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| Joe Biden | |
 |
|
Senior Senator from Delaware |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1973 Serving with Tom Carper |
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| Preceded by | J. Caleb Boggs |
|---|---|
| Born | November 20, 1942 (1942-11-20) (age 65) Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Neilia Hunter (deceased) Jill Tracy Jacobs |
| Residence | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Alma mater | University of Delaware Syracuse University |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Joe Biden |
Joseph "Joe" Robinette Biden, Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is the senior United States senator from Delaware, and the presumptive Democratic Party vice presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election. Biden was announced as the running mate of presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama on August 23, 2008.
Currently in his sixth term in the Senate, Biden has served for the sixth-longest period among current senators (fourth among Democrats) and is Delaware"s longest-serving senator. He is the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the 110th Congress. Biden has served in that position in the past, and he has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party"s presidential nomination in 1988. He again ran in 2008, but withdrew after the caucuses in Iowa on January 3, 2008.
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[edit] Early life and familyBiden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph R. Biden, Sr. and Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan.[1][2] He was the first of four siblings[2] and is of English and Irish Catholic heritage. He has two brothers, James Brian Biden and Francis W. Biden, and a sister, Valerie (Biden) Owens.[3] The Biden family moved to Claymont, Delaware when Biden was 10 years old,[2] and he grew up in suburban New Castle County, Delaware, where his father was a car salesman. In 1961, Biden graduated from Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware[2] and, in 1965, from the University of Delaware in Newark,[4] where he double majored in history and political science.[2] He went on to receive his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Syracuse University College of Law in 1968, and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1969.[4][5]
In 1966, while in law school, Biden married Neilia Hunter. They had three children, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, Robert Hunter, and Naomi Christina. His wife and infant daughter died in a car accident shortly after he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972. His two young sons, Beau and Hunter, were seriously injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden was sworn into office from their bedside. Persuaded not to resign in order to care for them, Biden began the practice of commuting an hour and a half each day on the train from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, DC, which he continues to do.
In 1977, Biden married Jill Tracy Jacobs. They have one daughter, Ashley, and are members of the Roman Catholic Church. In February 1988, after suffering from neck pains, Biden was hospitalized and underwent lifesaving surgery to correct two brain aneurysms, one of which began leaking.[6] The hospitalization and recovery kept him from the Senate for seven months.
Biden"s elder son, Beau, was a partner in the Wilmington law firm of Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden & Balick, LLC and was elected Attorney General of Delaware in 2006. He is a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard, where he serves in the Judge Advocate General"s (JAG) Corps. He is set to be deployed to Iraq in October, 2008.[7] Biden"s younger son, Hunter, works as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., serves on the board of directors of Amtrak, and previously worked in the Commerce Department.
Since 1991, Biden has also served as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on constitutional law.
[edit] United States Senator
Joseph Biden at the World Economic Forum in 2003
In 1969, Biden began practicing law in Wilmington, Delaware, and was soon elected to the New Castle County, County Council, where he served from 1970 to 1972.[4]
The 1972 U.S. Senate election presented Biden with a unique opportunity. Popular Republican incumbent Senator J. Caleb Boggs was considering retirement, which would likely have left U.S. Representative Pete du Pont and Wilmington Mayor Harry G. Haskell, Jr. in a divisive primary fight. To avoid that, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon was invited to a meeting to convince Boggs to run again with full Republican support. Boggs ran, but Biden eventually won.[8]
Biden took office on January 3, 1973, at age 30, becoming the fifth-youngest U.S. Senator in United States history. At age 30, Biden was at the minimum age to become a U.S. Senator. In 1974, then-freshman Senator Biden was named one of the 200 Faces for the Future by Time magazine.[9]
Biden has since won additional terms easily, defeating James H. Baxter, Jr. in 1978, John M. Burris in 1984, M. Jane Brady in 1990, and Raymond J. Clatworthy in 1996 and 2002, usually with about 60% of the vote. He is now the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Delaware history. He was running for re-election as senator in 2008. In 2007, Biden reported that he "garnered $67 million worth of projects" [10] for his constituents through congressional earmarks.
[edit] 110th CongressBiden serves on the following committees in the 110th U.S. Congress[11]
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Committee on Foreign Relations (chairman)
- As chairman of the full committee Biden is an ex officio member of each subcommittee.
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Caucus on International Narcotics Control (co-chairman)
Biden on Meet the Press
Biden is a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 and 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 of the most contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings: Robert Bork in 1987 and Clarence Thomas in 1991.[12]
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. He also authored 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.[13] Congress reauthorized VAWA in 2000 and 2005.[14][15] 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.[16][12]
As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Biden wrote the laws that created the nation"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.[12]
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.[17]
[edit] Foreign Relations Committee
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 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.[18] Biden has also called on Libya to release political prisoner Fathi Eljahmi.[19]
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Biden was supportive of the Bush administration"s efforts, calling for additional ground troops in Afghanistan and agreeing that Saddam Hussein was a threat that needed to be dealt with. 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 for the final resolution to support the War in Iraq. He has long supported the appropriations to pay for the occupation, but has argued repeatedly that more soldiers are needed, the war should be internationalized, and the Bush administration should "level with the American people" about the cost and length of the conflict.[20]
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.[21]
[edit] Presidential campaignsBiden has twice run for the Democratic nomination for President, first in 1988, and again in 2008. Both times he was unsuccessful.
In 2003, Biden considered joining the Democratic field of candidates for the 2004 presidential race but decided otherwise, saying he did not have enough time to cultivate a sufficient fundraising base. Some thought Biden a possible running mate for presidential candidate John Kerry, but Biden urged Kerry to select Republican Senator John McCain instead, saying the cross-party ticket would help heal the “vicious rift” dividing the country.[22] Biden also had been widely discussed as a possible Secretary of State in a Democratic administration.[23]
[edit] 1988 Main article: Joe Biden presidential campaign, 1988In 1987, Joe Biden ran as a Democratic presidential candidate, formally declaring his candidacy at the Wilmington train station on June 9, 1987. In his speech, he challenged Americans to step beyond the materialism of the Reagan years. When the campaign began, Biden was considered a potentially strong candidate because of his moderate image, his supposed appeal to Baby Boomers, his fundraising appeal[24] (Biden"s $1.7 million raised in the first quarter of 1987 was more than any other candidate, including the then front-runner,
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