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Senator Joe Biden: If we're going to ask you to moderate your appetite, how is that going to be done unless this place does it?

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I don't believe, like is the popular wisdom, the seed of all decay in America is generated from this body, from this Capitol. I don't believe that. But I do

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believe that the way out of our dilemma, both in foreign policy and domestically is through leadership. Leadership requires

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you're showing a willingness to walk up over the hill before your troops. And if you're not willing to walk up over the hill and

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you stand on it and say, 'Go get them boys,' you're not likely to get much cooperation. That will be, have a significant rippling effect if we do it.

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I believe that the mood is ripe in this country and in this Congress to make some of these cuts, to make some of these increases in

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defense capability and spending, and the level of the American people about where they're going so they can no longer kid themselves.

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I predict to you that you're going to be paying $2 a gallon for gasoline by this time next year.

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I predict to you that unless we at the same time make major changes in this budget and recognize it can't have guns and butter,

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at the same time when you have inflation as high as it is, that you're going to be sitting with an inflation rate that is about to wreak

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havoc on an economy and with an unemployment rate that's going to skyrocket and finding that there is a major, major recession in the aftermath of that.

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So I'm not sure I'd I'd I'd I've said more than, than I planned on saying, but as is the sort [Skip in recording] of requiring a balanced budget,

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the flexibility that is available to respond to national emergencies is extremely limited. For example, let's assume

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that we had the budget balanced but for defense this year. And we decided that because of the Soviet activity,

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we had to increase the budget $30 billion this year. You would have to get two thirds of the United States senators to vote,

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to change the budget resolution, to change the, to be able to spend that money. And you'd only require

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51 senators to declare war. By comparison, you don't need the two-thirds majority. I think that it's a very crippling way

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in which to approach it. But I have not listened to- we have not begun to debate that in committee yet to mark it up.

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A subcommittee of which I'm not a member, held hearings on that and that will be reported to our Judiciary Committee. My inclination is to stick

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with the approach that we've been trying to pass, that I've been trying to pass for the past four years,

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that to change the system by which we deal with controlling the uncontrollables in the budget,

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requiring an authorization program yearly for all the programs, and requiring us to face up every year to exactly what we're

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spending in order to be able to go forward with the existing program along with sunset legislation. But I have not made up my mind on it.

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It comes up in the middle of March, ot the end of March. Debate has not begun in the committee, and I plan on listening to debate

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but I'm inclined to vote against that particular amendment. Male voice 1: Okay, we have time for questions. Jack Torberton first, and then Bruce Walton. Jack Torberton: The Farm Bureau you to [to faint to make out]

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Senator Joe Biden: Yeah, I can answer that one for a straight out. The answer is I will not vote to repeal Davis-Bacon.

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I've already voted on Davis-Bacon, in minor forms on Davis-Bacon that is, there have been attempts to repeal of the parts of agencies budgets.

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And the reason why I won't do that is because I think it will impact negatively upon employment in industrial areas.

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I don't think it is that it will help. I think it's negative in terms of being impact it has on workers. Now, Davis-Bacon, I don't quite, there,

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there's an example of a position that the Farm Bureau takes, but I probably appeared in that, in that number there.

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That's for the life of me, I don't understand how it directly relates to farming and agriculture. None of you are in a position that

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you're affected by Davis-Bacon. Male voice 2: Oh, yes. Senator Joe Biden: You are? Indirectly or directly? Male voice 3: Directly. Joe Biden: How's that? Male voice 2: Cuz the university wants to build a building on the Georgetown campus.

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They've got to pay the rates of Male voice 2: the Baltimore area for construction. Senator Joe Biden: You mean you as a taxpayer. Male voice 2: We are taxpayers. Senator Joe Biden: We all yeah, no. I mean, in terms of, no, I know. I understand that.

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But most groups who have their rating systems rate on questions that relate directly to the industry they represent.

