Joe Biden in Interviews during 2017-2019
On Civil Rights:
Our nation is at an inflection point
Today our nation is at an inflection point. I think the blinders have finally been taken off for the average American. We've got to provide economic opportunities that don't exist now. We have to find access to housing. We have to find access to
education. You've got to make sure that we have community policing and reestablish bonds of trust. We've got to make sure that we do not tolerate the burning and looting that take place. All that does is undercut everything we're fighting for.
Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 28, 2020
On Families & Children:
Invest $450 billion so people needing care can stay at home
Q: How would you provide support for the nation's army of unpaid family caregivers?BIDEN: COVID-19 proves how vital it is to give people who want to live at home a chance to stay there. I'm going to invest $450 billion so more Americans can choose
to live at home if they want to. We're going to give family caregivers, the really quiet heroes out there, the support they deserve. We're going to create a $5,000 tax credit for informal [family] caregivers.
Q: And for seniors?
BIDEN: Medicare is a lifeline for around 60 million Americans. Under the Affordable Care Act, we strengthened Medicare. We extended the life of the trust fund by bending the cost curve. We expanded free preventative services like mammograms and
colonoscopies, and we closed the doughnut hole so more seniors could afford their prescriptions. We've got to give Medicare the power, for example, to negotiate drug prices.
Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 28, 2020
On Health Care:
Allow serious return on investment in new drugs, not gouging
Q: Your drug pricing policy?BIDEN: What I proposed is that for every new drug coming on the market--everything from dementia drugs to Alzheimer's to cancer to diabetes--we're going to put together a 25-person commission of scientific experts, and
every new drug you're seeking approval of will go before that commission. And you are going to indicate how much you invested to provide that drug. You'll get a serious return on your investment, but once that price is set, that's the only price you can
sell it for, or you're not going to get the drug approved. Once that is done, then you cannot come along and up the price exponentially. You can only up the price once it's set through inflation or if you can demonstrate there has been something
specifically done to improve the drug. The American public understands that there is so much price gouging for things that should be a basic right to access--things that allow you to live.
Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 28, 2020
On Social Security:
Increase benefits for widows/widowers instead of cutting
BIDEN: I will strengthen it. What I would do is increase the benefits going to widows and widowers from the steep cuts in benefits that occur; when the one who is getting the biggest payment passes.
I would not change payroll taxes for anyone earning less than $400,000, but everybody making more than that will pay the same payroll tax on wages over $400,000 as they pay on their first $137,000.
Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 28, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Require suburbs to open up to low-income housing
The ex-veep wants to ramp up an Obama-era scheme called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing that barely got underway before President Trump took office. Obama's Department of Housing and Urban Development floated a requirement for "balanced housing"
in every suburb. "Balanced" meant affordable even for people who need federal vouchers. Towns had to make it possible for low-income minorities to choose suburban living and provide "adequate support to make their choices possible."
Source: New York Post on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jul 21, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
Transition to renewable energy; allow fracking for now
Members of the DNC Environment and Climate Crisis Council published proposals for the party's platform calling for up to $16 trillion in spending to shift the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels while banning hydraulic fracturing and oil and
gas exports. The proposals exceed Biden's current climate plan, which bans new oil and gas permits on public lands and dedicates $1.7 trillion to accelerate the transition to renewable energy but allows continued fracking and exports in the meantime.
Source: Reuters news service on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jun 15, 2020
On Government Reform:
Commit to appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court
National Black civil rights leaders participated in a call with former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, a day after the release of Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America.Al Sharpton noted, "I urge
Biden to fulfill his commitment to appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court as well as to prioritize diversity of experience and thought in his administration. The Black community knows that it is essential for a person of color to have the ear of
the president."
The President and CEO of the National Urban League raised the issue of voter protection and voter suppression. "A no-excuse vote-by-mail program with prepaid postage and expanded early voting would go
a long way toward expanding access to the ballot and ensuring that the pandemic is not used as an excuse to trample vulnerable Americans' right to vote," he said.
Source: National Action Network on 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 5, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
Recovery package must provide state aid, hazard pay
In addition to funds to keep workers on payroll, the next recovery package will need to provide significant funds to states, to make sure that educators and health care workers and first responders can keep getting paid. It will have to provide hazard
pay to frontline workers putting themselves at risk. It will have to extend unemployment benefits, and provide further direct cash relief, through a cancellation of a minimum of $10,000 of student debt per person and Social Security boosts.
