MESSAGING FOR SURROGATES:
TALKING POINTS & Q/A
1.29.2020
TALKING POINTS
High-Level
● 2020 is the most critical election of our lifetimes - and it starts here in Iowa.
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Four more years of Donald Trump will fundamentally alter our nation.

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Joe Biden is the candidate who can defeat Donald Trump and move our country forward poll after poll shows he is the most electable Democrat.

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As president, Joe will hit the ground running to repair the damage done by Trump’s failed,
reckless presidency. It’ll be a monumental task – there’s no time for on-the-job training.

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Democrats have a choice. We all have good ideas, but we need to ask ourselves
which candidate is best prepared to actually get them done for working families.

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Joe has turned progressive policies into tangible results for decades:
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He stood side-by-side with President Obama to pass the Affordable Care Act,
providing health coverage to 20 million people, and protecting 100 million with preexisting conditions.
He oversaw the administration of more than $700 billion in post-recession recovery
funds, pulling us back from the brink of Depression and creating millions of jobs.
He co-authored the landmark Violence Against Women Act, changing the way our
country supports survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
He’s the only candidate who has beaten the NRA – twice – passing background
checks, and the only assault weapons and high-capacity magazine bans in our
history. ○ He has spent decades working on the world’s toughest foreign policy
challenges, from Iraq to the former Soviet Union, and already personally knows
most world leaders.

Now, Joe is running to rebuild the middle class, America’s backbone. He’s running to unify
the country, reclaim our place in the world, and restore the soul of our nation. That’s why
he will:
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Protect & build on Obamacare. Biden opposes any bid to end the ACA, by
Republicans or Democrats. Instead, he’ll expand on it, offering a new, public option
and cutting how much families have to spend on health care, including prescription
drugs. It’s the fastest path to universal coverage, at 1/30th the cost of Medicare for
All and lets 160 million Americans keep their private insurance if that’s what they
want.

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Triple Title I funding, boosting teacher pay and closing the gap between rich
and poor school districts. He’ll provide universal pre-K and two years of
community college without debt; halve the cap on yearly student loan repayments;
fix the existing Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and forgive $10,000 of
debt per year of public service, up to 5 years; and boost funding to HBCUs.
Commit to a 100%-clean-energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050,
investing $1.7 trillion over 10 years and creating 10 million good-paying, union
jobs. And he’ll immediately rejoin the Paris Accord, restoring American leadership
to push other nations to do more.
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, boost background
checks and promote smart gun technology. He’ll also invest $20 billion in
ending mass incarceration, supporting prevention and rehabilitation, and reforming
sentencing.
Restore America’s global leadership role, reinvigorating our democracy and
rebuilding our alliances, so we lead by the power of our example, not just the
example of our power.
Expand access to contraception, protect women’s constitutional right to
abortion, and reduce the maternal mortality rate. He’ll reverse the Trump
administration and state’s all-out assault on women’s right to choose and restore
federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Field Pitch
● But we cannot do this without you.
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So come out to caucus on Monday, February 3 – and bring everyone you know - sign a
commit to caucus card so we can help remind you where to go!

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Sign up to volunteer – and bring everyone you know to volunteer too! Take a few extra
shifts. There are only XX day(s) until Monday.

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Every minute you spend knocking doors, making calls, telling your friends, neighbors, and
colleagues why you’re backing Joe will help to make history.

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So please join Joe’s coalition, and help us build it bigger and stronger to beat Donald
Trump!

1

 QUESTIONS / ANSWERS
Tough Q/A
● Impeachment
● Bernie & Bloomberg
● Iowa Expectations
● Electability
● Getting Things Done
Issue Q/A
● Health Care
● Education
● Middle Class Economy
● Trade
● Ethanol
● Climate
● Gun Safety
● Criminal Justice
● Voting Rights
● Seniors
● Commander-in-Chief
TOUGH Q/A
Q. Impeachment
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Donald Trump has been impeached because he tried to blackmail a foreign country
into lying about a political opponent.

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Trump claims that because Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian gas
company, the Vice President’s actions to have a notoriously corrupt prosecutor fired
were corrupt.

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Every fact-checker has conclusively shot down that lie – the Washington Post, the AP,
the New York Times, CNN. NBC News and PolitiFact each named it one of the
biggest lies of 2019.

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Numerous Trump Administration national security and foreign policy officials have
testified under oath that Trump's lie is baseless.

