Someone who has been a senator for over 30 years, alone, is an accomplishment. to win your elections at an average of 60% is pretty darn good. Esp
when Palin supporters boost hre 80% approval rating on 2 years.
A little about what he has done...
With a net worth between $59,000 and $366,000, he is considered one of the least wealthy members of the Senate.[1][27] Biden sits on the board of
advisors of the Close Up Foundation[28] and has been co-chair of the NATO Observer Group in the Senate.[29]
110th Congress
Biden serves on the following committees in the 110th U.S. Congress:[30]
* Committee on Foreign Relations (chairman)
o As chairman of the full committee Biden is an ex officio member of each subcommittee.
* Committee on the Judiciary
o Subcommittee on Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
o Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs (chairman)
o Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
o Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees
o Subcommittee on Technology Terrorism and Homeland Security
* Caucus on International Narcotics Control (co-chairman)
Judiciary Committee
Biden is a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 and on which he served as ranking
minority member from 1981 until 1987 and again from 1995 until 1997. In this capacity, he dealt with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention,
and civil liberties. While chairman, Biden presided over two notably contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings: Robert Bork in 1987 and Clarence
Thomas in 1991.[31]
Biden has been involved in crafting many federal crime laws over the last decade, including the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994,
also known as the Biden Crime Law, and the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), which contains a broad array of measures to combat
domestic violence and provides billions of dollars in federal funds to address gender-based crimes. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the section
of VAWA allowing a federal civil remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence exceeded Congress' authority and therefore was unconstitutional.[32]
Congress reauthorized VAWA in 2000 and 2005.[33] In March 2004, Biden enlisted major American technology companies in diagnosing the problems of the
Austin, Texas-based National Domestic Violence Hotline, and to donate equipment and expertise to it.[34][31]
As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Biden wrote the laws that created the U.S. "Drug Czar", who oversees and coordinates
national drug control policy. In April 2003 he introduced the controversial Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act, also known as the RAVE
Act. He continues to work to stop the spread of "date rape drugs" such as Rohypnol, and drugs such as Ecstasy and Ketamine. In 2004 he worked to
pass a bill outlawing steroids like androstenedione, the drug used by many baseball players.[31]
Biden's legislation to promote college aid and loan programs allows families to deduct on their annual income tax returns up to $10,000 per year in
higher education expenses. His "Kids 2000" legislation established a public/private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet
access, and technical training to young people, particularly to low-income and at-risk youth.[35]
Foreign Relations Committee
Biden is also a long-time member and current chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 1997, he became the ranking minority
member and chaired the committee from June 2001 through 2003. When Democrats re-took control of the Senate following the 2006 elections, Biden again
assumed the top spot on the committee in 2007. His efforts to combat hostilities in the Balkans in the 1990s brought national attention and influenced
presidential policy: traveling repeatedly to the region, he made one meeting famous by calling Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic a "war criminal."
He consistently argued for lifting the arms embargo, training Bosnian Muslims, investigating war crimes and administering NATO air strikes. Biden's
subsequent "lift and strike" resolution was instrumental in convincing President Bill Clinton to use military force in the face of systematic human
rights violations.[36] Biden has also called on Libya to release political prisoner Fathi Eljahmi.[37]
Biden gives his opening statement and questions to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and General David H. Petraeus at the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Hearing on Iraq; September 11, 2007
Biden gives his opening statement and questions to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and General David H. Petraeus at the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Hearing on Iraq; September 11, 2007
Biden stated in 2002 that Saddam Hussein was a threat to national security, and that there was no option but to eliminate that threat.[38] The Bush
administration rejected an effort Biden undertook with Senator Richard Lugar to pass a resolution authorizing military action only after the
exhaustion of diplomatic efforts. In October 2002, Biden voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, justifying the
Iraq War. He has long supported the appropriations to pay for the occupation, but has argued repeatedly that the war should be internationalized, that
more soldiers are needed, and that the Bush administration should "level with the American people" about the cost and length of the conflict.[39]
Biden is a leading advocate for dividing Iraq into a loose federation of three ethnic states.[40] 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.[41] 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.[42] Iraq’s political leadership united in denouncing the resolution, and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement
distancing itself.[41] Senior military planners cautioned that a partition policy would require American military presence of 75,000 to 100,000 troops
for years to come.[40]
Joe Biden
[edit on 8-9-2008 by bknapple32]
[edit on 8-9-2008 by bknapple32]