Senator Mark Warner News Archives

In the past, members of Congress have never been particularly eager to remind the public that they vote regularly to increase the ceiling on the national debt, which now exceeds $12 trillion, or more visually: $12,000,000,000,000. The debt has more than doubled since 2002 and, in the past two years alone, has been rising at a clip of more than $3.8 ...

Kent Conrad is trying to sell his Social Security/Medicare cutting commission idea to the White House, and they seem to be listening, to a degree.

Civil rights organizations are asking Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to sign an executive order restoring the rights of nearly 300,000 felons before he leaves office in January.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who leaves office in January, today encouraged people with nonviolent felony convictions who have paid their debt to society to apply to have their voting rights restored.

Rotting, damaged drywall. George and Brenda Brincku and their family had to abandon their dream house because of noxious fumes and health concerns tied to contaminated drywall.

For gay and lesbian Virginians, the election results earlier this month must have seemed dismal.

Several strategists scratched their heads as they saw Sen. Blanche Lincoln wait until Saturday afternoon to announce her stance on the procedural vote.

Give Sen. Mark Warner a star for enunciating some insightful thoughts. No, give him five stars, for he got it absolutely right the other day when he said the emphasis in the campaign to rejigger health care has been wrongheaded and that the main thing was runaway spending.

Both of Virginia's U.S. senators say they will vote to allow debate on the Senate version of health-care overhaul legislation, but neither has committed to voting for the actual bill.

Three staunchly conservative Republican candidates are vying to replace Virginia Attorney General-elect Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II in a Northern Virginia state Senate district that had trended Democratic in recent years but came out solidly for Republicans this month.

This Saturday, Tom Sullivan , of Newport News , will be installed as the new president of the Virginia Peninsula Association of Realtors.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd abruptly abandoned his plan to press ahead with a partisan vote on his regulatory reform bill next month after running into bipartisan opposition.

Virginia's congressional delegation is divided over the question of bringing Guantanamo Bay terror suspects to the U.S. for trial.

Sen. Mark Warner told CNSNews.com that the constitutional authority for Congress to require individuals to purchase health insurance is the same that allowed for Medicaid and Medicare, and for states to require driver's licenses.

Civil rights organizations are asking Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to sign an executive order restoring the rights of nearly 300,000 felons before he leaves office in January.

The following editorial appeared in the Kansas City Star on Tuesday, Nov. 17: Historically, government has a lousy record of running businesses.

The recession and Wall Street have hit the bottom lines of many in Congress. But Washington pols are still doing better than the average American.

More than a week after the November 3rd election,A Virginia Democrats are still sifting through the wreckage, trying to define reasons why the party lost the top three political offices and seven seats in the House of Delegates.

Bloomberg reports that Sen. Joe Lieberman's "independence Democrats' health-care end game." "While Lieberman still aligns himself with the Democratic caucus, his threat to block health legislation 'as a matter of conscience' shows a growing willingness and confidence to stand on his own, analysts say.

Top industry executives piled into Google's Silicon Valley headquarters over the weekend to hear California's Barbara Boxer, New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman and other Democratic senators discuss some of the most pressing policy issues on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., spoke for more than an hour Wednesday, answering questions from nearly 100 people who attended a town hall meeting.

A majority of Virginia's representatives in the U.S. House voted against sweeping health care legislation, thanks to two Democrats who broke with their party.

The polls on Tuesday closed; the voters tossed out Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey and gave Republican Bob McDonnell a massive victory over his Democratic challenger, Creigh Deeds, in Virginia, and the analysis was immediate.

Help for small businesses Written by Judge Greg Mathis Thursday, 12 November 2009 11:54 Earlier this year, major corporations like General Motors, Bank of America and Citigroup received federal dollars - taxpayer money - to keep their operations afloat.

Virginia Republicans recaptured the political middle last week, assisted by Bob McDonnell's strong centrist campaign and adherence to a positive message of economic recovery and job creation.

The Virginia congressional delegation is asking the Air Force for a briefing on the future basing for the F-22 Raptor fleet.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., announces a financial reform package, Tuesday, Nov.

The election is over. [Insert massive sighs of relief and inner 'high-fives' here from a grateful nation and Loudoun]. A little political, clinical 'post-mortem' is in order focused on Loudoun.

