Press Releases

Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded nearly $500,000 in federal grants to five Virginia localities to purchase law enforcement body cameras.

"Today, the Senate voted on a proposal to restrict women’s reproductive health. While I was unable to vote today, I would have opposed this bill. Important medical decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians in Washington."

“We’re very pleased that Bristol and Harrisonburg have been awarded federal funds to advance public safety and crime prevention. Senator Kaine and I will continue to work to make sure Virginia communities have the resources they need to apply new personnel to issues related to violent crime, school safety, and building trust within the community.”

Sen. Warner and a group of Democratic Senators have introduced legislation that would end Republican plans to use federal workers as pawns in their effort to shut down the federal government as a means to defund the important health care services provided by Planned Parenthood.

Senators Warner and Kaine co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to ensure thousands of Navy veterans from the Vietnam War, known as "Blue Water" veterans for their service in waters off the coast, who were exposed to the powerful toxin Agent Orange will be eligible to receive disability and health care benefits they have earned for diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure.

In an effort to spur substantive and structural housing finance reform, U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), David Vitter (R-La.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), all members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, today reintroduced the “Jumpstart GSE Reform Act.

Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, along with U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Robert Hurt, Dave Brat, and Don Beyer released the following statement on the release of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that makes clear Fort Pickett, Virginia is the best location for a Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC).

Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) urged President Obama to protect Virginia and Maryland’s seafood industry by strengthening efforts to prevent seafood fraud.

The authors of a bill to provide powerful new tools for comparing colleges and universities on measures such as total cost, likelihood of graduating and potential earnings, today called the White House’s new college scorecard database a step in the right direction toward giving students the information they need to make more informed decisions about their college education.

Senators Warner, Kaine and Manchin today sent a letter to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) calling for an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to approve OxyContin for use by children as young as 11-years-old and an examination of the rise in the opioid misuse, abuse and consequent overdose deaths.

“I believe that supporting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated between Iran and the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China is the best option for advancing the goal of keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

Sen. Warner (D-VA) today asked the U.S. Secretaries of Treasury, Commerce and Labor to assess existing tax, census, and labor survey data to see if federal officials can generate better information about the size, scope, and growth in the number of Americans participating in the on-demand, or sharing, economy.

Sens. Warner and Kaine (both D-VA) today pressed the Securities and Exchange Commission to require public companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders, a move that would increase transparency in the U.S. political process following the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision that unleashed unlimited corporate spending into American elections.

Senators Warner, Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) highlighted important progress made in implementing the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act), which increases transparency and public access to federal spending through the standardization of spending data across the federal government.

Sen. Warner issued the following statement on today’s shootings of WDBJ-CBS7 television reporter Alison Parker, videographer Adam Ward, and Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vicki Gardner.

U.S. Sens. Warner and Kaine (both D-VA) today urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule the first round of bipartisan budget negotiations immediately to prevent a predictable fiscal crisis as the federal budget year draws to a close on Sept. 30.

“Enough is enough. How many more times do we have to express our anger, frustration and outrage? This most recent incident is unacceptable and further demonstrates a pattern of neglect to physical infrastructure critical to the safety of those who ride Metro and those who work on it. We demand accountability from Metro."

"This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will address regulatory problems that have impeded prospective economic development sites like Berry Hill Mega Park in the Danville-Pittsylvania County area."

Sen. Warner introduced bipartisan legislation to improve access to life-saving medication for airline passengers with food and other severe allergies.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined their Senate colleagues’ efforts to raise wages for the U.S. Senate’s cafeteria and catering workers. As the Senate Rules Committee negotiates its contract with the Restaurant Associates – the Senate’s food and catering contractor – Warner, Kaine and 39 of their Democratic colleagues urged Rules Committee leadership to advocate for better wages for these employees. In a letter sent to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee today, the senators urged action on wages and working conditions as Restaurant Associates’ contract is renegotiated.

“We are concerned about the treatment and pay of Restaurant Associates’ employees. Numerous news reports have exposed the severe impact of low wages on the workers’ lives,” wrote the Senators. “If Restaurant Associates is unable to treat and compensate its employees appropriately, we urge you to terminate the contract and find a different vendor. The U.S. Senate should serve as an example for all employers, and the workers who support the work of the U.S. Senate must be given the respect and the opportunities they deserve.”