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That that's what I meant. That's what I meant. So I do not support repeal of Davis-Bacon. Male voice 1: Okay. Bruce Walton has a question.

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Bruce Walton: Just a comment in relationship to what we were talking about. I think unfortunately, because of regulatory statutes that we have placed upon us from Washington, we are involved in most everything. So we have to be involved in Bruce Walton: every facet of the business. So, ya know, I can't see how you can say that we're not. Senator Joe Biden: In that, okay I, to that degree

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Bruce Walton: To you as our senator, and I know what Bill said, you took it with levity, but Senator Joe Biden: No I took it seriously Bruce Walton: Well, my point is is that if we're not we're not doing our job of communicating with you, in other works, there's got to be some reason [Audio stops]

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[Silence] Jack Walden: Hi, I'm Jack Walden, President of the Delaware Farm Bureau and I enjoy listening to WKEN because of the broad base information service

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it provides to our community, not only agricultural affairs, but also affairs that affect every citizen in this county. Male voice 3: Thank you.

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Male voice 4: I used to harvest, harvest potatoes using crews of 70 to 90 people to pick up the potatoes off the ground. Now when minimum wage got

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that price to 2.5, 2.60, why then farmers did a little pencil work and indicate, the indications were that you better be doing this work with machines

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instead of using labor. So that one machine eliminated 30 people. That was just an economic factor. Now, what happened to

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those 30 unskilled people? And I think you and I know the answer that they went on the welfare rolls. Male voice 3: I suppose. You and I guess

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maybe the Grange, maybe the Farm Bureau support a youth differential. Is that right? Male voice 4: Yes, there's a youth differential

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supported and also some change in regulations to enable youth to work on farms and other than menial tasks. Currently they're not allowed to,

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to manipulate any mobile machinery without proper schooling, which some of us feel that we can provide. Male voice 3: Thank you. I guess we get one each.

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Piecemeal work, that's affected by the minimum wage, isn't it? Male voice 4: You must provide a rate of work even though it's piecework

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consistent with the minimum wage. You must be able to guarantee a laborer that he is capable of earning the minimum wage

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regardless of your paying in piecemeal or hourly. Male voice 3: So for a person who may wants to work only a few hours a day,

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just wanted to get a little exercise, a little work that affects him to because you can't afford to pay him. Male voice 3: Is that right? Male voice 4: That's correct.

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Male voice 4: His piecemeal rate must be consistent with minimum wage hourly rate. He must must be consistent with at least a productivity of three ton an hour.

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Male voice 3: Are you still legislative agent for the Grange? Male voice 4: Yes, I am. Male voice 3: What are you doing, if anything, about the bill on the State Senate to raise the minimum wage and keep

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it equal to the federal level? Male voice 4: We're not doing anything currently. I- The Executive Board has

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not addressed that issue. So at the moment I'd say no. [Skip in tape] Sherman Stevenson: This is Sherman Stevenson, Executive Vice President,

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Delaware Farm Bureau advising you that I listen to WKEN for all the agriculture news and because it's my favorite station.

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[Silence on tape] Senator Joe Biden: ... some of that. Then the farming community that comes to me to ask me for help does. So that, that they, ya know, really and truly,

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I'm not suggesting that any, I'm not making a point its 5 years away from my election and I may not even run again, who knows- five years a long time.

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I'm trying to be completely honest with you. It relates to your saying more communication. I don't know anybody here who has a problem, and I'd like to know it if it is, that you've ever

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called me on something that related to Delaware, but you haven't had me go bat for you. But you're not, we're not going to

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agree you and I on things like, for example, an issue which here is this is a real mark of a stupid thought.

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[Silence on tape until 0:42:08] Male voice 5: Hello there. 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Male voice 6: ... An energy stamp program, similar to the food stamp program. If you've got a problem with high electric rates, with high oil costs, with high natural gas costs,

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then we certainly do have that problem. Much better to subsidize direct... [audio fades out]