Press Releases

“I’m pleased to see the Governor and Virginia universities working together to put an end to sexual assault on college campuses in Virginia. We all must work together to send a clear signal that enough is enough.”

WASHINGTON – The bipartisan Northern Virginia congressional delegation today applauded news that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has closed on a $1.28 billion low-interest, long-term federal loan to proceed with its construction plans for phase two of the Rail to Dulles project. In May, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx signed the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program loan after the U.S. Department of Transportation Credit Council voted to approve it. Together with accompanying loans to Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, which are still working towards closing, the total $1.9 billion TIFIA loan package represents the largest loan in the TIFIA program's history.

“Today’s closing on the MWAA loan represents one of the last steps toward finalizing a complex financing package for one of the biggest transportation projects in the country,” Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) said. “This is a huge win for Virginia taxpayers and commuters, and coupled with positive reports about the first weeks of Silver Line operations, it looks like we are well on the way to reducing congestion and building a more efficient transportation network in Northern Virginia.”

“With the first phase of the Silver Line complete and in service, today’s announcement is yet another encouraging step toward the opening of Phase II, which will mark the completion of a project so many of us worked hard to get moving when it was just a model on a conference table,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).

“No one can say the federal government hasn’t done its part to bring rail to Tysons and out the Dulles corridor to Loudoun County,” said Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA-10). “The federal share of Phase 1 was the second largest Full Funding Grant Agreement awarded by the Federal Transit Administration in the last 20 years for a heavy rail project and the TIFIA loan for Phase 2 is the largest amount in the history of the program.”

“Today’s announcement of the federal commitment to Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail Project is a significant step to securing an environmentally friendly, transit oriented development along the Dulles Corridor,” said Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA-8). “We’re already seeing the positive impact of the Silver Line on Virginia businesses. This news brings us closer to reducing congestion, commuting time, and gas consumption in a rapidly developing area of Northern Virginia.”

“Advancing this TIFIA loan will lower the overall cost of the project, and dramatically reduce toll increases on commuters in the Dulles Corridor,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11). “The first phase of the Silver Line has spurred new ridership and increased sales among local merchants, underscoring the regional demand for this service and the value of the investment. I thank Sec. Foxx, Gov. McAuliffe, and all our regional partners for their commitment to completing this complex loan and delivering this world-class transit project connecting Dulles Airport with our nation’s capital.”

Senators Warner and Kaine applauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent action to order Norfolk, VA-based USA Discounters to refund consumers victimized in a scam that misled thousands of servicemembers into paying fees for legal protections.

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) applauded the announcement today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that Virginia Tech’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test site program is now operational.

The American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted a policy today urging all law schools to create legal clinics to help veterans access the benefits they have earned. U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) has called for the adoption of these legal clinics nationwide for more than three years, following the success of the College of William and Mary’s Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic.

The President today signed into law bipartisan legislation to reform and provide additional resources for the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs (V-A).

Senator Warner urged the U.S. Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office to reduce abusive patent troll lawsuits by improving the patent process and limiting low-quality, vague patents.

The V-A reform legislation includes U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner’s (D-VA) initiative to enlist the pro bono assistance of private sector technology experts to help fix the V-A’s broken scheduling system.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) today hosted Senators Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., and Mark Warner, D-Va., for a tour of the company's Newport News Shipbuilding division.

Senators Warner and Kaine wrote letters to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez calling their attention to recent reports published in ProPublica and the Washington Post that detail abusive debt collection practices against servicemembers undertaken by a Virginia-based retailer.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has named U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) their Legislator of the Year for his work in Congress on behalf of small businesses.

The Senate has joined the House in approving bipartisan legislation to begin reforming the troubled U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The legislation includes Sen. Warner’s initiative to enlist the pro bono assistance of private sector technology experts to help fix the VA’s broken scheduling system.

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman (R-1^st), Scott Rigell (R-2^nd) and Bobby Scott (D-3^rd) today met with U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary Kathleen Ferguson, Deputy Chief Management Officer Mr. Bill Booth and Major General Theresa Carter for a briefing on proposed personnel reductions at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia. Today’s meeting followed a July 15^th letter sent to by the Virginia delegation to the Secretary of the Air Force requesting a thorough briefing of the proposed personnel reductions, and the status of efforts to locate a new Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC)

As a result of the meeting:

USAF committed to providing the delegation with specific details on personnel reductions within 30 days.

