Joe Biden

I believe that we have a responsibility to future generations to do all we can to protect our planet and its resources.

Mr. President, to state the obvious, a budget, whether it is a household budget, whether it is a company's budget, whether it is the Nation's budget, is the formal expression of our priorities as a company or as a family or as a nation. It…

I did not come to respond to my friends from Missouri or New Mexico, but I find it kind of interesting. You know, we deal with names and these issues so much, and we use the jargon so much, that sometimes it is pretty interesting and…

No one asked for a study on pornography. No one asked for that. I did not hear anybody stand up here and say, ``Let's have a study on pornography. I wish to stop pornography on the Internet.'' I did not hear anybody say, ``Let's not do it…

Since Russia announced over a month ago that it was banning the import of all American poultry, I have been in daily contact with the White House, our Trade Ambassador Mickey Kantor, and our Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, to keep this…

I publicly stated that this president is silent on the matter. Now, what's the one thing that could deal with the kids? The one thing? To keep them from getting into the drug stream or, once they sniff it, to get out of it, no pun…

I rise to point out that the most important change in the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill just happened in the most quiet of ways. The Senate has just restored the funding for next year's installment of the 100,000 COPS Program…

I know that this amendment was accepted by voice vote, but I just want to note for the Record that I oppose it. This is not the type of micromanagement that the Senate should be engaged in. The Judiciary is an independent branch of…

Unless there is a resurrection that occurs here, talking in metaphorical terms, there is no possibility that the President will sign the bill with your amendment in it or not--zero, none, no possibility. I have been told that by the White…

I thank the Senator. I was just curious. I would point out to him that in the Federal prison system, we stopped fooling around-- unlike the State of Oklahoma or the State of Delaware and other States--we stopped fooling around like many…

I think of all the facts that affect women in this Nation as a consequence of violence, the thing that surprises me, that surprises most Americans most often are the following: That family violence is the No. 1 cause of injury to adult…

I respectfully suggest, if the Senator looks at what the law says, what the court had said and what was before Judge Dennis, the matter that concerns him most, as it should, was resolved.

I know there is no agreement. What I am asking, does the Senator know of anyone who would have an interest in not allowing us to get to a vote today?

The way the Judiciary Committee has operated for the roughly 20 years, I guess, that I have been on it is that the investigative staffs of the majority and minority work together and share all information. I wish to inform my friend from…

I do not want to be overtechnical. The Senator from Texas, I think, is confusing the difference between civil law and criminal law. Willfulness is required for criminal, not for civil. But I do not want to get into that debate.

I say to the Senator, maybe it is because I had the disadvantage of having practiced law, I can assure her the IRS does say, ``By the way, there is a fine.'' Fortunately, the Senator did not have to practice law. And they do that, by the…

What that says to me, Mr. President, is not, I think, what the Senator intends. Would the Senator object to language explicitly saying that if all the material facts are not disclosed to the agency at the time of the letter of approval…

So, if, in fact, the agency, after the fact, the agency writes a letter, saying, ``John Doe, taxpayer, go ahead and build your building on the site you asked whether you could build it on,'' and then finds out later that John Doe told them…

I want the record to reflect if all the material facts are not made known to the agency at the time the approval is given, I assume the taxpayer does not get the benefit of being held harmless, is that correct?

May I ask the Senator another question. If, in fact, a taxpayer goes in to the regional director of the EPA or into any number of Federal "alphabet" agencies and sits down and says, I want to do the following, and then in laying out the…

Let me make it easy for the Senator because I think it is important the public understand this arcane notion. Let us say the Congress passes a law, and the President signs it, that says no matter what it costs--in the legislation----

That is the key. Let me stop the Senator there, if I may, Mr. President. Section 624 is a different section than the section cited, making it clear that you do not--that cost-benefit analysis need not prevail if there are other factors…

Yes. We, the Congress, pass a law explicitly stating that this end must be met and we assign it to an agency in effect, and an agency writes a rule.

May I add a followup question? This is sort of a parlance that I can understand and everybody I think can understand. Let us assume we pass such a bizarre law to protect the welfare of individuals and it only gathered up 10, 12 people in…

The way this legislation is written, if in the wisdom or the lack of wisdom of the U.S. Congress and with the President signing the legislation, if we were to pass a piece of legislation which on its face made absolutely no economic sense…