U.S. Senator Tim Kaine
The Virginia Ship Repair Association’s August General Membership Meeting was held virtually and attended by 156 member representatives. The honorable Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator from Virginia, served as the guest speaker.
The meeting began with a presentation by the American Maritime Partnership as they presented their American Maritime Heroes Award to Representative Elaine Luria (VA-02).
Senator Tim Kaine began his presentation by thanking those in attendance and congratulating Rep. Luria on her award. Senator Kaine spoke about his childhood experiences watching his father, an iron worker and owner of a small business. Of particular interest to the ship repair industry was his focus on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). He spoke about how his priorities for Virginia include supporting our local ship repair industry, emphasizing the interconnectivity between ship repair and maintenance funding and the ability to have a strong, fully capable Navy.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Kaine elaborated on his involvement in recent bipartisan efforts that support the U.S. Navy. This included fighting to guarantee the resources needed to implement the 355 ship plan. He also highlighted the need to keep private shipyards consistently working to avoid boom-and-bust hiring and layoff cycles.
Senator Tim Kaine then covered the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Navy and the ship repair industry. He thanked all of those in attendance for their patriotism in ensuring our nation’s safety by continuing to work diligently despite the pandemic’s risks. He then openly spoke about his personal experience with COVID-19, as he and his wife had contracted the virus.
Senator Kaine then emphasized how he and many other Virginia congressmen and women, from both parties, had joined together to send a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Navy James “Hondo” Guerts that reflected their unanimous support for the ship building and repair industry. One of the key points of the letter, he said, was their request that the Navy make the safety of ship workers a paramount concern. Another point was their request that the Navy ensures access to expeditious loans and loan guarantees to help alleviate some of COVID-19's impacts on repair deliveries.
Senator Tim Kaine answered questions from the VSRA Membership and then closed by thanking the membership attendees once again for working hard as essential workers, and for having him as the month’s guest speaker.
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