Saturday, December 10, 2016
Members of the U.S. Senate offered words of tribute to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday on the floor of the Senate.
Senator Barbara Mikulski spoke for several minutes, calling Biden a ‘champion of the people’ and a ‘great leader’. Mikulski also praised Biden’s wife, calling her a leader ‘in her own right.’ Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called Biden a ‘real friend and trusted partner.’ Although scheduled to run for one hour, the tribute extended beyond two hours.
Two senators mentioned Biden’s work on the Violence Against Women Act, and commented on the positive impact made by that legislation. In January of this year, President Obama asked Biden to lead an effort to target cancer diagnosis and treatment. At least two Senators praised Biden’s efforts on that program, named the ‘Cancer Moonshot’ program.
Earlier in the week, Biden presided over a vote on the $1.8 billion bill, intended to fund the ‘Cancer Moonshot’ effort. Biden’s son Beau died of a brain tumor in 2015. Later that evening, Biden told a reporter, “I’m going to run in 2020.” When asked later to clarify what he meant, Biden stated, “For President […] What the hell, man.”