Political positions of Joe Biden

Joe Biden is the senior senator from the U.S. state of Delaware. He has served in the Senate since 1973 and made his third run for president in 2008 election as a Democrat. Biden was confirmed to be presidential hopeful Barack Obama's running mate on August 22nd 2008.

The following are the political positions of Joe Biden on an assortment of issues.

Domestic issues

Crime

Joe Biden has been given a 71% approval rating from Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) indicating a pro-rehab record on crime. He voted in support of funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. He voted for the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which greatly increased the number of federal capital crimes, but also voted against limiting death penalty appeals. He voted for heavier punishments for hate crimes and supports a Federal Bureau of Investigation registry for sex offenders.

Education

Biden received a 91% voting record from the National Education Association (NEA) showing a pro-teacher union voting record. He supports abstinence education, is against student vouchers and voluntary prayer in schools. He voted in favor of Educational Savings Accounts. In regards to the No Child Left Behind Act Biden stated,

Classrooms are too big; we need smaller classrooms, period. A lot of teachers are going to be retiring. We need a program where we attract the best and brightest students coming out of our colleges to be teachers, and pay them.

He voted in favor of the Act in 2001, but has subsequently called that vote "a mistake." He feels that the program is underfunding the education system.

He also supported the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which abolished education grants for prisoners.

Energy

Biden opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and supports governmental funding to find new energy sources.

Biden believes action must be taken on global warming. He supports the creation of a new treaty on climate change that would require emissions reductions from developing countries such as Brazil, India, China, and Mexico. He has also stated his support for investment in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the creation of a "cap and trade" system. Biden supports the promotion of renewable energy, including biodiesel fuels but not ethanol.

Mr. Biden says as president his top priority would be "energy security." He has also been quoted as saying "If I could wave a wand, and the Lord said I could solve one problem, I would solve the energy crisis."

Environment

He co-sponsored the “Sense of the Senate” resolution calling on the United States to be a part of the United Nations climate negotiations and the “Boxer-Sanders Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act” - the most stringent climate bill in the United States Senate. He voted "Yes" on a $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas and "No" for drilling in ANWR on national security grounds and defunding renewable and solar energy.

Gun control

Biden was given an "F" by the National Rifle Association (NRA) showing a pro-gun control voting record. He supports reinstating the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and voted against prohibition of lawsuits against gun manufacturers. He has voted to ban assault rifles and to end the "gun show loophole", stating that no one should be able to walk into a gun show and buy a gun more easily than they could at a normal store.

Immigration

Biden supported the 2007 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill. He supports guest-worker visas, and the building of a wall along the border. He voted to provide Social Security to illegal immigrants and supports a path to citizenship.

Homeland security

Biden supported the PATRIOT Act but voted to limit wiretapping on the bill. He supports implementing the 9/11 Commission's recommendations to fight terrorists but voted to preserve habeas corpus rights to the alleged terrorists serving in Guantanamo Bay. In the 1990s he voted in favor of 36 vetoed military projects and supports efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. He was given a 60% approval rating from the American Civil Liberties Union reflecting a mixed voting record on civil rights issues. During a debate on November 15, 2007 Biden clarified the effect of the PATRIOT Act and his continued support for it and his opposition to racial profiling.

There is nothing in the Patriot Act that allows profiling. Let's get that straight.

Nothing in the Patriot Act allows profiling, number one. You're profiled illegally. I have voted against and worked with legislation with many people on this stage to stop profiling. That's number one. It did not. It's not because of the Patriot Act. It's a convenient thing to talk about, number one.

Economic issues

Biden is against the Bush administration's tax cuts and would "take back one year of the tax cuts for Americans who make over a million dollars a year, and put this money in a dedicated Homeland Security and Public Safety Trust Fund to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations and invest in law enforcement." Biden supports a balanced budget amendment.

Biden was given a 32% approval rating from the United States Chamber of Commerce. He favors taking burdens off corporations to prevent outsourcing. He voted yes on repealing tax subsidies for companies that outsource jobs and yes on restrictions on personal bankruptcy.

Biden cites high health care and energy costs as two major threats to the prosperty of American businesses, and believes that addressing these issues will improve American economic competitiveness.

Biden was given a 100% approval rating from AFL-CIO indicating a heavily pro-union voting record. However, he was one of the Democrats to vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA in 1993. Biden was given a 42% approval rating from the Cato Institute, revealing a mixed record on free trade. He opposed the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) but supports normalizing relations with China, Vietnam and the Andean nations. He opposes free trade agreements with Oman, Singapore, and Chile.

Biden was given a 100% approval rating from the American Public Health Association (APHA). He supports funding for health care to allow all people access. Biden is opposed to the privatization of Social Security and was given an 89% approval rating from the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), reflecting a pro-senior citizen voting record. Voted in support of welfare block grants and supports welfare reform.