Source: Medium.com blog on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 9, 2020
On Education:
Plan to forgive federal student debt & ease repayment burden
I've directed my team to develop a plan to forgive federal student debt relating to the cost of tuition currently held by low-income and middle-class people for undergraduate public colleges and universities, as well as private Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and private, underfunded Minority-Serving Institution (MSIs). This proposal would be in addition to my existing student debt proposals:- Immediately cancel a minimum of $10,000 of student debt per person
-
Those earning less than $25,000 per year will not have to make monthly payments and will accrue no interest
- Those earning more than $25,000 per year will pay no more than 5% of discretionary income toward payments
- After 20 years, the remainder
of federal student loans will be forgiven without any tax burden
- Those who participate in public service will be eligible for additional federal loan forgiveness, including $10,000 per year of forgiveness for up to five years.
Source: Medium.com blog on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 9, 2020
On Health Care:
COVID19: make sure there's free testing & free treatment
[The next recovery package] will have to provide health care coverage for millions who lose their insurance, by allowing them to stay on their health care plans and covering the cost, as well as reopening enrollment for ObamaCare and creating the public
option I've been calling for. And we must--must--make sure not only that every American can be tested for coronavirus free of cost, but also make sure every American can be treated for coronavirus free of cost. Period.
Source: Medium.com blog on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 9, 2020
On Health Care:
Lower Medicare eligibility age to 60
I have directed my team to develop a plan to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60. Medicare benefits would be provided to them as they are to current Medicare recipients. This would make Medicare available to a set of Americans who work hard and
retire before they turn 65, or who would prefer to leave their employer plans or other plans before they retire. It reflects the reality that, even after the current crisis ends, older Americans are likely to find it difficult to secure jobs.
Source: Medium.com blog on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 9, 2020
On Tax Reform:
Repeal high-income excess business losses tax cut
I would finance this new student debt proposal by repealing the high-income "excess business losses" tax cut in the CARES Act. That tax cut overwhelmingly benefits the richest
Americans and is unnecessary for addressing the current COVID-19 economic relief efforts.
Source: Medium.com blog on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 9, 2020
On Health Care:
Coronavirus: Let the scientists speak; let them prepare us
Let the scientists speak. Let them tell us what is going on. Let them prepare us. Let them prepare the country. Let them be the ones explaining how they're going to provide the protective gear for hospitals that are intake hospitals. I would have
not have dismantled the organization we had put in place in the first place. I would have made sure we had American scientists in China insisting we know what is happening in China and I would be doing the same thing in Europe where it is now spread.
Source: CNN "State of the Union" on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mar 1, 2020
On War & Peace:
Afghanistan: against surging troops; not nation builders
I was against surging troops to Afghanistan in the first place. We're not nation builders. We can't build that nation. We should not be in the business of that. But we should have a small footprint to be able to determine whether or not there are
terrorist organizations operating in the region that are planning attacks against the United States. And we should have cooperation from the Afghan government on that and a commitment from the Taliban that they will not in any way support that effort.
Source: CNN "State of the Union" on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mar 1, 2020
On Government Reform:
Statehood good for Puerto Rico, and our whole country
For decades, Puerto Ricans and their interests have been ignored by Washington. There's a clear solution to this challenge that a majority of Puerto Ricans support. And it's a solution that, polls show, two-thirds of all Americans also support:
statehood. But most candidates for president have been too afraid to back it. Not me. I'll state it clearly: I support statehood for Puerto Rico. I believe statehood would be good not only for Puerto Rico, but for our whole country.
Source: The Orlando Sentinel on 2020 Presidential Hopefuls
Jan 27, 2020
On Immigration:
No one would be deported who hasn't committed a felony
Biden suggested that he opposed Barack Obama's deportation policy, but didn't speak out because he was vice president. "The president did the best thing that was able to be done at the time," he said at the September debate. "I stand with
Barack Obama all eight years--good, bad and indifferent." Biden said that deportations would be limited if he were elected. "No one would be deported in my administration who hasn't committed a felony," he said.
Source: The Guardian on 2020 Presidential Hopefuls
Jan 11, 2020
On War & Peace:
FactCheck:No, didn't oppose Iraq War right after war started
In recent interviews defending his past foreign policy decisions, Biden has misrepresented his past position on the Iraq War. In explaining his 2002 vote to authorize military force in Iraq, Biden told NPR this week that, "Immediately, that moment it
started, I came out against the war at that moment."But a review of Biden's public statements about Iraq in the lead up to the invasion shows he was never entirely opposed to military action against Saddam Hussein:
- "Nine months ago, I voted to
use force and I would vote that way again today," Biden said in a July 2003 speech at the Brookings Institution.
- In early January 2003, ahead of Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the UN Security Council, Biden said war with Iraq
appeared near inevitable.
- In a speech to the New Castle Chamber of Commerce in February 2003, Biden said. "I supported the resolution to go to war. I am not opposed to war to remove weapons of mass destruction from Iraq."
Source: CNN K-File FactCheck on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Sep 4, 2019
On Immigration:
Bring in asylum seekers & DREAMers AND secure border
The next president must institute effective immigration reform. That starts by recognizing that DREAMers are Americans, and Congress needs to make it official. Our asylum system needs to be improved--strengthen it so that it benefits
legitimate claims of those fleeing persecution, while reducing potential for abuse. And it's imperative that we secure our borders. Focus on improving screening procedures at our legal ports of entry and making smart investments in border technology.
Source: Miami Herald OpEd by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jun 24, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Work with NATO, with U.S. as the indispensable leader
- He accuses Trump of abandoning U.S. global leadership and wants to see the U.S. regain its place as the "indispensable leader of the free world."
- While Biden emphasizes diplomacy, he favors the NATO alliance so that "when we
have to fight, we are not fighting alone."
- Biden sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which authorized the U.S. to lead the NATO assault on Yugoslavia and invasion of Kosovo in 1999.
Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Mar 27, 2019
On War & Peace:
Supported wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, but not Iran
- Biden at first endorsed full-scale nation-building in Afghanistan but when he saw it wasn't working, he changed his mind, arguing that the U.S. military should destroy al-Qaeda and then leave. As vice president, he was a lonely voice in the
Cabinet opposing Obama's escalation of the war in 2009.
- Regarding Iraq, however, he was a hawk. He repeated false intelligence claims that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical and biological weapons and was seeking nuclear weapons, and therefore was a
threat that had to be "eliminated." He later called his vote for the 2003 invasion a "mistake."
- Biden is a self-described Zionist. He has stated that the Democrats' support for Israel "comes from our gut, moves through our heart, and ends up in our
head. It's almost genetic."
- He would disagree with the present Israeli government on Iran. He wrote that "War with Iran is not just a bad option. It would be a disaster," and he supported Obama's entry into the Iran nuclear agreement.
Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Mar 27, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
US can't do it alone: stay engaged in the world
Biden discussed how it's important to reassert the U.S.' commitment to the world. "Seventy percent of American people think we should stay engaged in the world," he said. "We're being told that somehow America wants to walk away, not from
our obligations but from our opportunities. Tell me, name me one consequential problem from global warming to the nuclear arms race that can be solved by us alone? Name me one."
Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 19, 2019
On Immigration:
Allow citizenship for DREAMers
[Visiting the University of Pennsylvania], "The majority of people think there's plenty of room to integrate these Dreamers into society," Biden said. "The vast majority of these kids, and now grown-ups, have been honorable citizens, have done well in
our education system, done well in our society, and have already become more American than many Americans by adopting the basic fundamental truths that we believe are the essence of what America is."
Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 19, 2019
On Social Security:
Freeze entitlements; don't favor special interests
Biden toured the country in 1985 chiding groups like unions and farmers for being too narrowly focused and complained that Democrats too often "think in terms of special interests first and the greater interest second."
In the latter case, Biden was specifically complaining about their opposition to his calls for a spending freeze on entitlements and an increase in the retirement age.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Aug 7, 2018
On Drugs:
1981: Militarized domestic police against drugs
Biden can also take partial credit for the militarization of domestic law enforcement. Biden's vote for the 1981 Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Officials Act permitted the military to work with police on drug cases.
Biden was also a major proponent of the Byrne grant and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) programs, which in practice created more heavily armed police forces increasingly focused on locking up people for minor drug crimes.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Aug 2, 2018
On Homeland Security:
1991: Favors government "back doors" into encryption
In 1991, Biden introduced two bills aimed at curbing terrorism and crime respectively, both of which featured language mandating that tech companies create "back doors" in their products for law enforcement to snoop through. Biden tried to water
down encryption again three years later with a successful bill that expanded federal wiretap powers, but privacy advocates managed to remove this and other provisions from the bill before it passed.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Aug 2, 2018
Page last updated: Nov 01, 2021