisan legislation during a roundtable on Capitol Hill this morning with students, parents and school counselors.

Sen. Warner Urges Budget Negotiations with the House

Calls for an end to "lurching from crisis to crisis"

May 08 2013

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) led an effort on the Senate floor today calling on Republican colleagues to allow budget negotiations to begin with the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sens. Warner, Kaine Urge President Obama to Move to Reduce V-A Claims Backlog

Average wait time for veterans’ disability claims is over 300 days

Apr 29 2013

WASHINGTON –U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today sent a letter to President Obama urging him to take action to reduce the current backlog of veterans’ disability claims. Currently, the average claim takes over 300 days to be resolved. In the letter, Sens. Warner and Kaine, who were joined by 65 other members of the Senate, cited long delays in cities across the country in making the case for swift action to reduce the backlog.

Sen. Warner Reappointed Chairman of Government Performance Task Force

Senate Budget Commitee's bipartisan panel to boost cost savings through reforms, accountability, and transparency

Apr 22 2013

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today was reappointed chairman of the bipartisan Government Performance Task Force by U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA). The Task Force, established in 2009 with Sen. Warner as its initial chairman, supports the Budget Committee by providing oversight and recommendations on ways to increase the performance and reduce the cost of federal agencies and programs.