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Friends,
Last night I voted for a deal to reopen the government, and I want you to hear directly from me about why.
I said from the start that to earn my vote, we needed to be on a path toward fixing Republicans’ health care mess, and we needed to protect the federal workforce.
I voted “no” with my Democratic colleagues for 40 days because the GOP didn’t put anything on the table I could in good conscience vote “yes” on.
But over those 40 days, 2 million federal employees — and more than 300,000 in Virginia — were suffering. They missed two paychecks, with another around the corner. These workers, along with the millions of federal contractors who have been going without pay, have families that depend on them.
Beyond the pain of missing paychecks, hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers were wondering if they were next in line to be fired by Trump.
Tens of millions of SNAP recipients were going without benefits they rely on to put food on the table.
Air traffic was suffering nationwide — with real safety dangers.
And after 40 days, there was still no path to an Affordable Care Act vote. Republicans would not even debate an ACA fix until the government reopened — period.
So we negotiated for what we could get.
Last night’s vote paved the way to reopen the government with robust full-year funding for SNAP, WIC, and other important safety net services — because we just can’t let people go hungry.
All furloughed workers will return to work with backpay — so people can pay their mortgages, rent, and heating bills.
All the federal workers who Trump baselessly fired will be reinstated — and no federal agencies will be allowed to conduct mass layoffs for the duration of this funding bill.
Since Trump’s second term began, our federal workers have been constantly trashed. Tormented. Illegally fired. This deal is a big win for them.
Finally, last night’s vote gave us a path for an ACA fix to stop a devastating rise in premiums — something Republicans weren’t even willing to consider before last night. It’s not a guarantee, but I believe we can win this critical ACA battle if we fight for it together. We won’t win it if we turn to in-fighting.
And at a bare minimum, this fight will show the American people with complete clarity who is standing with them to make health care affordable, and who isn’t. That’s the real fight we need to focus on in 2026.
As we move forward, I will keep working toward a long-term government spending plan that supports Virginians and all Americans.
Thanks for reading.
—Tim Kaine
Paid for by Kaine for Virginia
1490-5A Quarterpath Road #272
Williamsburg, VA 23185
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