Tuesday, April 30, 2013
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-VA) Troop Talent Act of 2013 would help transition between military and civilian employment.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) bill to help veterans find employment and other resources more easily once entering civilian life was introduced Monday to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Troop Talent Act of 2013 is designed to help veterans effectively translate their military skills and credentials into civilian employment, Kaine said. As of March 2013, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 9.2 percent. That’s down slightly from 9.4 percent in February 2013 but still higher than the national average of 7.1 percent. U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) called that number "unacceptable" as she introduced the Troop Talent Act to Congress on Monday. “The unemployment rate for veterans who have served in the military since 2001 …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Virginia’s junior senator calls sequestration ‘abdication of responsibility.’
The looming sequestration that is slated to cut military spending across the board will also cost Virginia about $48 million in federal funds for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade education, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine told educators Friday in Alexandria. Speaking to local school officials and state education advocates at the Campagna Center in Old Town, Kaine, a Democrat, said the cuts would also eliminate 7,000 Head Start slots in the state. If the March 1 sequester goes through, 10,000 teacher jobs would be at risk nationwide, as well as funding for up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides and staff, according to Kaine’s office. Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said he maintained hope sequestration could be avoided. “I …
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Public school system programs, teacher jobs at risk if automatic federal spending cuts take place this spring.
The looming sequestration that is slated to cut military spending across the board will also cost Virginia about $48 million in federal funds for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade education, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine told educators Friday in Alexandria. Speaking to local school officials and state education advocates at the Campagna Center in Alexandria, Kaine, a Democrat, said the cuts would also eliminate 7,000 Head Start slots in the state. If the March 1 sequester goes through, 10,000 teacher jobs would be at risk nationwide, as well as funding for up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides and staff, according to Kaine’s office. Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said he maintained hope sequestration could be avoided. “I …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Virginia Senators Warner and Kaine speak in Reston and warn about sequestrations effects on the economy and national security.
If sequestration goes into effect in March it will be "worse than you can imagine," Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) told a group of mostly government contractors a Reston breakfast event Friday organized by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Warner, along with junior Sen. Tim Kaine (D), spoke about the short-term and long-term impact of the potential $1 trillion federal budget cuts happen March 1 if Congress doesn't reach a compromise. Half of that would affect the defense industry, which some estimates say could cost Virginia more than 207,000 jobs. Sequestration could have a large impact in Reston, where hundreds of firms depend on government contracting, and thousands of workers are employed by various agencies and companies that …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Defense contractors speaking with Sen. Tim Kaine on Monday say federal agencies are preparing for potential cuts and acting as if they've already happened.
About 30 representatives of defense contractors from Northern Virginia met with Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine on Monday for a roundtable discussion and agreed on one fairly simple message to Congress: Make a decision. It may be interesting if nearly 200,000 Virginia jobs weren't on the line and the very idea of sequestration hadn't come to epitomize the dysfunction on Capitol Hill. If lawmakers fail to reach a compromise, then $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts, half to the defense industry, will go into effect. The latest deadline is March 1. The contractors talked about the various ways the threat of sequestration was "paralyzing" the industry: Companies are delaying orders whenever they can. They aren't hiring to fill vacant positions. They …
Monday, January 21, 2013
No rest for the weary: Democrats gear up for tough 2013 state races.
An estimated 1,100 people attended the Virginia Inaugural Ball on Sunday at the Westin Arlington Gateway to celebrate the second inauguration of President Barack Obama — and gear up for key statewide elections in 2013. "Everybody is happy. Everybody is excited. It's a feel-good moment for everyone who worked on a campaign," Arlington County Democratic Chairman Mike Lieberman told Patch before speaking to the crowd. "The president is right to feel good about this weekend. You can't help but be optimistic. There's a lot of criticism of our government out there, and some of it is deserved. But there's also a lot of reason for optimism. And coming out of the last election, we see a lot of opportunities." [See photos from the Virginia Inaugural…
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Kaine said he is "rested and ready."
Tim Kaine was sworn in Thursday as the newest Senator from Virginia. Vice President Joe Biden presided over the mock ceremony after the official one on the Senate floor, and Anne Holton, Kaine's wife, proudly held a bible as her husband was sworn in as Virginia's junior Senator at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. "I feel wonderful — rested and ready," Kaine said at a reception in his honor at the Hart Senate Office Building. "Life doesn't happen unless you are able to listen and compromise. With this beginning of the 113th Congress, the Senate has 15 newcomers...and I've watched group dynamics just as you have, and when you have that much change it opens the windows and rescrambles assumptions." Kaine then quoted from Abraham…
Saturday, December 29, 2012
If lawmakers fail to reach compromise, sequestration would hit Northern Virginia especially hard.
While the potential loss of thousands of jobs and a devastating economic blow loom over the region thanks to sequestration, Virginia's senators can only wait and hope a workable compromise is reached before the new year. If such a compromise is not reached by Tuesday a series of tax increases and spending reductions kick in automatically — taking the country over the so-called fiscal cliff. Some economists and politicians are concerned the combined effect will send the United States back into a recession. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, told CBS News this week that at this point any deal that could be made would be relatively small. “I think there’s unfortunately only going to be a small deal,” Warner said. “… We have to …
Friday, December 14, 2012
Soon-to-be Senator will serve on three committees important to Northern Virginia.
Senator-elect Tim Kaine, who will be sworn into office Jan. 3, will serve on three Senate committees important to Northern Virginia. His office announced he will serve on the following committees: Kaine had asked to join Armed Services, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Foreign Relations and Small Business and Entrepreneurship — in that order, according to a recent blog post on The Washington Post Web site. "I am excited to tackle these meaningful committee assignments," Kaine said in a news release. "Because of Virginia's deep connections to the military, through active duty personnel, veterans, military families and the private sector, Virginia needs a strong voice on the Armed Services committee as Congress makes decisions …
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Warner says he wants to continue his work in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., announced Tuesday that he will not run for governor in 2013, saying that he wants to continue the work he was sent to do in Washington. Warner, in a statement issued shortly after 3 p.m., said Virginians of all political stripes have approached him over the past year to make the bid — which he said he would consider and then make a decision after the November election. "I’ve talked to a lot of Virginians I respect, and I’ve talked about it with my family," Warner said in a statement. "But when I asked Virginians to hire me as their Senator, I made a promise to come to Washington to try to be a problem solver. I have to admit, it’s been tougher than I expected. But I’ve tried to keep at it." Warner's decision …
Erik Kengaard
9:28 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
I thought Warner was going to make government more efficient? more ›