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 …
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Vice President holds panel with Sen. Tim Kaine and other leaders on gun safety, gun laws, expanding mental health.
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Saturday, January 26
By Katherine Johnson and Mechelle Hankerson, Capital News Service Vice President Joe Biden held a round-table discussion about gun violence Friday at Virginia Commonwealth University, saying “we cannot remain silent” on the issue. The discussion was closed to the public, but in remarks outside the panel he said the group reached a “broad consensus” that certain parties should be denied access to guns. They include convicted felons, those guilty of domestic violence and those who are legally found to not be capable because of mental capacity. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Deputy U.S. Attorney General Jim Cole joined Biden for the discussion. Virginia officials …
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…
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Officials from Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties met Thursday in Arlington to discuss six potential sites Thursday.
Local, state and congressional leaders met Thursday in Arlington to discuss six potential sites for a new FBI headquarters, including Washington Dulles Airport and to present a unified front in their commitment to landing the new federal complex somewhere in Northern Virginia. Democrat U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, who called the meeting, said leaders from Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties had a "singular focus" in bringing the FBI headquarters to the Old Dominion. "We're all committed to finding a home for the FBI in the commonwealth of Virginia," Moran said during a news conference following the meeting. "We are all going to promote Virginia as the best place for this relocation." Arlington's role was simply as host. It has …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
As member of Armed Services Committee, Kaine says he hopes to get answers to important security issues.
Virginia's newly minted U.S. senator, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who was sworn in last week, will be in the thick of things as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, charged with holding hearings on former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination to become Secretary of Defense. President Obama made the announcement Monday. Kaine said he hopes to hear some specifics from the former GOP senator from Nebraska. "Hagel is a decorated war hero with a strong record of bipartisanship on foreign policy and defense issues," Kaine said in a news release. "I will do all I can to ensure the confirmation hearing addresses important questions regarding the future of our military, the current budgetary challenges facing the country and other important …
Thursday, January 3, 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 U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. "I feel wonderful — rested and ready," said Kaine 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 Lincoln'…
Monday, December 24, 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…
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Senator tells Associated Press he'll announce decision before Thanksgiving.
Sen. Mark Warner plans to announce before Thanksgiving whether he'll run for governor again, according to the Associated Press. The former governor, a Democrat, served as the Commonwealth's chief executive from 2002 to 2006. Virginia is the only state in the country where a governor cannot succeed himself. Former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe has already thrown his hat in the ring and will face Republicans Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. If Warner walks away from another run for governor, he'll be teaming up in the Senate with the state's soon to be junior senator, Senator-elect Tim Kaine, who served as Warner's lieutenant governor and is himself a former governor of Virginia. In a poll conducted Nov. 8-12 by …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Longtime politician says it's time to get out of politics following his Nov. 6 election loss to Tim Kaine.
A fixture in Virginia politics is hanging up his hat. George Allen, the former governor and U.S. senator who makes his home with his family in Mount Vernon, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he has "no intention of running for office again." He and wife Susan “put our heart and soul into this campaign,” he told the newspaper. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday he is "disappointed" to hear that Allen has taken himself out of the political arena after losing his Senate race last week to Tim Kaine. It was the second Senate race Allen lost, after losing his seat to Jim Webb in 2006. "Two big losses in a row make it tough for George Allen to try yet again to make a comeback," said Mark Rozell, professor of Public Policy at George Mason …
McLparent
7:57 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
NRA culture? How are kids and teens exposed to the NRA culture? Oh yeah, via rap music, movies, and video games. Does the NRA buy tv time commercial time during the super bowl? Think not. Put M ratings on video games? That just makes the kids want to play the video game more. Your kids can't watch tv without the latest violent movie trailer played on tv. How about Obama and Panetta glorifying … more ›