See below for video and highlights from Sen. Tim Kaine’s appearance this morning on “Face the Nation.”
- On aid to Ukraine, Sen. Kaine said, “We’ll turn to it as soon as we get back to the Senate tomorrow. And I think we need to push it very, very quickly. Obviously we just did an aid package for Ukraine about a month ago that was about $13 billion, and that is a dramatic escalation over what we did in 2021…but this additional aid is necessary to help Ukraine win and beat Russia’s illegal invasion of their country.”
- “…we need COVID aid, we need Ukraine aid, we should do them together or separately, but we shouldn’t wait around. And I think that’s what May needs to be about for us, is getting both these done, together with the competitiveness bill. I think those three big bills – Ukraine aid, COVID aid, and the competitiveness bill are the three big tasks ahead of us in May.”
- “…we can break it into smaller pieces or larger pieces. We do need to do this quickly…We still have some time to pass this next package. I think my colleagues in Congress on both sides, with very few exceptions, they understand how significant this is. There is quite a bit of bipartisan resolve on the Ukraine aid package.”
- On potential authorization of the use of U.S. military force in Ukraine, Sen. Kaine said: “I think that would be premature…I think there is a shared sense that first, if Russia were to take action against any NATO ally, Article 5 of NATO would mandate a military response…[Biden] has also said that use of nuclear weapons or chemical weapons could alter the equation. So right now, the status quo is we are providing massive amounts of aid to Ukraine, both the US and NATO allies and others. If there were to be an invasion of a NATO country, a kinetic or even a cyber attack or if there were to be the use of chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine, that would change the equation. But for now, I think the right strategy is to flood the zone with military and humanitarian aid.”
- On ending “Title 42” on pandemic regulation for asylum-seeking migrants, Sen. Kaine said: “We need a vote on the COVID aid package, and Republicans have made plain that they want a vote on Title 42 as part of a discussion about COVID aid. I am a stronger believer, whether I’m in the majority or minority, that there ought to be amendments and we ought to allow votes on amendments on the floor… I’m elected by Virginians to vote on things, controversial or otherwise, and after 28 years in office, if I can’t explain a vote on something, I’m not very good at what I’m doing. I think we’ll have a COVID aid package vote soon in May. And I think the Republicans will ask for a Title 42 amendment vote as part of it. And we ought to see what the amendment is and then vote it up or down based upon whether it is a good Amendment or not.”
- “What I’ve said is this: Title 42 needs to expire, it is an emergency regulation. And it needs to be replaced by more permanent procedures and plans to do a better job at the border. So I was confused about the timing. We were going to have Title 42 expire on May 23, and then have new asylum and border rules go into place on May 31. I was just confused with the administration’s messaging about this...DHS laid out a pretty comprehensive plan, with six pillars – flooding personnel to the border, which they’re doing already; preparing for use of expedited removal for individuals who can’t make a credible claim for asylum, for example; more work in central America to help their economies grow so that the push of poor economic conditions leading to migration will abate. DHS has now laid out a plan. And the right answer for the border is not an emergency, short-term regulation, the right answer is permanent fixes that will help. That was part of our immigration reform bill in 2013, that passed the Senate in a bipartisan way that the Republican House refused to take up.”
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