Affirmative action[edit]
Biden has supported
affirmative action policies.
[24]
Capital punishment[edit]
Biden supports capital punishment. Biden originally wrote the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 included Title VI, the Federal Death Penalty Act, creating 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes,
[25] for crimes related to acts of
terrorism,
murder of a federal law enforcement officer,
civil rights-related murders,
drive-by shootings resulting in death, the use of
weapons of mass destruction resulting in death, and
carjackings resulting in death. However, he
voted against limiting appeals in capital cases and also opposed rejecting racial statistics in death penalty appeals.
Crime[edit]
Biden wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which deployed more police officers, increased prison sentences, and built more prisons. The bill helped reduce the crime rate, but critics say that it "created a financial incentive for jailing people and keeping them there for longer periods of time" which had a disproportionate impact on minorities.
[26]
Drug law[edit]
Biden earned a reputation for being a "drug warrior," leading efforts in the
war on drugs.
[27] During the 1980s
crack epidemic when both Democrats and Republicans were "tough on crime,"
Biden was the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee that passed numerous punitive measures against drug offenders. In 1986, Biden sponsored and co-wrote the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which caused a large disparity between the sentencing of crack cocaine and powder cocaine users. Black drug users use crack more than cocaine, hence they were incarcerated in larger numbers.[28][29] In 1982, he advocated for the creation of a
drug czar, a government official overseeing all anti-drug operations. This led to the establishment of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy by the
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.
[27]
He supported increased penalties against those caught selling drugs within 1,000 feet of schools.
[30] He was the drafter and chief sponsor of the
RAVE Act, a law used to crack down on
MDMA-fueled
raves, which critics called "too broad in scope."
[31] Later renamed the
Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003, the law was additionally controversial as it was passed attached to an unrelated child protection bill, without public hearing or debate in Congress. Critics assert that the law has since been used by
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents to intimidate those organizing rallies and fund-raisers to support drug-law reform.
[32]
During the
2007 Democratic primary debate at
Howard University, Biden acknowledged the consequences of the drug laws he authored and supported in the 1980s. He said there is a need to close the disparity in punishment between crack and powder cocaine users and a "diversion out of the
prison system" and into treatment.
[30] In 2010, Biden supported the
Fair Sentencing Act which aimed to reduce the disparity.
[33]
Biden has a history of opposing
marijuana legalization and has maintained this position well into the Obama years. As a young senator in 1974, he opposed marijuana legalization in contrast to his other more liberal views.
[34] In 2014, while the Obama Administration considered marijuana "no more dangerous than
alcohol," Biden preferred to think of the marijuana issue as a law enforcement issue. He said, "I think the idea of focusing significant resources on interdicting or convicting people for smoking marijuana is a waste of our resources," and reaffirmed his position against complete legalization.
[35]
As Vice President, Biden actively engaged with Central American leaders on issues of drug cartels, drug trafficking, and migration to the U.S. caused by insecurity and drug violence. (See
Central America below.)
Education[edit]
Biden received a 91% voting record from the
National Education Association (NEA) showing a pro-teacher union voting record. He supports
comprehensive sex education, opposes
student vouchers, and affirms the
Constitutional right to
voluntary prayer in school.
[36] He voted in favor of Educational Savings Accounts. In regard to the
No Child Left Behind Act, Biden stated,
Classrooms are too big; we need smaller classrooms, period. A lot of teachers are going to be retiring. We need a program where we attract the best and brightest students coming out of our colleges to be teachers, and pay them.
[37]
He voted in favor of the act in 2001, but has subsequently called his vote a "mistake."[38] He has said that the program is "underfunding" the education system.
