United States Senate
Tim Kaine
Sen. Tim Kaine this past week pressed for passing his child care legislation, and:
- Issued a statement regarding resolutions filed to block five out of over 100 separate weapons transfers to Israel by the Biden Administration since October 7, 2023.
- with Sen. Warner announced $1,626,496 in federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Comprehensive Housing Counseling (CHC) Grant Program.
- applauded, along with Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Senate passage of their Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 91), a bill to honor 60 World War II-era diplomats from the United States and around the world who risked their careers and, in many instances, their lives to save others during the Holocaust.Â
- reiterated the need to pass his bipartisan legislation to address the child care crisis following a new report released by The Century Foundation. The report found that child care costs in Virginia have increased by 11% since 2019, while child care employment levels fell by 18 percent from 2019 to 2023. In Virginia, the average cost for an infant in a center is $16,397 per year, and the annual cost for two children in a center is 73% more than the average rent payment and 24% more than the average mortgage payment.
Sen. Mark Warner
In addition to he and Sen. Kaine applauding the announcement that the federal government will stay open through December 20, Warner this week:
- Introduced legislation with Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to create a tax credit that will incentivize the capture and repurposing of methane emissions from active and abandoned mines. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and coal mines are the country’s fifth-largest source of methane emissions.
- After announcing draft legislation earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 16 colleagues in introducing the Keeping Obstetrics Local Act – legislation to address the rising trend of labor and delivery unit closures in rural and underserved hospitals.Â
- U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, applauded House passage of two bipartisan bills he introduced that would cement and build on the important progress that has been made to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease. The National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (AAIA) now head to the president’s desk to be signed into law. Â
U.S. Congress
Abigail Spanberger
This week, Rep. Spanberger voted to keep the federal government open until December 20, and made the following statement:
“When Congress even entertains the possibility of a government shutdown, it is bad for Virginia. Not only would many of Virginia’s thousands of federal employees, contractors, and military families be forced to work without pay or lose their wages, but small business owners, restaurant workers, and our Commonwealth’s overall economy would feel the consequences. Hyper-partisanship on Capitol Hill has real impacts on the Virginians I serve — and these families, workers, and businesses deserve better.
“Instead of working in a bipartisan way to negotiate and pass serious legislation to set government funding levels, the House Republican majority is yet again forced to kick the can down the road. While I’m glad that both Republicans and Democrats came together to keep the doors of our government open until December, Virginians are sick and tired of the political games and looming sense of déjà vu.
Also in her office, Spanberger:
- Saw the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously pass bipartisan legislation U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger helped lead to cut red tape for Veterans looking to use their GI benefits to pay for commercial driver’s license (CDL) education programs — sending the legislation to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
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