Foreign policy

The Council on Foreign Relations reported on Biden's political positions.

Iraq

Biden voted in favor of the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. He has since said that he believes it was a mistake to support the Iraq war because it has been mismanaged by the Bush Administration. He supports a "five-step plan" to obtain victory and remove troops from Iraq.

In November 2006, Biden and Leslie Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, released a comprehensive strategy to end sectarian violence in Iraq. Rather than continuing the present approach or withdrawing, the plan calls for "a third way": federalizing Iraq and giving Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis "breathing room" in their own regions. The key points include:

1. Giving Iraq's major groups a measure of autonomy in their own regions. A central government would be left in charge of interests such as defending the borders and distributing oil revenues.
2. Guaranteeing Sunnis — who have no oil rights — a proportionate share of oil revenue and reintegrating those who have not fought against Coalition forces.
3. Increase, not end, reconstruction assistance but insist that Arab Gulf states fund it and tie it to the creation of a jobs program and to the protection of minority rights.
4. Initiate a diplomatic offensive to enlist the support of the major powers and neighboring countries for a political settlement in Iraq and create an Oversight Contact Group to enforce regional commitments.
5. Begin the phased redeployment of U.S. forces in 2007 and withdraw most of them by 2008, leaving a small follow-on force for security and policing actions.

The plan named as The Biden-Brownback Resolution passed on the Senate floor 75-23 on September 25th, 2007, including 26 Republican votes.

Africa

Biden favors an American deployment of troops to Sudan in order to end the genocide in Darfur. He believes that the mission can be accomplished with 2,500 troops.

Biden is opposed to American financing of abstinence only programs to combat HIV-AIDS in Africa. In 2007, he cosponsored the HIV Prevention Act which would end President Bush's mandate that 1/3 of all funds be earmarked to abstinence only programs.

Israel

Biden is highly supportive of Israel and favors a two-state solution to the Palestinian Conflict. He stated that "the Arab nations have known that there is no daylight between us and Israel." Biden sponsored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 which set forth the means for achieving a two-state solution.

North Korea

Biden favors open dialogue with North Korea and describes them as a "paper tiger" unable to directly cause harm to America. However, in June, he called the situation one of the "the three most important things that the next president is going to have to deal with", along with Iran and Iraq.

Iran

Biden favors direct diplomacy with Iran but supports strategically placed sanctions on the regime if it does not comply with American demands. He stated, "we should complement this pressure by presenting a detailed, positive vision for U.S.-Iran relations if Iran does the right thing." In 2007 Biden voted against a measure to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

Cuba

Biden strongly opposes the Fidel Castro regime in Cuba and supports the continuation of the trade embargo as well as the democratization of the island after the dictator's death. In 2006, Biden stated, "We should be putting together a plan as to how we are going to play a positive role in moving that country, after the Castros are gone, to—more toward democratization and liberalization in their society."

Social issues

Abortion and reproductive health

Joe Biden believes that the Roe v. Wade decision should remain intact. He is quoted as saying, "The best policy for our country on the question of abortion is a policy of Government neutrality. Put another way: I do not believe that the government should be involved in making judgments on whether a woman can, or should have an abortion, or – if she chooses to do so – in paying for that abortion."[2]

He voted in favor of a 1999 bill to ban in most circumstances "partial birth abortion" and on the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Biden has defended these votes as recently as April 2007. He has also stated his opposition to federal funding of abortions.

He has joined with Democrats in voting against parental notification and a ban on abortions on military bases. Biden's record on abortion is generally favorable towards the practice receiving a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America in four of the last five years, although he received a 36% as recently as 2003. Biden pledged that he would appoint Supreme Court justices that share his beliefs. He has also stated his opposition to the Mexico City Policy, and voted in favor of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in 1994. Biden supports federal funding for stem cell research and voted to expand development and voted against a 1998 ban on cloning.

Drug law

Biden favors diverting drug offenders out of the nation's prison system. He is against making stricter laws for drug offenses but helped in the creation of a Drug Czar, a government official overseeing all anti-drug operations. He voted against restrictions on children obtaining violent videos and supports funding for the Boys and Girls Clubs in underprivileged areas.

LGBT issues

Biden voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act and against the Federal Marriage Amendment. He supports states rights to establish civil unions and favors adding sexual orientation to the criteria for a hate crime.

References

• "Joe Biden on the Issues". 2008 Presidential Candidates. On the Issues. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
• Joe Biden - democratic candidate 2008
• Iraq: A way forward
• Joe Biden's opinions - whereIstand.com

See also

• Joe Biden
• Joe Biden presidential campaign, 2008