Senator Joseph Biden (D)

The LCV Scorecard provides objective, factual information about the most important environmental legislation considered and the corresponding voting records of all members of Congress. It represents a consensus of experts from more than 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who selected the key votes on which members should be graded. Scores are calculated on a scale of 0 to 100 based on the number of pro-environment votes cast out of the total number measured. Absences are counted as a negative vote. To view the 2006 scorecard, please click here.

The last six years of Joe Biden’s LCV scores are above, followed by his lifetime LCV score. The lifetime LCV score represents the career average for all years served in office. For more about the Environmental Voting Record click here.

Environmental Overview

What accomplishments or experiences would you cite as influences on your approach to environmental or conservation issues? These may be professional or personal.

"As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am proud to have passed a resolution that I co-authored with Senator Lugar directing the Administration to return to international negotiations to address climate change. I believe that it is imperative to our national security and foreign policy that we address climate change and our energy security. Toward that end I have held hearings on them and will continue to use the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to address them.

I believe the United States has an obligation to foster conservation throughout the world. One of my proudest accomplishments is the Tropical Forest Conservation Act which has been on the books for over a decade. It provides debt relief for countries that pledge to conserve significant portions of their tropical forest resources. Tens of billions of dollars have been diverted to the cause of conservation under this program which has saved some of the world’s most important tropical forests.

I am also enormously proud of being at the forefront of protecting Delaware’s natural treasures – from coastal restoration to securing White Clay Creek as a federally protected wild and scenic river to expanding Cape Henlopen State Park through transfer of nearly 1200 acres from the US military. Throughout my career I have worked for many significant environmental achievements both for Delaware and the country. These include a wide range of matters such as tough coastal zone protections, protecting whales, proscriptions on tuna fishing that injured the dolphin population, restoration of Pea Patch Island, expanded conservation of wetlands and farmlands in Delaware and elsewhere, salvation of the Endangered Species Act, protection of the California desert and preservation of unique lands and habitats from the Florida everglades to the Artic National Wildlife Reserve.

I have fought to enact regulations that would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to require power plants to achieve specified reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and mercury. I have also focused my efforts on the transportation sector, where emissions and fuel efficiency are critically important. I have introduced legislation to improve the fuel efficiency in cars and trucks and instead of focusing on a fleetwide average, I joined with several of my colleagues to put forth a new approach.

I have also proposed legislation that directs automakers to gradually increase flex-fuel vehicle production - cars that are able to use both regular gasoline and blends of up to 85 percent ethanol (E85). This bill would also require major oil companies to install E85 pumps at their gas stations and would boost the use of ethanol and biofuels in our national fuel supply by raising the renewable fuel standard benchmarks. In addition, I have also supported a national Renewable Portfolio Standard which would require retail electric suppliers to obtain a percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources, such as solar, geothermal and biomass.

Our future generations should have the opportunity to breathe clean air that is not dirtied by pollution from power plants, to swim in clear lakes and rivers that are not harmed by raw sewage or toxic chemicals, and to walk through pristine forests that are not ravaged by drilling, mining, and excessive logging. That’s why I’ve held hearings on enforcement of environmental laws. We should not have to worry when schoolchildren turn on a water faucet that they run the risk of swallowing arsenic and we should work to reduce the amount of mercury in our water supply. Grandfathers taking their grandchildren to a favorite fishing hole should not have to worry that streams are contaminated with dioxin and no one should have to worry about acid rain showering us with airborne contaminants, especially when we know that a reasonable amount of corporate responsibility would serve as prevention. We owe them a clean and pollution-free environment."

Global Warming & Energy priorities for first 100 days

As you know, a common rubric for measuring the results of a new presidential administration is to evaluate priorities for its first 100 days in office. The League of Conservation Voters believes that the one issue area voters will be most focused on, when it comes to the environment, is energy and global warming. If you are sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, what will be your priorities in the energy and global warming arena for your first 100 days in office, and why? These may be achievable by executive action, legislative action, international action, or appointments.

"My first priority in office will be ending the war in Iraq. It is a boulder in the road that blocks our progress on all of our domestic priorities. Confronting our dependence on fossil fuels is a crucial part of that process. If we don’t leave a stable Iraq and we don’t deal with our dependence on oil, we will have to send our children and grandchildren back to the region. So energy security – which includes reducing demand for oil, substantially increasing efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- will be a top priority of my first 100 days. It is time for a national energy policy that moves the country into an alternative energy future. Key components of that policy will include: raising fuel economy standards, expanding energy efficiency programs and requiring government offices to be become more efficient, and significantly increasing national investment in energy technology. My proposals are explained in greater detail below.It is not enough to simply contain greenhouse gas emissions here in the US and reduce our own dependence on oil. For our national security we need a global solution to both climate change and oil dependence. To that end, I will return the US to a real leadership position on climate change immediately. The first steps have to be imposing limits on greenhouse gas emissions here in the US through a domestic cap and trade program and investments in new technologies and energy savings. We must attack this problem on every front. At the same time we need to move on the international front, building trust and commitments among major emitters with the goal of a post-2012 framework that includes the United States and the major emerging emitters like China and India. After seven years of doing nothing about climate change, we can’t afford to let the issue sit on the side."

Please respond to the previous question but focus on environmental issues outside of the energy and global warming arena.

"Protecting our environment with necessary safeguards is of the utmost importance. We owe a clean and pollution free environment to future generations. They should have the opportunity to breathe clean air that is not dirtied by pollution from power plants, to swim in clear lakes and rivers that are not harmed by raw sewage or toxic chemicals, and to walk through pristine forests that are not ravaged by drilling, mining and excessive logging. This Administration has advanced several initiatives that would diminish or eliminate important environmental laws. In addition to weakening the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, the Bush Administration has reversed several rules that protect national forests and wildlife. I feel strongly that pollution standards should move forward, not back, and would fight for more stringent requirements. In addition, this Administration also failed to reauthorize the Superfund Tax and I want to ensure that it is the polluters responsible for the contamination, not the taxpayers, who pay for the clean-up."

Priority compared to other issues for first 100 days

Many candidates for office, not just for president, intend or promise to do great things on many issues. How would you say environmental or conservation issues would rank as a priority for you in your first 100 days when compared to other issues? Why? Do you intend to personally attend to these issues?

"As I stated above, my first priority will be ending the war in Iraq without leaving chaos behind. I believe that putting together a national energy security policy that reduces our dependence on oil and limits greenhouse gas emissions is a crucial piece of national security and foreign policy – and crucial to insuring that future generations do not have to return to the Middle East."