Kaine wants funding approved by Ukraine by Christmas

Dec. 2—U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., wants to see funding approved for Ukraine by Christmas.

Speaking during his weekly virtual media briefing, Kaine also said he isn't convinced by the claims from North Korea that it has satellite imagery of Virginia. He also announced that he is backing a bill in the U.S. Senate that would increase the policing power of the U.S. Postal Service in light of increased attacks on mail delivery carriers.

In terms of Ukraine, Kaine said some House Republicans want to provide funding only for Israel — and not for Ukraine, which he doesn't agree with.

"I'm not for sure what the House is thinking," Kaine said. "But look we've got to provide support for all of our allies. Look there are some in the House that want to provide support for Israel, but don't want to provide support for Ukraine. They would allow Russia to just roll over Ukraine, and that's not right. We need to provide support for Israel, for Ukraine and for humanitarian aid in Gaza."

Kaine said Ukraine needs American funding support now, adding that Senate Democrats have been trying since September to get another funding package approved for Ukraine.

Kaine said President Joe Biden wants a funding bill that includes support for Israel, Ukraine and Palestinians who are caught in the middle of the Israel-Hamas war.

"Time is of the essence here," Kaine said in terms of getting additional U.S. funding approved for Ukraine. "We really believe we need to do something before the holidays. The Biden administration has asked for significant funds for this effort. So he (Biden) has made a robust request."

Kaine said he believes the votes "are there" in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate to pass additional funding for Ukraine. He also believes there is support in the Republican-controlled House for Ukraine funding.

Kaine was then asked about claims by North Korea that it has satellite imagery of the state of Virginia, including photographs of military bases and naval facilities.

Kaine said he isn't convinced that North Korea is telling the truth.

"Well North Korea is a bad actor," Kaine said. "I don't trust everything they say. So the notion that they have satellite imagery, I'm not for sure it is verified yet. So I'm not for sure it is true."

North Korea announced earlier this month that it had successfully launched a spy satellite into orbit. The country claims its leader, Kim Jong Un, oversaw the launch of the satellite, and claims it will be launching several more spy satellites in the future.

"Obviously the shipyard and the naval base is pretty big," Kaine said. "So anyone with assets in the sky can probably take pictures of it. But we need to verify if their reports are true or not. We pay very close attention to North Korea. They know they can't mess around with us too much because they would have everything to lose and nothing to gain."

Kaine also announced that he was backing a pill that would reverse an earlier decision allowing the U.S. Postal Service to only police postal facilities. Kaine said mail carriers are coming under increasing attack by individuals, some of whom are trying to steal the checks and or packages that are being delivered by mail.

"So we are seeing significant increases in this kind of attack on mail carriers," Kaine said. "Here is the problem. The postal service narrowed the jurisdiction of the postal police a couple of years ago to only allow them to exercise their law enforcement function on postal facilities. We think the postal service should have the ability to carry out their law enforcement responsibilities at other sites as well. The bill I've signed on to would reverse the post office's restrictions and allow postal police to carry out their duties not only at postal facilities but wherever these crimes are occurring."

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens