Joe Biden (D)

Pro
Should the US Ban Assault Weapons?

"The bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that Biden, along with Senator Feinstein, secured in 1994 reduced the lethality of mass shootings...

As president, Biden will:

Ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines... While working to pass this legislation, Biden will also use his executive authority to ban the importation of assault weapons...

Biden will also institute a program to buy back weapons of war currently on our streets."

Pro
Should Federal or State Governments Implement Ban the Box Legislation, which Prevents Employers from Asking about a Job Applicants' Criminal History?

"[T]he Biden Administration will expand on the Obama-Biden Administration’s 'ban the box' policy by encouraging further adoption of these policies at the state and local level. This effort will not include any automatic restoration of firearms rights."

Pro
Should the US End the Cash Bail System?

"Cash bail is the modern-day debtors’ prison. The cash bail system incarcerates people who are presumed innocent. And, it disproportionately harms low-income individuals. Biden will lead a national effort to end cash bail and reform our pretrial system by putting in place, instead, a system that is fair and does not inject further discrimination or bias into the process."

Pro
Should Universal Background Checks for Gun Purchases Be Made Law?

"In the months ahead, Biden will also detail his plan to tackle the public health epidemic of gun violence in America, starting with universal background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Biden’s plan to reduce gun violence will address not only mass shootings but also daily acts of gun violence that don’t make national headlines."

Pro
Should Confederate Statues Be Taken Down?

"The idea of bringing down all those Confederate monuments to Confederate soldiers and generals who strongly supported secession and maintaining slavery and going to war to do it, I think those statues belong in museums, they don’t belong in public place... I can understand the anger and anguish that people feel by having for years and years been under the statue of Robert E. Lee if you’re an African American. It’s always better to do it peacefully … the elected officials where those statues are have a responsibility to remove, put them in museums. Get them down … and don’t be surprised if someone pulls down the statue of Jefferson Davis."

Pro
Should the District of Columbia Be Given Statehood?

Interviewer: "Do you support DC becoming the 51st state?

Biden: "Absolutely. I have for the past 28 years."

Pro
Should the US Federal Government Honor Treaties with Native Americans?

"For decades, Joe Biden has worked to foster tribal sovereignty and prosperity, and to ensure the United States follows through on the commitments it has made to Indian Country. He knows that Tribal Nations should be empowered to govern Native communities and that the United States must work harder to meet its solemn trust and treaty obligations. As president, Joe will build on the progress made under the Obama-Biden Administration to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship and to support the sovereignty and prosperity of tribal nations."

Pro
Should the Federal Government Mandate Paid Family and Medical Leave for All Americans?

"It’s time for our federal government to get its priorities straight, so that workers can care for the people they love when they need it most. I was proud to fight for the Family and Medical Leave Act, landmark legislation that created important workplace protections and granted 12 weeks of [unpaid] leave to working families. But we need to go further—I believe the United States should guarantee 12 weeks of paid sick and family leave for workers."

Pro
Should Public Sector Employees Have the Right to Unionize?

"States have decimated the rights of public sector workers who, unlike private sector workers, do not have federal protections ensuring their freedom to organize and collectively bargain...

Provide a federal guarantee for public sector employees to bargain for better pay and benefits and the working conditions they deserve. Public sector unions provide the voice that workers – including educators, social workers, firefighters, and police officers – need to ensure they can serve their communities. And, public sector unions have been and continue to be an essential pathway to the middle class for workers of color and women, who disproportionately work in the public sector... As president, Biden will establish a federal right to union organizing and collective bargaining for all public sector employees, and make it easier for those employees who serve our communities to both join a union and bargain."

Pro
Should the Government Regulate Social Media Sites to Prevent Fake News and Misinformation?

"I’ve never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know. I’ve never been a big [Mark] Zuckerberg fan. I think he’s a real problem…

[The New York Times] can’t write something you know to be false and be exempt from being sued. But he [Zuckerberg] can. The idea that it’s a tech company is that Section 230 [of the Communications Decency Act] should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For Zuckerberg and other platforms.

It should be revoked because [Facebook] is not merely an internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, and we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy...There is no editorial impact at all on Facebook. None. None whatsoever. It's irresponsible. It's totally irresponsible."

Pro
Should the US Economy Be Shut Down again during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic if Recommended by Scientists?

David Muir: “You’re sworn in, come January, and we have coronavirus and the flu combined, which many scientists have said is a real possibility. Would you be prepared to shut this country down again?”

Joe Biden: “I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives, because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this [Trump] administration’s thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing and people employed, you have to fix the virus. You have to deal with the virus.”

Muir: “So if the scientists say, shut it down?”

Biden: “I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists.”

Pro
Should Federal Taxes Be Increased?

"The Biden Plan will make health care a right by getting rid of capital gains tax loopholes for the super wealthy. Today, the very wealthy pay a tax rate of just 20% on long-term capital gains. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the capital gains and dividends exclusion is the second largest tax expenditure in the entire tax code: $127 billion in fiscal year 2019 alone. As President, Biden will roll back the Trump rate cut for the very wealthy and restore the 39.6% top rate he helped restore when he negotiated an end to the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy in 2012. Biden’s capital gains reform will close the loopholes that allow the super wealthy to avoid taxes on capital gains altogether. The Biden plan will assure those making over $1 million will pay the top rate on capital gains, doubling the capital gains tax rate on the super wealthy."

Pro
Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?

"The American middle class built this country. Yet today, CEOs and Wall Street are putting profits over workers, plain and simple. It’s wrong. There used to be a basic bargain in this country that when you work hard, you were able to share in the prosperity your work helped create. It’s time to restore the dignity of work and give workers back the power to earn what they’re worth.

It’s well past time that we increase the federal minimum wage to $15."

Pro
Should Schools Reopen during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic?

“Everyone wants schools to fully reopen for in-person instruction. Creating the conditions to make it happen should be a top national priority. Joe Biden believes that the decision about when to reopen safely should be made by state, tribal, and local officials, based on science and in consultation with communities and tribal governments. It should be made with the safety of students and educators in mind. And, it should be made recognizing that if we do this wrong, we will put lives at risk and set our economy and our country back.

Joe Biden has a simple five-step roadmap to support local decision-making on reopening schools safely and to help students whose learning was interrupted:

Get the Virus Under Control…

Set National Safety Guidelines, Empower Local Decision-Making: The Trump Administration’s chaotic and politicized response has left school districts to improvise a thousand hard decisions on their own. Schools need clear, consistent, effective national guidelines, not mixed messages and political ultimatums...

Provide Emergency Funding for Public Schools and Child Care Providers…

Ensuring High-Quality Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic... Biden would mobilize a large-scale U.S. Department of Education effort to work with practitioners to develop, adopt, and share the latest tools and best practices to ensure high-quality learning during this pandemic.

Closing the COVID-19 Educational Equity Gap: Despite the best efforts of educators, students, and families, this crisis, coupled with long-standing racial inequities, has led many students, especially low-income students and students of color, to struggle and fall behind. New research shows that some students could even lose an entire year of academic gains.”

Pro
Should Schools Be Gun-Free Zones?

Pro
Should the Federal Funding to Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) Be Increased?

"As president, Biden will take steps to rectify the funding disparities faced by HBCUs, TCUs [Tribal Colleges and Universities], and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) so that the United States can benefit from their unique strengths. Students at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs will benefit from Biden’s proposals to double Pell grants, slash the income-based repayment of loans to 5% of income, and provide free tuition for students at all community colleges, including those that are MSIs. In addition, Biden will invest over $70 billion in these colleges and universities to:
 

• Make HBCUs, TCUs, and under-resourced MSIs more affordable for their students...
• Invest in the diverse talent at HBCUs, TCUs and MSIs to solve the country’s most pressing problems...
• Build the high tech labs and facilities and digital infrastructure needed for learning, research, and innovation at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs...
• Provide support to continuously improve the value of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs by investing $10 billion in programs that increase enrollment, retention, completion, and employment rates...
• Expand career pathways for graduates of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in areas that meet national priorities, including building a diverse pipeline of public school teachers...
• Triple and make permanent the capacity-building and student support for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in Title III and Title V of the Higher Education Act... -Reduce disparities in funding for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs."

Pro
Should Public College Be Tuition-Free?

"We can pay for this with the [Trump administration] tax cut that we're going to reverse as well as eliminating some of these loopholes that make no sense. Let me give you one example. I don't want to be generic about it. I want to give you an example. For example, you could send everyone in this state [New Hampshire] to a community college for free. And the entire United States for free, if they're qualified. Cutting in half the cost of... a four-year degree, because in every state you're able to transfer these community college credits to the state university, cutting in half the cost of education, a four-year education if that's what you desire. But, here's the deal, it costs six billion dollars a year. There goes that big-spending Democrat Biden, man, look at him. I can eliminate one of the 1.6 trillion dollars in loopholes. It's called stepped-up basis... If you just eliminate that one out of one trillion six hundred plus billion dollars, every single solitary kid could go to qualify to go to community college for free, cutting in half the cost of their four-year education, increasing productivity by 2/10 of one percent by most studies, as well as having eleven billion dollars to put toward the deficit."

Pro
Should Former Felons Be Allowed to Vote?

"The Biden Administration will incentivize states to automatically restore voting rights for individuals convicted of felonies once they have served their sentences."

Pro
Should the US Expand Vote-by-Mail?

"I think we should be looking to all-mail ballots across the board to begin with because it’s an easier way for people to vote. But whether or not that’s required across the board in all 50 states and territories, I’m not sure yet. I think we can make that. But we should be beginning to plan that in each of our states… I think it’s worth looking at, quickly."

Pro
Should the US Move toward 100% Clean Energy and Net-Zero Emissions?

"Getting to a 100% clean energy economy is not only an obligation, it’s an opportunity. We should fully adopt a clean energy future, not just for all of us today, but for our children and grandchildren, so their tomorrow is healthier, safer, and more just.

As president, Biden will lead the world to address the climate emergency and lead through the power of example, by ensuring the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050."

Pro
Should the US Enforce a Carbon Tax?

Anderson Cooper: "Would you support a carbon tax? Some other candidates say they would."

Joe Biden: "Yeah, no, I would. But here's what we have to do. Look, the bottom line of this is, what we have to do is we have to understand that you need to be able to bring people and countries and interests together to get anything done. You can have -- plans are great, but executing on those plans is a very different thing. We make up -- it's the existential threat of not this generation, but the whole world, the existential threat that exists, if we don't move on it, number one."

Pro
Should American Communities Have the Right to Clean Water?

"Ensuring clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities – rural to urban, rich and poor – investing in the repair of water pipelines and sewer systems, replacement of lead service pipes, upgrade of treatment plants, and integration of efficiency and water quality monitoring technologies. This includes protecting our watersheds and clean water infrastructure from man-made and natural disasters by conserving and restoring wetlands and developing green infrastructure and natural solutions."

Pro
Should Fracking Be Allowed?

"I've argued against any more oil drilling or gas drilling on federal lands that we can -- and to stop that. I think we should, in fact, be looking at what exists now and making a judgement whether or not the -- those, in fact, that are there, those wells that are there, whether or not they're dangerous, whether or not they've already done the damage, and what we can do from there by trying to change the attitude of the members of the governors of the various states and the state legislatures.

Now, we could pass national legislation, but I don't think we'd get it done, in terms of getting the votes to get it done, to say all fracking that's going on now ends unless you can show there's some physical security need or worried about explosions, et cetera, which is a legitimate thing to worry about. But I would not allow any more.

[Anderson] COOPER... So just to be clear, you would not call for a ban statewide on fracking or nationwide? You said stop new oil and gas drilling on federal lands?

BIDEN: Yes."

Pro
Should the US Adopt a Climate Change Plan such as the Green New Deal?

"Vice President Biden knows there is no greater challenge facing our country and our world. Today, he is outlining a bold plan – a Clean Energy Revolution – to address this grave threat and lead the world in addressing the climate emergency.

Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face. It powerfully captures two basic truths, which are at the core of his plan: (1) the United States urgently needs to embrace greater ambition on an epic scale to meet the scope of this challenge, and (2) our environment and our economy are completely and totally connected."

Pro
Should the US Expand Its Use of Nuclear Power?

"Biden will establish ARPA-C, a new, cross-agency Advanced Research Projects Agency focused on climate. This initiative will target affordable, game-changing technologies to help America achieve our 100% clean energy target... [including] small modular nuclear reactors at half the construction cost of today’s reactors...

Identify the future of nuclear energy. To address the climate emergency threatening our communities, economy, and national security, we must look at all low- and zero-carbon technologies. That’s why Biden will support a research agenda through ARPA-C to look at issues, ranging from cost to safety to waste disposal systems, that remain an ongoing challenge with nuclear power today."

Pro
Should the US Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement?

"Biden will rejoin the Paris Agreement, but simply rejoining is not enough. Biden will use every tool of American foreign policy to push the rest of the world to raise their ambitions alongside the United States. A Biden Administration will:

Re-enter the Paris Agreement on day one of the Biden Administration and lead a major diplomatic push to raise the ambitions of countries’ climate targets. The Paris Agreement was a historic breakthrough for the world, and reflected the power of patient, strategic diplomacy in service of America’s long-term national interests. The core of the agreement relies on countries continually increasing the ambition of their climate targets over time. But since President Trump came into office, America has abdicated its own commitment to this agreement, and other major emitting nations have not moved fast enough to achieve their own goals."

Pro
Should the US Ease or Cancel the Embargo against Cuba?

Jim DeFede: "Cuba policy. Would you go back to the Obama policy with regard to Cuba if you were... elected President?

Biden: "Yes, I would. In large part, I would go back [to the policy set by President Obama that loosened sanctions]. I'd still insist they keep the commitments they said they would make when we, in fact, set the policy in place... [T]here's no reason why we cannot still sanction them, but failing to recognize them at all is a different thing than sanctioning them."

Pro
Should the US Re-Enter a Nuclear Deal with Iran?

"The historic Iran nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama-Biden administration alongside our allies and other world powers, blocked Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Yet Trump decided to cast it aside, prompting Iran to restart its nuclear program and become more provocative, bringing the region to the cusp of another disastrous war. If Tehran returns to compliance with the deal, President Biden would re-enter the agreement, using hard-nosed diplomacy and support from our allies to strengthen and extend it, while more effectively pushing back against Iran’s other destabilizing activities."

Pro
Should the US Withdraw Troops from the Middle East?

"The first thing I would do as president of the United States of America is to make sure that we brought all combat troops home, entered into a negotiation with the Taliban. But I would leave behind special forces in small numbers to be able to deal with the potential threat unless we got a real good negotiation accomplished to deal with terrorism."

Pro
Should Abortion Be Legal?

"As president, Biden will be a champion for improving access to health care and the health of all by:

Expanding access to contraception and protect the constitutional right to an abortion...

Reverse the Trump Administration and states’ all-out assault on women’s right to choose. As president, Biden will work to codify Roe v. Wade, and his Justice Department will do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that so blatantly violate the constitutional right to an abortion, such as so-called TRAP laws [Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers], parental notification requirements, mandatory waiting periods, and ultrasound requirements."

Pro
Should Americans Be Able to Import Prescription Drugs?

"Too many Americans cannot afford their prescription drugs, and prescription drug corporations are profiteering off of the pocketbooks of sick individuals...

To create more competition for U.S. drug corporations, the Biden Plan will allow consumers to import prescription drugs from other countries, as long as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has certified that those drugs are safe."

Pro
Should the Availability of Naloxone (Narcan) Be Expanded to Help Prevent Opioid Overdoses?

"Biden will invest $10 billion to provide local communities with the tools needed to prevent overdoses and respond to emergencies emanating from this crisis.

Ensure local communities have a sufficient supply of overdose prevention drugs. Naloxone (also known as Narcan) is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, making it a critical tool in the fight to save lives. Biden will expand grants to states for the purchase of Naloxone to be distributed to local community actors called upon to respond to overdoses, including first responders, public health providers, and the staff at homeless shelters and public libraries. "

Pro
Is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Good for Americans?

"On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, with Vice President Biden standing by his side, and made history...

Because of Obamacare, over 100 million people no longer have to worry that an insurance company will deny coverage or charge higher premiums just because they have a pre-existing condition – whether cancer or diabetes or heart disease or a mental health challenge. Insurance companies can no longer set annual or lifetime limits on coverage. Roughly 20 million additional Americans obtained the peace of mind that comes with health insurance. Young people who are in transition from school to a job have the option to stay covered by their parents’ plan until age 26."

Pro
Should the Federal Government Intervene to Lower Prescription Drugs Costs?

"Too many Americans cannot afford their prescription drugs, and prescription drug corporations are profiteering off of the pocketbooks of sick individuals. The Biden Plan will put a stop to runaway drug prices and the profiteering of the drug industry by:... Limiting price increases for all brand, biotech, and abusively priced generic drugs to inflation. As a condition of participation in the Medicare program and public option, all brand, biotech, and abusively priced generic drugs will be prohibited from increasing their prices more than the general inflation rate. The Biden Plan will also impose a tax penalty on drug manufacturers that increase the costs of their brand, biotech, or abusively priced generic over the general inflation rate."

Pro
Should the Federal Government Intervene to End Surprise Medical Billing?

"The Biden Plan will: Stop 'surprise billing.' Consumers trying to lower their health care spending often try to choose an in-network provider. But sometimes patients are unaware they are receiving care from an out-of-network provider and a big, surprise bill. 'Surprise medical billing' could occur, for example, if you go to an in-network hospital but don’t realize a specialist at that hospital is not part of your health plan. The Biden Plan will bar health care providers from charging patients out-of-network rates when the patient doesn’t have control over which provider the patient sees (for example, during a hospitalization)."

Pro
Should Federal and State Governments Allow Nonbinary and Transgender People to Choose the Gender That Matches Their Identity (Including a Third Gender Option) for Government Documents?

"Biden will... [a]ffirm one’s gender marker and expand access to accurate identification documents. Transgender and non-binary people without identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity are often exposed to harassment and violence and denied employment, housing, critical public benefits, and even the right to vote. The Obama-Biden State Department led the way by updating its gender change policies for passports. As President, Biden will build on this action to ensure all transgender individuals have access to identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity. Biden believes every transgender or non-binary person should have the option of changing their gender marker to “M,” “F,” or “X” on government identifications, passports, and other documentation. He will support state and federal efforts to allow for this accurate representation."

Pro
Should LGBTQ+ People Have Protection from Being Fired for Being LGBTQ+?

"Vice President Biden’s full support for LGBTQ employment protections, and more broadly, LGBTQ equality, has been clear over the years through his vocal support of the Equality Act, early support for marriage equality, hate crimes legislation, the right for our transgender brothers and sisters to serve openly in the military, and more. As a supporter of the Equality Act, Vice President Biden believes that LGBTQ people are entitled to equal protection in the workplace under Title VII. And as an out gay man, myself, I am deeply appreciative of Biden's advocacy and impact over the years."

Pro
Should Transgender People Be Allowed to Serve in the US Military?

Shannon Scott: “I served over ten years in the United States military and two combat tours in Iraq, and after that service, I was forced to make one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever been forced to make, and that was to choose between serving my country and my true identity as a transgender woman.”

Joe Biden: “If I were President, you would not have to choose. Not a joke. You would not have to choose. The fact of the matter is that we're in a position where transgender men and women are in a position where they should be able to do anything anybody else in the world can do. There should be no difference.”