Flanked by Democrats fanned out on the Capitol steps, Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday laid into congressional Republicans for their obstruction of crucial legislative business.
Reporters were wilting under the late summer heat. Biden joked, “I’m gonna be brief because we’re feeling the heat, and so are the American people. They’re feeling the heat.”
Biden urged Congress to take action on issues he said were “bigger than partisan”: funding to fight Zika, the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and barring the sale of guns to people on FBI watch lists.
Biden’s relatively rare trip to the Capitol came as Congress returned this week from a nearly two-month summer recess and with Election Day just two months away. It was a chance for the outgoing vice president to rally Democrats. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) gave short remarks before Biden took the podium.
Biden had three main demands for Republicans. First, pass a clean, “up-and-down” $1.1 billion bill to fight Zika, a “legitimate national emergency.” President Obama requested $1.9 billion from Congress in February to fight the virus and since then, the bill has become mired in ideological fights.
Second, Biden demanded that Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland be given a vote, which Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has refused to grant. Reid said this week that he would hold up committee meetings until the GOP moved on giving Garland a vote.
Finally, Biden demanded action on “no fly no buy” — basic gun control measures that would restrict the sale of guns to people on the FBI watch lists.
Gosh I like Joe
I wish he had taken a run .
I suspect he would have been our candidate and he would be mopping the floor with dimbulb Donnie
I get why he didn’t run. Can’t imagine the grief on losing yet another child.
But yes, I wish we had had this choice.
I love me some Joe!!!
This is standard political attack, but nothing will be done until after the election. Let’s face it, Biden is waiting to collect a huge VP pension, $180,000 per year. Even if Trump is elected, he won’t be affected at all.
There is no “VP pension.” He gets the same pension as members of Congress, which he would have gotten if he had never left the Senate. His pension will be somewhat higher because his “high three” salary has been higher than that of a Senator, but the difference is not huge.