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Positions and Views on Other Issues where Information is Available: |
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| Military & Defense |
Positions and Views |
| Military, a General Statement |
Biden: Sen. Biden has worked hard to ensure that our Armed Forces are adequately funded and efficiently utilized so they can protect our nation. He's working hard to ensure that our soldiers and their families have a high quality of life. Sen. Biden has also strongly supported measures to address readiness problems, aging equipment and recruitment and retention difficulties. He has also been a champion of Dover Air Force Base and the vital strategic airlift capability that it provides our military. Today, Senator Biden continues to work to further modernize our military to make it more effective and efficient.
Source: Candidate Website Date: 01/19/2008 |
| Defense and Military Budget |
Biden: We must spend military dollars smarter, with greater accountability. Today’s enemies are flexible and adaptive. Our military must be able to respond quickly to new threats. Senator Biden wants to get rid of mismanagement and waste in military procurement so that we can quickly get warfighters the best equipment available.
Source: biden.senate.gov/issues Date: 04/22/2008 |
| Military Policy |
Biden: No Response |
| Department of Defense and Pentagon |
Biden: No Response |
| Military Adequacy |
Biden: Senator Biden believes that we must have a military large enough to deal with multiple threats around the world and here at home. Only with a larger military can we increase the size of Special Operations forces. In addition, a larger military is needed for sustained operations. We must be able to complete military missions without breaking the force and we must make sure that we do not contract out our security.To keep our military strong and ready for multiple missions, Senator Biden has supported and co-sponsored legislation to increase the size of the military. He has also co-sponsored legislation to give active-duty military personnel a minimum of the same time at home as the time they are deployed.
Senator Biden has always believed that the military should benefit from American innovation and expertise. He has been a strong advocate of making sure that small businesses with cutting-edge technology are able to work with the Department of Defense.
Senator Biden fought hard to get Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) into Iraq faster. The military said that MRAPs would reduce American casualties from Improvised Explosive Devices by 67-80%. In the beginning of 2007, the Administration had only planned to spend $1.795 billion for these life-saving vehicles. By the end of 2007, Senator Biden successfully pushed to ensure that $22.4 billion was being spent, which exponentially increased the production and fielding rate.
Senator Biden understands that strategic airlift (C-5s and C-17s) is critical to America’s ability to get to the fight and stay in the fight. It is also critical to being able to help those in need. He has long fought to make sure the nation has enough modern airlift capability to meet its needs. He has also fought to make sure there is adequate infrastructure needed to support the airlift fleet, including at Dover Air Force Base.
Source: biden.senate.gov/issues Date: 04/22/2008 |
| Military Industrial Establishment |
Biden: No Response |
| Cluster Bombs |
Biden: No Response |
| Reducing Military Costs |
Biden: No Response |
| Re-instituting the Draft |
Biden: No Response |
| Military Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC Commission) |
Biden: No Response |
| Reservists and National Guard |
Biden: A strong National Guard, properly equipped, is essential to homeland defense and to fighting international threats. Senator Biden believes that America’s citizen-soldiers bring critical civilian skills and expertise into national security operations. They are also a vital link to communities where there is often no other military presence. As Iraq and Katrina have shown, America needs to continue to have a National Guard that is ready to help in war and in natural disasters at home.
Senator Biden recognizes the vital role of the National Guard in protecting the homeland. He successfully led the fight to keep Delaware’s Air National Guard Base open by making clear to Base Realignment and Closure Commissioners the value of the missions, the organizations, and infrastructure at the base. He has also successfully led the way in finding ways for citizens with much needed information security experience to help the government track terrorist financing and protect our information systems through Guard service.
Source: biden.senate.gov/issues Date: 04/22/2008 |
| Military Families |
Biden: Our soldiers and their families deserve a high quality of life. Senator Biden believes that we must pay close attention to the needs of military families and ensure that they have the support they need. Adequate child care, educational benefits, job assistance, and counseling are all essential to helping military families deal with the stresses of military life.
Source: biden.senate.gov/issues Date: 04/22/2008 |
| Military Pay, Medical Care and Benefits |
Biden: Military personnel must get adequate rest between deployments for both their mental health and to maintain strong families. Senator Biden has co-sponsored legislation to give active-duty military personnel a minimum of the same time at home as the time they are deployed.
Washington Post exposed delays in care that soldiers face and highlighted horrible living conditions that many endure while they are receiving outpatient treatment for their wounds. Senator Biden supports legislation that takes specific actions to ensure a similar situation won’t happen again, and that readies our hospitals for the new, special needs of our troops for decades to come, by:
Prohibiting public-private competitions of maintenance services at military medical complexes while the Nation is at war to prevent the backlog of maintenance orders that plagued Walter Reed.
Stopping budget cuts to military medical facilities while the Nation is at war.
Requiring the Secretary of Defense to establish uniform standards for military medical treatment facilities, specialty medical care facilities, and military quarters housing patients, and requiring robust inspections.
Requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to report on long-term care needs for the next 50 years, since hundreds of thousands of additional veterans with multiple care needs will be coming into the system, and we must be ready to help them.
Source: biden.senate.gov/issues Date: 04/22/2008 |
| National Guard / Reserve Pay, Medical Care and Benefits |
Biden: No Response |
| Gays in the Military |
Biden: No Response |
| Defense, a General Statement |
Biden: No Response |
| Missile Defense System, "Star Wars" |
Biden: No Response |
| Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty |
Biden: No Response |
| Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) |
Biden: No Response |