USAF committed to using expansive personnel transfer authority to “go the extra mile” to accommodate civilian and military personnel dislocated by these reductions, including other federal or military agencies.

And USAF acknowledged that Joint Base Langley-Eustis would be considered for the new Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, which could create up to 350 new positions.

Members of the delegation released the following joint statement following the briefing:

“We appreciate Air Force Secretary James and Assistant Secretary Ferguson providing us with today’s briefing on the proposed reductions at Langley. We remain committed to working together as a delegation to ensure that all of Virginia’s military and civilian Air Force employees are provided every opportunity to continue to serve. We also are committed as a delegation to explore all opportunities to highlight the considerable advantages and existing investments, already made at Joint Base Langley Eustis.”

Senator Warner's proposal to have private-sector technology experts assess and recommend fixes to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ broken scheduling system -- at no cost to the taxpayers -- has been included in the bipartisan House/Senate compromise legislation.

Sen. Mark Warner and a bipartisan group of seven Senate colleagues today introduced legislation to combat sexual assault on college and university campuses.

“We are very pleased that a Virginia site has been included on the shortlist for the new FBI headquarters,” the lawmakers said.

“I’m saddened to hear the news of Mr. Butler’s passing last night just one month after the passing of his wife, June. Congressman Butler served his country in the Navy, served the people of Roanoke in the Virginia House of Delegates for nearly a decade, and served our Commonwealth and our country as a member of Congress for a decade after that."

Sen. Mark Warner released the following statement in response to today’s Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling to strike down Virginia’s ban on gay marriage in Bostic v. Rainey:

Sens. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA-1) urged the Administration to include fraudulent labeling of crab meat in its efforts to combat fishing and seafood fraud.

Sen. Warner met with the President’s nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department today and emphasized two Virginia-based initiatives that would help transform operations at the embattled agency.

Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine applauded the measures announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) to improve the safety of crude oil rail shipments.

In a bipartisan letter to President Obama, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Bill Keating (D-MA) urged the President to strongly oppose the sale of French warships to Russia.

“I fully support the strong sanctions that the United States introduced earlier this week, and believe that the EU must now also stand firmly to ensure that there are consequences for these actions."

As early as June 18th, Senator Warner called on the Administration to demand accountability from Central American countries these children and young people are fleeing.

“Virginia’s women have a right to make their own decisions about contraception without their bosses interfering. I’m proud to have cosponsored and voted today in support of legislation to undo the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision and restore the right of women to access basic health care."

Aug 21 2014

Aug 20 2014

Aug 20 2014

~ Warner has long advocated for the UAS site, which will be one of six national test sites ~

Aug 13 2014

~ Sen. Warner has championed William and Mary’s Puller Vets Clinic ~ ~ Puller Clinic has been certified as national “best practice” program ~

Aug 12 2014

~ Pro bono industry assessment of V-A scheduling process due in 45 days ~

Aug 07 2014

~ Calls on Patent Office to limit low-quality, vague patents and improve patent examination process ~

Aug 07 2014

~ Pro bono industry assessment of V-A scheduling process due in 45 days ~

Aug 07 2014

Aug 06 2014

Report alleges that some retailers are bringing suit against servicemembers without opportunity to defend themselves

Aug 06 2014

~ Warner recognized for leading on consumer protections, fixing the Affordable Care Act ~

Aug 01 2014

~ Pro bono industry assessment of V-A scheduling process due in 45 days ~

Aug 01 2014

Jul 30 2014

~ Establishes pro-bono I-T task force to review, recommend improvements ~

Jul 30 2014

Jul 30 2014

Jul 29 2014

Jul 29 2014

Jul 28 2014

~ Letter follows establishment of Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud ~

Jul 25 2014

~ Pushes Va.-based private sector solutions for backlog, scheduling crises ~

Jul 23 2014

Jul 23 2014

~ Letter also calls for NATO allies to halt supplying other arms to Russia ~

Jul 22 2014

Jul 21 2014

Jul 17 2014

~ On Vote to Protect Women’s Health in Aftermath of Supreme Court Hobby Lobby Decision ~

Jul 16 2014