Congressional Perspectives on Maritime Security

Senator Tim Kaine was elected to the Senate in 2012 and serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Foreign Relations, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committees.

 As the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, ensuring U.S. maritime security is one of Kaine’s top legislative priorities. Throughout his Senate career, he has regularly met with leaders and staff of shipyards in the Commonwealth of Virginia, including Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Newport News Shipbuilding. Kaine has successfully passed legislation to bolster the U.S. submarine industrial base, including expanding Virginia-class submarine production and championing the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership. 

 As the father of a U.S. Marine, Kaine places a major focus on making sure U.S. servicemembers and veterans have the benefits and dignity they have earned, including health care, housing, and job and educational opportunities. Kaine has been a leading voice in Congress on reasserting the legislative branch’s long-abrogated war powers and ending forever wars. 

Before his election to the Senate, Kaine was Governor of Virginia (2006-2010), Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (2002-2006), Mayor of Richmond (1998-2001), and a member of the Richmond City Council (1994-2001). A civil rights attorney by training, he spent 17 years as a litigator specializing in fair housing law. Prior to his legal career, he spent a year in Honduras running a technical school established by Jesuit missionaries. 

Kaine is married to Anne Holton, who served as Virginia Secretary of Education from 2014 until 2016 and as the Interim President of George Mason University from 2019 until 2020; she now teaches education policy at GMU. They have three adult children and live in Richmond.

Tim Sheehy is a father, husband, combat veteran, patriot, and an entrepreneur. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2008 with a B.S. in History, Tim completed several deployments and hundreds of missions as a US Navy SEAL Officer and Team Leader, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, and the Pacific region. Tim was honored to serve alongside many American heroes and was involved in dozens of engagements with enemy forces, earning him multiple combat decorations. Additionally, Tim completed a joint tour with Army Special Operations forces where he was privileged to complete US Army Ranger School and serve alongside the 5th Special Forces Group, 75th Ranger Regiment and other units within US Army Special Operations Command. Tim completed his active duty service as a mini submarine pilot and navigator specializing in sensitive undersea operations. After his active duty service, Tim fulfilled reserve duty as a recruiter and assessor for future naval officers. Tim was honorably discharged from the Naval Reserve in 2019. 

In 2014, Tim founded Belgrade-based Bridger Aerospace with all of his savings and an all-veteran team. Under Tim’s leadership, Bridger Aerospace and its sister company, Ascent Vision Technologies experienced rapid growth and created hundreds of Montana jobs. Ascent Vision Technologies was acquired by CACI in 2020, and Bridger Aerospace went public on the NASDAQ in 2023. Today, Bridger Aerospace is a major Montana employer and one of only a few publicly traded companies in the state. In addition to founding Bridger Aerospace, Sheehy was an active firefighting pilot, completing hundreds of firefighting missions across the American West, protecting communities from devastation as a pilot of the CL415EAF Water Bomber and before that, as an Air Attack pilot in the AC690 Twin Commander. Tim remains a qualified FAA Commercial Pilot and a Certified Flight Instructor.