Who is Joe Biden?

We have been meaning to do this for awhile...so here is the profile for the VP nominee on the Democratic ticket: Joe Biden

Name: Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr
Birthdate: November 20, 1942 (65 yrs old)
Hometown: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Current Occupation: Delaware Senator since 1973
Education: University of Delaware, B.A. in History and Political Science
Syracuse Universtiy, J.D. Law (grad. 1968)
Religion: Roman Catholic
Previous Political Positions: Member of New Castle County Council (1970-72)


Issues:

Abortion
- Allow women to choose, but no federal funding. (Jul 2007)
- Supports partial-birth abortion ban, but not undoing Roe. (Apr 2007)
- Accepts Catholic church view that life begins at conception. (Apr 2007)
- Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)

Budget and Economy
- Balancing budget is about priorities; GOP made wrong choices. (Dec 2007)
- Save Pentagon spending by getting the troops out of Iraq. (Dec 2007)
- More transparency for hedge funds and private equity funds. (Aug 2007)
- Invest in new programs by ending war & eliminating tax cuts. (Apr 2007)

Gay Rights
- Civil unions ok; gay marriage is probably inevitable. (Apr 2007)
- Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)

Crime

- Bush is impediment to hate crimes legislation. (Dec 2007)
- Biden Law of 1994 created several new capital offenses. (Nov 2007)
- Supports sentencing guidelines to put away violent criminals. (Jul 2007)
- Authored the Clinton crime bill & 100,000 cops on the street. (Jul 2007)

Drugs

- Took lead on drug policy & narcotics control. (Nov 2007)
- National ban on smoking would reduce chronic illnesses. (Sep 2007)

- Increase penalties for dealing drugs near schools. (Sep 2007)

- Absolutely do not lower drinking age from 21. (Sep 2007)

Education

- Hire more teachers and pay them for smaller classes. (Dec 2007)
- Laid out a $30 billion plan over five years for education. (Nov 2007)
- For longer school day & school year, & 16-year minimum. (Oct 2007)
- $3000 tax credit for college for anyone earning under $150K. (Sep 2007)
- There needs to be performance-based pay for teachers. (Aug 2007)
- Teach sex ed in schools; including prevention methods. (Aug 2007)
- Sent kids to private school after death of their mother. (Jul 2007)

Energy and Oil

- Voted YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (Jun 2008)
- Voted YES on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China. (May 2008)
- Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
- Voted YES on factoring global warming into federal project planning. (May 2007)

- Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)

Environment

- Take away the billions of subsidy to the oil companies. (Jun 2007)
- Scored 80% on Humane Society Scorecard on animal protection. (Jan 2007)
- Voted YES on including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations. (Sep 2005)

Foreign Policy

- Doctrine of crisis prevention, not preemption. (Dec 2007)
- Hold China accountable; it's capitulation, not competition. (Dec 2007)
- Move from a Musharraf policy to a Pakistan policy. (Nov 2007)

- Pakistan is potentially most dangerous country in the world. (Aug 2007)

- Biggest threat to US is from North Korea, Iran, & Russia. (Apr 2007)
- Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe. (May 2002)
- Voted YES on killing a bill for trade sanctions if China sells weapons. (Sep 2000)

Free Trade

- No to tariffs; just enforce the law. (Dec 2007)
- Built environmental and labor standards in trade agreements. (Dec 2007)
- Toughest choice: rationalizing competition & trade policy. (Dec 2007)
- Opposes fast-track to protect labor rights. (Nov 2007)
- Shut down any imports of toys from China. (Oct 2007)
- President's job is to create jobs, not to export jobs. (Aug 2007)

Gun Control

- Keep assault weapons ban; close gun show loophole. (Apr 2007)
- Voted NO on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005)

Health Care

- Modernize, simplify & expand health insurance. (Nov 2007)
- Help medical students find ways to finance their tuition. (Oct 2007)
- Start paying for universal coverage with $100B in redundancy. (Sep 2007)
- Rethink healthcare by focusing on prevention. (Sep 2007)

Homeland Security

- Universal national service, in military or Peace Corps. (Dec 2007)
- Commitment to never use torture; no part of our policy, ever. (Sep 2007)
- Don't Ask Don't Tell is antiquated & unworkable. (Aug 2007)
- Missile defense is perfect metaphor for neo-isolationism. (Jul 2007)
- Voted YES on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months. (Jul 2007)
- Voted YES on implementing the 9/11 Commission report. (Mar 2007)
- Voted YES on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. (Sep 2006)
- Voted YES on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods. (Sep 2006)
- Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006)
- Voted NO on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision. (Dec 2005)

Immigration

- Voted for border fence, but to tackle drug trafficking. (Jun 2007)
- Voted YES on continuing federal funds for declared "sanctuary cities". (Mar 2008)
- Voted YES on comprehensive immigration reform. (Jun 2007)
- Voted NO on declaring English as the official language of the US government. (Jun 2007)

Social Security

- Raise the $97,500 cap, but don't raise retirement age. (Sep 2007)

Tax Reform

- Save $150 billion in tax cuts for people who don't need them. (Dec 2007)
- Take away $85B in annual tax cuts for 1% of top earners. (Jul 2007)
- Eliminate the tax cut just for those people in the top 1%. (Mar 2007)

Iraq War

- Third way: federalize Iraq; troops home; no chaos behind. (Nov 2007)

- Iraq war is sucking up a $150B a year. (Dec 2007)
- Post-colonial countries like Iraq need federal system. (Nov 2007)
- Troops out by 2013 if no political reconciliation. (Sep 2007)
- Patraeus report is wrong strategy; draw down troops now. (Sep 2007)

Fun Facts:

Has 5 grandchildren

Enjoys weightlifting, home design, and scetching

Last year Americans for Tax Reform gave Biden a grade 0

SOURCES: Wikipedia and OnTheIssues.org