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In fact, one of the most dramatic moments of the impeachment hearings came when
Kurt Volcker, Trump’s lead Ukraine envoy, said: “The allegations against Vice
President Biden are self-serving and non-credible.” It led to the AP headline, “GOPrequested witness rejects Trump ‘conspiracy theories.’"

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Biden successfully carried out U.S. government policy in Ukraine, period.

2

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Firing Shokin was top priority for the IMF, World Bank, and EU.

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Republican Senators – including Senator Johnson, who has been carrying Trump's
water on Ukraine – were in favor of firing Shokin at the time.

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And, this week, Senators Ernst and Scott said the quiet part out loud: this
impeachment is totally political. How will it impact the caucuses? We have an
opportunity to ruin Trump’s night on Monday. Caucus for the candidate he doesn’t
want to run against.

Q. As impeachment proceeds, are witnesses as essential as Democrats claim?
● I think anybody who can testify to what they know the president did or did not do

should be testifying, and that’s the basis for calling a witness in a trial.

● There were many witnesses and members of the Administration testify in the House

that the President violated his oath by undermining national security and foreign policy
to serve his political interests.

● Witnesses who can speak to that should testify in the Senate, as well.

Q. Hunter Testifying
● The Senate should call witnesses who can speak to Trump’s conduct.

With inside information to Trump’s behavior.

● No one – not even Trump’s own appointees, who testified under oath before Congress

– has suggested that the Vice President did anything but his job in carrying out U.S.
foreign policy in Ukraine.

● This whole discussion was cooked up by Trump, to divert attention from his own

wrongdoing.

Q. Would Vice President Biden or Hunter agree to this idea of a witness swap –
testifying themselves in order to have John Bolton or other witnesses testify?
● The reason why he wouldn’t make that deal is, bottom line: This is a constitutional

issue. And we’re not going to turn it into a farce, into some kind of political theater.
They’re trying to do that. We want no part of that.

● Donald Trump and Republicans are just trying to divert attention from the issue at

hand: This President indicted himself and coerced a foreign government to interfere in

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 our elections.
● It makes no sense that, to hear from the national security adviser with direct

knowledge of these events, who has volunteered to testify, they’d call Joe or his son.

● What reason would there be to call someone to testify who has no knowledge of

whether Donald Trump did or didn’t do the acts he is being charged with?

● I think we all know what’s going on here, and Joe isn’t going to play that game.

It’s the Senate’s job now to try the President. Our job is to beat him.

4

 Q. Why is Joe going negative on Bernie? Didn’t he promise a positive campaign?
● Joe didn't go negative on Bernie - he's responding to attacks on his record.
● Joe believes our number one goal in this campaign is to beat Donald Trump.
● He's said he's not going to attack other Democrats, because that only helps Trump.
● The truth is – Bernie and his allies have viciously distorted Joe's record on Social

Security in robocalls, digital ads, and email blasts. Fact checkers called his attack
false. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called it a flat-out lie. The Alliance for
Retired Americans gave Joe a 100% rating on Social Security.

● Joe's campaign is correcting the record to clarify his position on Social Security, not

attacking Bernie. It’s is making clear what Joe has committed: as president, he'll not
only protect and defend Social Security, but boost benefits for the most vulnerable.

Q. Social Security & Sanders Video
● The Sanders campaign has pushed a video and transcript that were intentionally and

deceptively edited to make it seem like Joe was agreeing with Paul Ryan – when it’s
clear that Joe was doing the exact opposite.

● PolitiFact rated this smear false. Today, Sanders admitted the context was important.
● The point Joe made in that speech and what they don't want you to hear is that

Republicans like Paul Ryan have used their tax cuts, which added trillions to the
deficit, to argue for cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

● That’s exactly why we’ve got to fight those tax cuts, tooth-and-nail. And that’s what

Joe is doing.

● That's why the Alliance for Retired Americans gave Joe a 100% lifetime record on

Social Security votes as a Senator.

● As President, Joe won’t just protect Social Security from cuts and keep it solvent –

he’ll strengthen benefits for the most vulnerable older Americans.

● We need to be increasing, not decreasing Social Security.

5

 Q. What do you make of Mayor Bloomberg’s rise in Super Tuesday states?
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Mike Bloomberg has spent nearly a quarter of a billion dollars on ads alone, and Joe
Biden is still in the lead, nationally and in Super Tuesday states.

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After the first four states vote, Joe will have demonstrated that he has the broadest,
most diverse coalition, and that he’s the strongest candidate to beat Donald Trump.

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More than 1,100 community and elected leaders have endorsed Biden nationwide.

