WHO IS JOE BIDEN

Joe Biden

Former Vice-President of the US, Joe Biden, is the Democratic Party’s candidate for the November 2020 presidential election against incumbent President Donald Trump, along with Kamala Harris as his running mate. Passionate about and committed to asserting and defending America’s role “as a leader on the global stage”, Biden was that country’s 47th Vice-President and deputy to President Barack Obama.

Biden, 77, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1942. In 1972, at the age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the US Senate. He went on to serve as a six-term senator from Delaware.

Even before it had become a mainstream issue, Biden had been one of the first to call for action to address climate change and protect the environment, introducing the Global Climate Protection Act. Later, as the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, he organised several hearings on climate change and rallied support on a number of non-binding resolutions on the issue, in an attempt to build momentum for action to address climate change. Biden proposed a plan that would spend $1.7 trillion to set the United States on track to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. His proposal embraced elements of the ambitious Green New Deal, the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure. It seeks to go “well beyond” Obama’s climate goals. As part of the proposal, Biden is calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and a ban on new oil and gas permits on public lands.

Health care remains a top priority for Biden. As the coronavirus crisis unfolded, he formulated recommendations rooted in advice from health care and economics experts. Those suggestions include making coronavirus tests broadly accessible, and free. He said there should be no out-of-pocket cost for patients to receive an eventual vaccine. He has also been sharply critical of President Trump’s response to the pandemic, accusing him of reacting too slowly. Biden supports adding a public health care Act, but opposes ‘Medicare for all’, the sweeping single-payer measure advocated by some progressives in his own party, including Senator Bernie Sanders. In July 2019, Biden unveiled a health care plan that would greatly expand Obamacare’s subsidies to make the available private insurance policies more affordable.

On the economic front, boosting the middle class is one of the main pillars of Biden’s campaign. He often says that the country needs to build an economy that “rewards work, not just wealth”. Biden wants to repeal the tax cuts enacted by the Trump administration and is pushing for eliminating non-compete agreements for workers and expanding access to affordable education, including free community college.

As part of his foreign policy, Biden has asserted that his administration, should he be elected, will stand with New Delhi in confronting the threats it faces, and called for strengthening the "bond" between India and the US. He has also promised to reform the H-1B visa system and work towards eliminating the country-quota system for Green Cards. The Biden Campaign has emphasised it will increase the number of visas offered for permanent, work-based immigration linked to macroeconomic conditions and exempt from any cap on recent graduates of PhD programmes in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields.

Biden, who has been in public life for around half a century, is banking on his experience, seeking to cast himself as a steady, seasoned hand to drive America to greater heights. As the election day nears, Biden is focused on winning the enthusiastic support of Democrats who earlier supported other party probables candidates and were lukewarm to his candidacy, and his campaign is seeking to engage independent voters and moderate Republicans. If elected, Biden would be the oldest president in the history of the United States.

JOE BIDEN NEWS

US elections 2020: Kamala Harris is smart as a devil, says Joe Biden
Kamala Harris is smart as a devil, has a backbone like a ramrod and is vastly experienced, Joe Biden said, defending his decision ...| October 27, 2020, Tuesday
Donald Trump charges into battleground states despite rising Covid cases
Trump on Monday embarked on a final-week charge through nearly a dozen states ahead of the election, overlooking a surge of ...| October 27, 2020, Tuesday
'Orderly' Trump win most favourable outcome for equities, says JPMorgan
A clean sweep by Democrats would be "mostly neutral" for markets, JPM said in a note received on Monday| October 26, 2020, Monday
2020 US elections: Joe Biden leads in Florida, North Carolina, says polls
In the two states, a majority (61 per cent) of those who have already cast their ballots in early voting said they voted for| October 26, 2020, Monday
US elections: Over 7 mn voted early in Texas, Harris to campaign Friday
A massive number of people have already voted in Texas since early voting started on October 13, leading experts to predict that ...| October 26, 2020, Monday
Compared to Modi and Erdogan, Trump is one of the world's lamer demagogues
Two self-proclaimed outsiders to the political system, Erdogan and Modi also rose to political power on the back of anger and ...| October 26, 2020, Monday
Ten pivotal moments that defined the 2020 US presidential campaign
Check out the 10 pivotal moments from a dizzying election year| October 25, 2020, Sunday
'Our values are shared by majority of American people': Kamala Harris
Addressing her supporters at Cuyahoga Community College, Harris talked about the crisis of systemic racism| October 25, 2020, Sunday
Donald Trump has been 'weak, chaotic' with China on trade: Joe Biden
Speaking at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, a battle ground State, on Saturday, he said Trump opened doors for big banks to ...| October 25, 2020, Sunday
US election: Boat parades, road rallies buoy Trump and his supporters
Campaign strategists and analysts say the parades are a reflection of the president''s populist appeal, but they have varying ...| October 25, 2020, Sunday