Joe Biden accomplishments
1965: Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware in Newark, with a double major in history and political science and a minor in English.
1968: Graduated from Syracuse University College of Law with a law degree.
1969: Admitted to the Delaware bar.
1970-72: Served on New Castle County Council.
1972-77: Single parent to two sons, commuting on Amtrak 75 minutes each way between his home in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, D.C.
Joe Biden accomplishments as U.S. Senator
1981-97: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years.
1986: Introduced his Global Climate Protection Act, one of the first bills aimed at addressing climate change.
1990s: Authored every major piece of crime legislation this decade, including the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
1992-1995: Strongly guided Balkans policy in the mid-1990s during the Bosnian War, producing a successful NATO peacekeeping effort.
1994: Spearheaded the Violence Against Women Act, criminalizing violence against women and creating unprecedented resources for survivors of assault, which was followed by a 64% drop in domestic violence from 1993 to 2010.
1997-2009: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, leading legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.
1997: Led the Senate to approve ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
1998: Led the Senate to approve NATO enlargement and passage of bills to streamline foreign affairs agencies and punish religious persecution overseas.
1999: Co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on President Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions in Kosovo.
2000: Sponsored the Kids 2000 Act, establishing a public-private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet access, and technical training to young people, particularly low-income and at-risk youth.
Joe Biden accomplishments as Vice President
2009: Oversaw and implemented the $840 billion stimulus package in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to end the Great Recession which began under President George W. Bush.
2009: Chaired the Middle Class Working Families Task Force.
2010: Fought for Congressional approval of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which inserted accountability into the financial sector and fortified the stability of the financial system.
2011: Led negotiations between Congress and the White House in resolving federal spending levels for the rest of the year and avoiding a government shutdown. Negotiated with Mitch McConnell to agree on deficit-reducing Budget Control Act of 2011.
2012: Headed the Gun Violence Task Force in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
2012: Negotiated a deal with Mitch McConnell that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, averting a fiscal cliff and implementing the largest middle-class tax cut in history.
2014: Co-chaired White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.
2014: Served as the Obama administration’s emissary to Eastern European governments like Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine worried over Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in the region.
”He’s the nicest person I think I’ve ever met in politics. He is as good a man as God ever created.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)
Joe Biden accomplishments as President
2020: Elected President, defeating Donald Trump in the Electoral College 306 to 232, with a popular vote margin of more than 7 million votes.
2021: Directed USA to rejoin Paris Climate Agreement.
2021: Halted the Keystone XL pipeline.
2021: Repealed Trump’s travel bans.
2021: Repealed Trump’s transgender military ban.
2021: Ordered an additional 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
2021: Pledged $4 billion to COVAX global vaccine alliance.
2021: Signed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law. It includes:
- Small business support.
- $1,400 per person checks.
- Increases to the Child Tax Credit, Earned-Income Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits.
- $300 extended unemployment insurance.
- Lower health insurance premiums for lower- and middle-income families enrolled in health insurance marketplaces.
2021: Canceled $1.5 billion in student debt for victims of for-profit school fraud.
2021: Ended the War in Afghanistan after 20 years.
2021: Negotiated and signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. It includes:
- $110 billion for roads, bridges, major projects
- $73 billion for power infrastructure
- $66 billion for passenger and freight rail
- $65 billion for broadband
- $55 billion for clean drinking water
- $50 billion for water resilience and Western water storage
- $39 billion for public transit
- $25 billion for airports
- $21 billion for removal of pollution from water and soil
- $17 billion for port infrastructure
- $7.5 billion for electric vehicles
- $7.5 billion for zero/low emission busses and ferries
- $1 billion for the revitalization of communities
2021: U.S. gross domestic product grew at 5.7 percent for the year, the strongest economic growth in 37 years.
2021: Favorability of the United States improved sharply around the world.
2022: Approved a U.S. special forces mission that killed ISIS leader Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.
2022: Nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman in history to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.
2022: Signed the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
2022: Led a massive international response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
2022: Signed the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress in nearly 30 years.
2022: Ordered the drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the world’s most wanted terrorist.
2022: Unemployment falls to 3.5 percent, matching lowest rate in 50 years.
2022: Signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, providing $52.7 billion for chip manufacturing and research and $170 billion for scientific research, innovation, and space exploration.
2022: Signed ratification documents approving NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, strengthening the NATO alliance and reinforcing democracy in the face of Russian brutality against Ukraine.
2022: Signed PACT Act strengthening health care and benefits for America’s veterans and their survivors.
2022: Signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. It includes $369 billion to provide energy security, fight climate change, and create clean domestic manufacturing jobs. It also lowers healthcare costs by extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for 3 years, expanding vaccine coverage, and reforming prescription drug pricing. The act also raises revenue by establishing a 15% corporate minimum tax on companies with at least $1 billion in profits. Through revenue and savings, the Inflation Reduction Act reduces the deficit by a net $305 billion dollars.
2022: Less than 2 years into his presidency, Biden is already one of the most legislatively successful presidents of the modern era.
2022: Thanks to a Biden executive order, hearing aids become available over the counter without a prescription, lowering costs by up to $3,000 per pair for 30 million Americans.