RSS
Home
Top 3 Joe Biden quotes of the week
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
#1: Gay-Lesbian Rights
“I am not unaware of the controversies swirling around this dinner, swirling around the 
speed -- or lack thereof -- that we’re moving on issues that are of great importance to you and, quite frankly, to me and to the president and to millions of Americans.... More importantly , I want thank you for being a critical -- critical -- voice for keeping the nation focused on the unfinished business of true equality for all of our people; and I know and this administration knows that we have so much more to do. I promise you, I promise you, with your help we’ll get there in this administration.” (6/25/09, LGBT Leadership Council fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee)
Joe Biden said he had specifically requested to speak at the LGBT Leadership Council fundraiser and that his wife, Jill, is also interested in voicing her opinion on the issue. To a crowd of 180 people who paid $1,000 - $30,400 per plate to hear him speak, Biden gave a heart-felt message that the Administration is committed to making equality for gays and lesbians a priority during this term. Even though many were pleased with Biden's message, there were hordes of protestors outside who were not pleased with the 265 gays and lesbians discharged from the military since Obama's inauguration, which they say is a failure to follow through with campaign promises.
#2: Recovery Act
“Our number one priority with the Recovery Act is getting folks back to work – and there is no better way to do that in these early days than by putting shovels in the ground and jump-starting projects like these that create jobs and boost local communities. By delivering on these projects ahead of schedule and under-budget, we have been able to do even more than we expected -- create more job opportunities more quickly, with more dollars left over to put toward more projects that put people back on the job.” (6/25/09)
On Thursday, Biden announced that states must allocate at least 50% of their funds by June 29th, which will prevent officials from dragging their feet. Of the 5,300 infrastructure projects, 1,900 have already been started. In many cases, competitive bidding has brought these projects 10-30% under budget, which is an encouraging sign.
#3: Domestic Violence
"What I'm about to say is not a knock or a criticism on the last administration or anybody else... but one of the sins of omission is this has not been a front and center issue for the last eight years on the national agenda. It used to be... I think the first thing we got to do is just put this back in play, just get it up on the agenda. Get every secretary in the Cabinet thinking about it." (6/26/09, at the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as White House Advisor on Violence Against Women)
Last Friday, Joe Biden appointed Lynn Rosenthal as the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. Her main duties will be to alert President Obama on sexual assault/domestic violence issues, work with government agencies and propose legislative opportunities. As former executive director of Refuge House and former director of Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, many feel she's ideal for the job. Biden has been an outspoken advocate for this cause, having drafted the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which provided additional funding to help prosecute violent crimes perpetrated against women.
Related Articles:
Comments