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They help us engage the community, launch events, and spread our message why
Biden is the only candidate who can beat Trump and restore the soul of the nation.

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Much is being made of the fact that Bloomberg is running fourth in recent national
polls – but he still trails Biden by more than 20 points.

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Voters know Joe Biden. They know his character. They know his record of delivering
progressive wins as a Senator and Barack Obama’s Vice President.
● They know he’s our surest bet to beat Trump.

Q. Expectations / Winning Iowa
● Joe’s campaign is competing to win in Iowa.
● Iowans know the responsibility that they have going first in this process.
● We have to start the process with a candidate who represents our values and our
communities – and who can come back to Iowa as the nominee in the general election
and turn this state blue.
● Joe has had the right focus and strategy – he’s going to small and medium sized
communities, and asking people for their support. He’s answering their questions.
● And, I’m going to work hard over the next XX days to ensure that Joe leaves Iowa in a
place of strength.

6

 Q. Electability
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So much is at stake in this election: Health care, jobs, the climate, Supreme Court.
Our security and standing in the world. The very character of our country.

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With Donald Trump at the wheel, it’s no time to mess around.

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There are a lot of principled candidates running. They have some good ideas.

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But this isn’t a contest for who has a nice plan – it’s about who can actually deliver
concrete progress. And that comes down to three things:
○ Who can beat Trump?
○ Who’ll help the most other Democrats win the most seats?
○ Who’ll bring people together to pass actual legislation to help hard-working
families?

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To every one of those questions, the answer is: Joe.

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Only Joe has the broad, diverse coalition to win – and the experience and heart to
bring us together, fix Trump’s mess, and get big things done.

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To beat Trump, we have to win all those key swing states we barely lost in 2016.
And poll after poll shows: Joe is the one with the biggest lead in down-to-the-wire
places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. Who’s neck-and-neck in Iowa.

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Joe is the one candidate who excites BOTH our party’s diverse base, and
independents and moderates. Who can win in bright blue AND deep purple swing
districts, and rebuild the Obama coalition for these newly urgent times.

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That’s why Joe is the best boost to Democrats up-and-down the ballot, to help us pick
up seats in Congress and in state legislatures, end the deadlock, and govern.

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And once we do, only Joe has the experience, heart, and history to reach out to the
other side and get big things done for working families.

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I know, because I know Joe Biden. You do, too. You’ve known him for years.
What’s more – he knows you.

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Your values are his values. They’re American values: decency, empathy, family,
service. They’ve motivated him his whole life.

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Joe is made for this moment – to bring us together, heal the divide, and restore the
soul of our nation.

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 Q. Getting Things Done
The stakes are higher in 2020 than in any election in our lifetimes. Must defeat Trump.
● Requires a nominee with stable, steady leadership –
● With the heart to unite our divided nation, and experience to get big things done.
Democrats have a choice:
● We can vote for candidates with PLANS – or vote for the one candidate who has
actually delivered real PROGRESS for decades.
That’s Joe:
● Won biggest expansion of health coverage in generations (Affordable Care Act).
● Passed background checks and 10-year assault weapons ban, beating NRA twice.
● Administered the biggest economic recovery package in U.S. history, and helped to
save the country from depression (Recovery Act).
Those were hard fights. And Joe delivered change.
Republicans know it. That’s why:
● Trump risked impeachment to pursue a baseless smear against Joe.
● Trump’s special interests are funding an unprecedented campaign against Joe.
Trump and his allies are afraid –
● Afraid Joe will raise their taxes – afraid he’ll crack down on their pillaging our
environment – afraid that he’ll beat Trump like a drum.
● With your help, Joe will.

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 ISSUE Q/A
Q. Health Care
Obamacare was – and still is – a big deal.
Biggest, most progressive expansion of our healthcare system.
● Covered an additional 20 million Americans.
● Protects over 100 million more with pre-existing conditions like cancer, diabetes – can
no longer be denied coverage or charged higher premiums.
● Lets young adults stay on their parents’ plans until age 26.
It was a hard fight, 100 years in the making.
Joe opposes any effort to get rid of Obamacare – by Republicans or by Democrats.
His plan will protect and build on the Affordable Care Act:
● Creates a public option: Choose between Medicare-like plan or private coverage.
● Reduces premiums and drug costs.
● Automatically enrolls 5 million low-income Americans who’d be eligible for Medicaid, if
their Republican state lawmakers hadn’t refused it.
● Doubles funding for community health centers, that so often fill the gap and provide
care in rural areas.
Quickest, most effective way to give every American an affordable health insurance
option, at 1/30th the cost of Medicare for All.
● Without raising taxes on the middle class. Non-starter for Joe.

