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Lobbyist Gifts to Congress against July 1995: Voted NO on banning more types of Congressional gifts, April 2001: Voted YES on banning campaign donations from unions & corporations, March 2002: Voted YES banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads, March 2006: Voted NO on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress |
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Assault Weapons Ban strongly supports The Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) provision was signed into law in 1994. The 10 year ban, expiring in 2004, is currently undergoing an inspection of effectiveness and a reinstitution bill in the House of Representatives |
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Universal Health Care supports Universal healthcare proposes a governmental coverage of health care costs rather than citizens paying private insurance companies often exorbitant administrative fees; such a program's aim would be to cover the 41-50 million Americans currently uninsured |
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Constitutional Ban on Flag Desecration against December 1995: Voted NO on Amendment to prohibit flag burning June 2006: Voted NO on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration |
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Economic Sanctions on Iran supports With Iran's 2003 fruition of their purportedly legitimate nuclear ambition came an international cry for economic sanctions and dialogue with President Ahmadinejad |
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Same Sex Marriage against Biden stands against gay marriage and is undecided on same-sex civil unions |
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Legalized Abortion supports Abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death and has become highly politicized since U.S. Supreme Court intervention in 1973 |
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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Oil Drilling against The proposed 2,000 acre Coastal Plains region of the ANWR in Alaska has created a divide between environmentalists, big oil, and political parties alike, sparking a discussion on where and how the US will get its oil, and at what cost |
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No Child Left Behind Act against Biden once supported NCLB, but now opposes |
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Partitioning of Iraq strongly supports |
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Capital Punishment strongly supports Biden authored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 which expanded the federal death penalty to cover 60 offense. In 1996, Biden voted against limiting appeals of those facing the death penalty. |
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Legalization of Medical Marijuana against |
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Legalization of Drugs supports |
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Legalization of Gambling supports |
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Mandatory Sentencing strongly against |
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Death Penalty for Child Offenders against |
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Border Fence Wants a fence across parts of the border with the heaviest traffic The border fence spans two issues: immigration and homeland security. First passed in 2006, the fence has been included in immigration legislation to control illegal immigration flow across the southern border. |
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Minimum Wage supports |
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Affirmative Action supports Affirmative action refers to policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at a historically socio-politically non-dominant group, typically minorities and women. |
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Outsourcing against Business wants to preserve the ability to exporting jobs abroad in order to stay competitive. Labor interests wish to limit the extent to which businesses can layoff American workers for cheaper sources of labor in developing countries. |
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Corporate Governance strongly supports Corporations are largely unregulated in the United States and became even less regulated during the 1990s. The deregulation movement and the American shareholder model led to a devastating series of corporate scandals. |
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Antitrust Regulation strongly supports Antitrust regulation is used to preserve competition in markets. Whereas American law emphasizes strict competition, European and Japanese law emphasize competition with inter-firm collaboration. |
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Business Regulation strongly supports Compared to other countries, the United States has fewer regulations on businesses but the markets in which businesses operate are not completely unrestricted, contrary to popular belief. |
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Consumption Tax against A tax levied on consumption that can be made progressive by accounting for lower-income earners. It has the potential to solve public financing issues that other forms of taxation cannot and is favored among most economists. |
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Flat Tax strongly against A flat tax is a tax on income or consumption at a set rate. It differs from from income or consumption taxes that use sliding scale "brackets" that are determined by income earned. |
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Estate Tax strongly supports The estate tax, aka "death tax" is a tax levied on the largest estates in the U.S. after an individual's death. Opposed by fiscal conservatives, it has been significantly reduced by Pres. Bush in 2001 and is set to end in 2010. |
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Bush Tax Cuts strongly against From 2001-2004, Congress approved legislation introduced by President Bush that would significantly reduce taxes in order to stimulate the economy. Pres. Bush has received criticism for pursuing a policy that largely benefits America's wealthiest citizens. |
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Free Trade strongly supports Republicans more often promote free trade to satisfy business interests. Democrats have changed their position on trade. In the 1990s they were supportive of trade agreements but today their position appeals to people who are concerned about losing their j |
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Agricultural Subsidies supports Over $55 billion per year are expended on agricultural subsidies under the Farm Bill in the United States. These subsidies keep American farmers in business since their costs would otherwise be too high if forced to compete in undistorted markets. |
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Financial Aid for Students supports |
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School Vouchers strongly against |
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Public Preschool supports |
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Animal Welfare Some Regulation and funding for enforcement of animal welfare Animal Welfare in the US is regulated by 3 federal laws and state statues. Currently, pets and wildlife are protected from acts of cruelty. Livestock and lab animals are granted limited protections and there is no legislation for purpose-bred birds. |
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Energy Independence strongly supports A popular campaign that promises to reduce oil imports for security purposes and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Legislation in 2005 and 2007 have attempted, although poorly, to address American dependency. |
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Fuel Efficiency Regulation supports The large automotive industry has prevented any effective change from occurring in fuel efficiency standards since 1975 until the Senate passed a bill in June of 2007 that would require a 10 mpg increase in efficiency by car manufacturers. |
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Welfare Programs supports |
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Social Security Reform supports All affluent countries are faced with aging populations and the retirement of the large postwar generation which will soon overwhelm public pension systems. President Bush made pension reform an issue in his 2004 reelection campaign. |
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Gays in the Military strongly supports Previously, homosexuals were banned from joining the armed forces. Under current law, non-heterosexual behavior cannot be discussed or investigated and is subject to discharge. |
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Iraq War Withdrawal supports Democrats and Republicans in congress are considering various withdrawal and exit proposals as America's support for the war plummets. |
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Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty supports The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT) is an international treaty opened for signature in 1968 and currently signed by 189 nations to stop the production of nuclear weapons, disarm current weapons and peacefully use nuclear technology. |
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Dialogue with Rogue World Leaders strongly supports With the leaders of Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba increasingly vocal about their opposition to the U.S., talk of a potential dialogue with such leaders is becoming a central political issue with international implications. |
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Darfur Intervention Support intl. intervention and/or deploy NATO to protect civilians The United States was the first country to call the situation in the western province of Sudan a genocide. Since then, Congress and the Bush administration have imposed sanctions on the Sudanese government for its part in prolonging the conflict. |
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Iraq Troop Surge against The Iraq Troop Surge was announced by President George W. Bush on January 10, 2007 as a new strategy for securing regions of Iraq by increasing the number of American troops. |
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Military Draft against The military draft, which makes military service mandatory, has been used several times in U.S. history before it was ended in 1973. Declining troop levels as a result of the Iraq war have made the draft a renewed possibility. |
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Militarization of Space supports The Cold War triggered a race between U.S. and the USSR to militarize space and develop new space weaponry technologies. Since the end of the war, space weapons have been used in various ways to support military ground operations. |
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Guantanamo against A U.S. military detention and interrogation facility located in Cuba that holds suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives. It has received international attention for violating international law by engaging in torture and holding captives indefinitely with |
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Net Neutrality supports |
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Manned Mission to Mars supports Since the end of the Apollo program, which successfully placed a man on the moon, there have been rumors of a manned mission to the Red Planet. |
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Public Display of 10 Commandments against |
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Separation of Church and State against |
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Line-Item Veto supports |
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Two Party System supports The United States is a two party system elected through plurality vote. |
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Electoral College Reform supports |
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State Children's Health Insurance Program strongly supports In October 2007, President Bush vetoed a bill that would expand SCHIP, a program that gives health insurance to uninsured children that cannot qualify for MEDICAID. Over the past 10 years, SCHIP cost $40 billion federal dollars and has covered 7m children |