Full text of the letter sent to Rules Chairman Roy Blunt and Ranking Member Chuck Schumer is below:

August 6, 2015

Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Schumer:

We write to express our concern about the treatment of U.S. Senate cafeteria and catering employees. We ask you to address several issues the workers have raised numerous times with their current employer, the U.S. Senate contractor Restaurant Associates, and to take them into consideration during the company’s contract negotiations later this year.

We are concerned about the treatment and pay of Restaurant Associates’ employees. Numerous news reports have exposed the severe impact of low wages on the workers’ lives. In addition, some of the 36 “transferred” employees who transitioned from being employed by the Architect of the Capitol to being employed by Restaurant Associates in 2008 have registered ongoing complaints about reduced work hours and an intimidating work environment. Newer employees have raised the same grievances. In the last few years, the company has cut the transferred catering workers’ and the new hires’ hours and generally assigned work schedules that make it difficult to get a second job. Restaurant Associates has also begun assigning fewer workers to catering events, leading to understaffed events and overworked employees.

We ask you to investigate these issues, to ask Restaurant Associates to address and resolve them in a manner satisfactory to their employees, and to consider them during the renegotiation of Restaurant Associates’ contract with the U.S. Senate. It is important that all Senate cafeteria and catering workers are able to do their jobs in a positive and supportive work environment. If Restaurant Associates is unable to treat and compensate its employees appropriately, we urge you to terminate the contract and find a different vendor. The U.S. Senate should serve as an example for all employers, and the workers who support the work of the U.S. Senate must be given the respect and the opportunities they deserve.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown

U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin

U.S. Senator Michael F. Bennet

U.S. SenatorRichard Blumenthal

U.S. SenatorCory Booker

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell

U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.

U.S. Senator Christopher A. Coons

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

U.S. Senator Al Franken

U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich

U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono

U.S. Senator Angus S. King, Jr.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senator Patrick J. Leahy

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III

U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski

U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy

U.S. Senator Patty Murray

U.S. Senator Gary C. Peters

U.S. Senator Jack Reed

U.S. Senator Bernard Sanders

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow

U.S. Senator Jon Tester

U.S. Senator Tom Udall

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

U.S. SenatorRon Wyden

Protecting every American’s constitutional right to vote is a fundamental value of our society. Today marks a historic milestone, but 50 years after the Voting Rights Act became law, we still have work to do."

Senator Warner questioned Wendy Sherman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence on the Iran deal at a Senate Banking Committee on August 5, 2015.

Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Rob Wittman introduced a resolution congratulating the College of William & Mary on the 75th anniversary of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s (VIMS) establishment.

Sens. Warner and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the bipartisan Commonsense Reporting Act of 2015 to streamline the Affordable Care Act’s reporting requirements for employers.

"Continued funding for the important health services provided by Planned Parenthood is critical to the health of women and their families."

Press Releases

Local match, robust training & implementation plans required

Sep 22 2015

Sep 22 2015

Sep 21 2015

Preventing federal workers from doing their jobs doesn’t just harm them, it harms all Americans

Sep 18 2015

Sep 16 2015

Sep 16 2015

Sep 16 2015

Stronger traceability requirements will better protect hard-working, law-abiding Virginia and Maryland watermen

Sep 15 2015

Sep 14 2015

In a letter to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Senators are calling for an investigation into the decision to approve OxyContin for children as young as 11-years-old

Sep 09 2015

Sep 03 2015

Better data could provide better insights into how Americans choose to work today, 20th century surveys & definitions don’t track growth in 21st century

Sep 01 2015

Would increase transparency in political process and allow a company’s shareholders to know how their money is being spent

Sep 01 2015

Sep 01 2015

Aug 26 2015

Letter from Senate Democratic Caucus Warns of Manufactured Crisis in the Fall

Aug 17 2015

Aug 14 2015

Aug 12 2015

Airline Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act (S.1972) would ensure life-saving medication available for passengers with allergies

Aug 06 2015

Letter Follows Several Accounts of Senate Cafeteria and Catering Workers Who’ve Faced Financial Hardship Due to Low Wages offered by Senate Contractor, Restaurant Associates

Aug 06 2015

Two years after Supreme Court ruling striking key provisions of the VRA, Senators highlight importance of protecting Americans’ constitutional right to vote

Aug 06 2015

Aug 05 2015

Aug 05 2015

Directs Treasury Dept. to implement an alternative, less burdensome reporting system for employers

Aug 05 2015

Notes that continued funding is “critical to the health of women and their families

Aug 03 2015