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 Q. Education
Joe knows that we have to invest in our kids from birth – so race, gender, zip code,
parents’ income never determine their futures.
● He’s married to a teacher: Knows first-hand how much they put into their jobs.
● Deserve dignity of work, respect, support.
Biden Plan will:
● Triple Title I funding, closing the gap between rich and poor districts.
● Boost teachers’ pay.
● Double the number of school counselors and mental health professionals.
● Work with states to offer Universal Pre-K to every 3- and 4-year old.
● Expand community schools, to serve needs of both parents and students.
And Joe also knows that 12 years of school is no longer enough to thrive in the 21st
Century.
● 6 in 10 jobs require education beyond high school.
But four years of college shouldn’t be the only path to the middle class – and shouldn’t be
a ticket to crippling debt, either.
Joe’s plan will make sure everyone can afford the path that makes sense for them:
● Backs new partnerships between high schools, colleges, unions, & local businesses
– to help students graduate with work-ready credentials.
● Offers two years of community college without debt.
● Halves the cap on student loan repayments, so you never owe more than 5% of
yearly income.
● Doubles the maximum Pell Grant, so lower-income students get more help for
college, and many middle-class families qualify for the first time.
● Fixes the public-service loan-forgiveness program: Forgives $10K a year for five
years; after 10 years, all remaining debt is forgiven.
● Supports colleges and universities that play vital roles in their communities –
including by investing $70 billion in HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions.

10

 Q. Middle Class Economy
Joe is running to rebuild the backbone of this country: strong, inclusive middle class.
● Trump likes to brag the stock market is up. But look around your neighborhoods. Find

middle class people who think they’re doing well. They’re not.

● Like everything else he inherited, Trump has made a mess of the strong economy that

the Obama-Biden Administration handed him.
● Trump is bungling trade, sent manufacturing into a recession, and broke his promises
on health care and infrastructure.
● Trump said he’d stand up for the “forgotten man” – but as soon as he got elected, he
forgot him.

That changes with Joe. He has been fighting for working families his whole life:
● As Senator, he fought to pass family and medical leave, the Property Tax Fairness Act,
and overtime, unemployment, and workplace safety protections.
● As Vice President, he played a key role in getting this country out of a recession,
passing the Recovery Act, saving the auto industry, and delivering Obamacare.
As president, Joe will:
● Pass a $1.3 trillion plan to rebuild our roads, bridges, ports; fix our electric grid, and
more. Will happen right away, and create millions of good-paying jobs.
● Invest a record $400M in clean energy innovation – twice what we spent to put a man
on the moon – and train millions of workers for a new green economy.
● Defend workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain, restore overtime pay, and
fight to end non-competes and useless licensing requirements that keep workers from
bargaining for the pay and benefits they deserve.
● Transform our education system by tripling funding to Title I schools, boosting teacher
pay, making community college debt-free, and capping yearly student loan
repayments.
Other candidates have plans – Joe has real experience.
● We need a president with the track record and know-how to fix Trump’s mess and
rebuild the middle class from Day One.

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 Q. Trade
Joe will make trade fair for American farmers and workers.
● 95% of the world’s consumers live beyond our borders.
● Need to be able to build the best here, and to sell the best worldwide.
No question that countries will trade, with or without us.
● Question is: Who’ll write the rules that govern trade – to make sure they protect
workers, environment, intellectual property, transparency and middle class wages?
Joe wants America leading that effort.
● If we don’t, China will – and that’d be bad for national security, farmers, workers.
Trump talks tough on China, but few results.
● Doesn’t get it: Thinks tariffs paid by Chinese.
● We know: Iowa farmers, workers, businesses pay. (e.g. Trump’s trade war put
soybean farmers at risk of permanently losing markets it took decades to build.)
As president, Joe won’t sign any trade deal that doesn’t:
● Protect American farmers & workers.
● Include labor & environmental communities at the table.
Joe will work with allies – not against them.
● Draw on decades of leadership to unite world around a rational trade policy:
○ High standards & enforcement protections for workers, environment, intellectual
property, and transparency.
And he’ll make sure that Americans are equipped to succeed in the global economy – by
investing in:
● Workforce Training: including union apprenticeships; debt-free community college;
and new partnerships between schools and local businesses.
● Infrastructure: roads, bridges, freight, rail, ports; broadband, 21st C power grid.
● Manufacturing: funding for small manufacturers (Manufacturing Extension
Partnership), and to communities that have seen mass layoffs (Manufacturing
Communities Tax Credit).