In the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, to say that Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell faces a challenge or two as Virginia's 71st chief executive would be to put it mildly.

The National D-Day Memorial, teetering on precarious financial footing, will host a Veterans Day ceremony as usual.

The 1,136-page bill, released by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, would represent a significant shift in power in federal oversight of the U.S. market.

As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.

Republican governor-elect Bob McDonnell hugs his daughters Jeanine and Cailin after his acceptance speech Tuesday night in Richmond.

History told Virginia Democrats it wasn't going to be easy. For the past 32 years, the party that wins the White House has lost the governorship -- a trend that sometimes portends shifts in national politics.

Republican Bob McDonnell's bludgeoning of Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Virginia governor's race last Tuesday has spurred a frenzy of speculation about national Democrats' problems heading into the 2010 midterm elections.

Virginians headed to the polls in a steady stream Tuesday to decide whether Republican Robert F. McDonnell or Democrat R. Creigh Deeds will become the state's 71st governor.

The top three Republicans won Virginia in a clean sweep on Tuesday, claiming the Governor's Mansion, along with the lieutenant governor and attorney general's posts.

In last year's campaign, the one true thing Obama said to his critics was, "The political ground is changing under your feet." But what is not sufficiently recognized is that is going on again, right now, in the opposite direction.

HAPPY ELECTION DAY: Voters today in Virginia , New Jersey , New York , Maine and elsewhere are heading to the polls to cast their votes in races -- some high-profile, some less so.

Election Day losses in Virginia and New Jersey have congressional Democrats focused like never before on jobs -- their own.

Even members of Congress - many among the country's richest people -- aren't impervious to the nation's economic recession.

Virginia's blue streak ended Tuesday night. After electing two consecutive Democratic governors, two Democratic U.S. Senators and clinching President Barack Obama's win last year, all three statewide candidates fell to their Republican counterparts on Election Day 2009.

Even in tough times, it's good to be a lawmaker: According to a report released this week by the Center for Responsive Politics, there are 237 millionaires serving in Congress, according to 2008 figures.

Close NOVEMBER 3, 2009 Outcomes in New York, New Jersey and Virginia Are Unlikely to Forecast Much About National Races in 2010, History Shows WASHINGTON -- Republicans appear positioned for strong results in three hard-fought elections Tuesday.

The Virginia donkeys got their hind parts handed to them in Tuesdaya s election.

As expected , Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds got creamed yesterday by Republican Bob McDonnell, losing by about 18 points .

"Tea party" activists say Tuesday's elections show that the Republican Party needs conservatives for victory, but the results suggest solidarity is more important: unified Republicans steamrolled in Virginia, while they fractured in New York and lost a House seat that they had held for more than a century.

Bob McDonnell yesterday announced his transition committee leaders, including Tom Farrell, chairman and CEO of the state's largest utility, Dominion Resources.

As the final votes were being counted, it was possible to draw some lessons from Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia and the close, three-way governor's race in New Jersey, never mind that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has taken to saying that the elections don't mean much.

Virginiansa TM choice for a new governor in Tuesdaya TMs election was the choice for voters in Henry County, but not those in Martinsville, unofficial election results show.

Floyd County voters, for the most part, returned to status quo Tuesday, giving Republicans wide support and strengthening the GOP stranglehold on the Board of Supervisors.

Botetourt County Supervisor Terry Austin, a Republican who abandoned the party to run for re-election as an independent, overwhelmingly defeated the challenger the GOP had hoped would unseat him Tuesday.

Voters will head to polling places across Virginia today to choose the state's next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and a host of local officials.

In addition to tonight's election for mayor and City Council in St. Pete, there are governors' races inA New Jersey and Virginia this off-year election, which political analysts invariably call a referendum in part on the leadership in Washington.

With 48 hours to go in Virginia 's race for the governorship, Democrat Creigh Deeds brought his underdog campaign to Hampton on Sunday, urging voters to call friends and knock on doors in a last-ditch effort to turn out the vote at Tuesday's election.

In general, I think political journalists wildly over-conclude based on Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial results every time they happen.

A federal measure that includes millions for economic development, public safety, the environment and advances in clean coal technologies is now law.

With Virginia's Election Day less than 48 hours away, large numbers of previously undecided voters say they're supporting Bob McDonnell for governor, giving the Republican a 12-percentage-point lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds, according to a poll.