12

 Q. Ethanol
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Biofuels are key to the future of the planet – and of rural America.
Drive big economic growth: Ethanol already means 40,000 Iowa jobs. And $2 billion a
year in income across Iowa.

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The Obama-Biden Administration worked hard to build a biofuels future – including by
investing $100M in new gas pumps and infrastructure.

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But Trump has undermined Iowa biofuel producers and farmers at every turn.
○ Promised to help – but then his EPA gave Big Oil dozens of secret waivers to avoid
renewable fuel obligations.
○ At least four Iowa biofuels plants idled as a result.

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You can either stand with farmers, or stand with Big Oil. No middle ground.
○ The Obama-Biden Administration stood with farmers –
Strengthened the renewable fuel standard every year.
○ As president, Joe will do the same & more.

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Iowa deserves a president who tells the truth. Who partners with farmers to expand
biofuels markets. Who invests in next generation fuels.

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Joe will end Big Oil’s grip and boost growth in areas hard-hit by Trump’s trade war by:
○ Enforcing national renewable fuel standards.
○ Investing more boldly in advanced biofuels.
○ Requiring the federal fleet to use biofuels.

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And Joe will be consistent in promoting renewable fuels – with steady, strong policies
that Iowans and all Americans can count on.

13

 Q. Climate (Iowa)
Iowa knows that climate change is real.
● Droughts and floods are already an expensive fact of life –
Swamping crops, main streets, homes.
● Not in the distant future – now.
Farmers especially are on the frontlines.
● Know better than anyone how climate change is affecting land:
● Heavy rains and droughts delay planting. Slash crop yields. Make it harder to reach
market. Shrink farm bottom lines.
● Farmers have the expertise we need to solve this crisis – and they’re already doing
a lot to tackle it.
Beating Trump won’t end climate change.
● But failing to will end any hope of stopping it.
Joe introduced one of the first climate change bills in the Senate (1986).
● Politifact has called him a “climate change pioneer.”
Today, Joe’s sweeping climate plan will work with American farmers to help them lead the
world on climate change – and pay them for doing it.
● Together, we’ll make our agricultural sector the world’s first to achieve net-zero
emissions.
Joe will:
● Invest $1.7 trillion in a clean energy economy with net-zero emissions by 2050,
creating 10 million jobs.
● That includes $400 billion for clean energy research – to help us develop the next
generation of biofuels.
● End Trump’s tariff wars and Big Oil ethanol waivers, now hurting so many farmers
and rural communities.
● Expand Senator Harkin’s pioneering Conservation Stewardship Program: Pays
farms for practices that protect the environment.
○ e.g. Planting cover crops to suck carbon from the air & store it in soil.

14

 Q. Gun Safety
Gun violence in this country is a public health epidemic.
● Can’t solve a problem if we refuse to name it.
● Thoughts and prayers won’t fix broken laws. Need courage to stand up to NRA.
● Joe is the only candidate who has taken on NRA and won before – twice.
● As president, he’ll defeat them for good.
His plan will:
● Ban new assault weapons – and buy back or register the rest.
● Strengthen background checks – & get better data in background check system.
● Close gun show, online, Charleston, and “boyfriend” sales loopholes.
● Pass red-flag laws (like Beau Biden Gun Violence Act in DE).
● Promote smart gun technology.
● Find new ways to fight scourge of daily urban violence: $900-million, 8-year effort to
fund evidence-based interventions in 40 cities.
And he’ll make sure we treat the trauma that often outlasts shooting.
● Even just the threat is harming a generation: 75% of Gen Zers call mass shootings a
“significant source of stress” (American Psychological Association)
That’s why Joe will:
● Double number of mental health professionals in schools.
● Fund schools with innovative approaches to healing, like art, sports.
● Require all federal programs to support survivors, take trauma into account.

15

 Q. Criminal Justice Reform
As a young lawyer, Joe worked as a public defender – saw up close how the system is
stacked against folks.
● Too many people are incarcerated – too many black and brown.
● Time to put justice back in criminal justice:
Reduce our prison population and violent crime.
● Support survivors of violence.
● Root out racism from our laws, institutions, and hearts.
Joe will start by working to pass Congressman Bobby Scott’s SAFE Justice Act.
And he’ll go further:
● $20B competitive grant program to drive states’ shift from incarceration to
prevention.
● End cash bail. No one should serve time just because they’re poor.
● Decriminalize marijuana, automatically expunge records for possession.
● End incarceration for drug use, and divert people to drug courts and treatment.
● Eliminate mandatory minimums.
● End the federal crack-cocaine disparity once-and-for-all.
● Stop corporations from profiteering off of incarceration: No private prisons.
● Invest $1 billion per year in juvenile justice reform.
● Expand access to mental health and substance misuse treatment – and job training
and educational opportunities – during and after incarceration.
● Set national goal to see 100% of formerly incarcerated people with housing on reentry.
● Expand the Justice Department’s power to crack down on systemic misconduct in
police departments and prosecutors’ office.

16

 Q. Voting Rights
Joe fought for voting rights from the time he first got involved in politics:
● Won renewal of Voting Rights Act – twice, for 25 years each (1982, 2005).
● Fought for years to expand the landmark law, co-sponsoring new language “banning
any voting procedure that has the ‘effect’ of discriminating by race.”
Never thought we’d be back here again today.
● But in 2013, Supreme Court ruling in Shelby v. Holder ripped the heart out of voter
protections.
● Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that decision was like “throwing away your umbrella in a
rainstorm.”
● Now, it’s pouring: In 2018, 24 states introduced or enacted at least 70 bills to curtail
the right to vote for people of color.
Joe knows it’s just as un-American now, as it was during Jim Crow.
● He has called out these voter suppression efforts for what they are: blatant bid to
keep black people from voting.
● He has called out Republican claims of voter fraud as flat out lies.
As president, he will:
● Reinstate the full Voting Rights Act.
● Support automatic and same-day voter registration.
● Incentivize states to automatically restore voting rights for people convicted of
felonies who’ve served their time.
● Challenge every one of these New Jim Crow laws.

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 Q. Seniors
Middle class isn’t a number: it’s a value set.
● Every American deserves the right to retire with dignity and respect.
● Steady, secure income as you age so your kids won’t have to support you.
That means Social Security:
● Foundation of the American retirement system, benefits to over 45 million people.
● But it’s at risk: Trust fund scheduled to run out in 2035.
● Joe will put it on a path to long-term solvency:
○ Ask richest Americans to pay the same payroll tax rates as the middle class.
○ Boost benefits for widows and widowers, and for the oldest Americans most at
risk of outliving their assets.
○ Critics have used editing tricks to question Joe’s commitment. Those smears are
false. To repeat: Joe will not only protect Social Security from cuts and keep it
solvent, he’ll increase benefits for the most vulnerable seniors.
That means pensions:
● Workers earned their pensions and Joe will protect them, period.
● Fight to pass the Butch-Lewis Act – so if your pension plan ever faces trouble, it can
borrow the money it needs to stay afloat.
That means Medicare:
● Joe has years of experience fighting off attacks on Medicare. Remember Paul Ryan
and his attempt to voucherize it?
● It’s still under attack. If Trump & Republicans win in 2020, they’re coming after it.
● Joe’s plan will protect and build on Obamacare – and defend Medicare as a separate,
distinct program.
That means lower prescription drug costs: Stop pharmaceutical company profiteering.
● Let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices.
● Let consumers import prescriptions from other countries, as long as they’re safe.
● End Big Pharma’s tax deduction for prescription drug ads.
● And if drugmakers want to participate in Medicare or new public option, they’ll have to
cap price hikes at inflation.

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 Q. Commander-in-Chief
Our next president will face a monumental task:
● Repairing the damage Trump has done.
● Restoring America’s place in the world.
There’s no time to learn on the job. Will have to hit the ground running.
Joe has done it before – ready on Day One.
● Knows nearly every world leader.
● A dozen years as chair or ranking member of Senate Foreign Relations Cmte.
● Led complex negotiations and tough foreign policy initiatives:
e.g. pushing key arms control deals through the Senate, or overseeing the withdrawal
of 150K combat troops from Iraq as Vice President.
As president, Joe will:
● Reset our democracy:
○ So we lead by the power of our example again, not just the example of our power.
(voting rights, govt ethics/campaign finance reform, criminal justice reform, etc.)
○ Strengthen the coalition of democracies that stands with us.
●

Equip the American people to succeed:
○ Trade policy starts at home: Invest in education; infrastructure; a strong, inclusive
middle class.
○ Ensure the rules of the global economy aren’t rigged against American workers.

●

Renew American leadership:
○ Mobilize the world to fight the defining threats of our time: Nuclear proliferation,
terrorism, climate crisis, mass migration, disruptive impact of new technologies.

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