Costco Wholesale Corporation

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: COST
Industry	Retailing
Founded	1983 (Kirkland, Washington)
Founder(s)	James D. Sinegal Jeffrey H. Brotman
Headquarters	Issaquah, Washington, U.S.
Number of locations	592 (2011) United States (429) Canada (82) Mexico (32) United Kingdom (22) Japan (13) Taiwan (8) Korea (7) Puerto Rico (8) Australia (3)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	James Sinegal, Founder Jeffrey Brotman, Founder & Chairman W. Craig Jelinek, CEO Richard Galanti, EVP & CFO Paul Moulton, EVP Joseph Portera, EVP Douglas Schutt, EVP Thomas Walker, EVP Dennis Zook, EVP
Products	Discount stores Merchandise Private label brands – Kirkland Signature
Revenue	US$88.915 billion (2011)[1]
Operating income	US$2.383 billion (2011)[1]
Net income	US$1.462 billion (2011)[1]
Employees	147,000 (2009)
Website	Costco.com

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. As of July 2011^[update] it was the sixth largest retailer in the United States, and the seventh largest retailer in the world.^[2][3] As of October 2007^[update], Costco is the largest retailer of wine in the world.^[4]

Location[link]

Costco is headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, United States^[5] and was founded in Kirkland, Washington^{[citation needed]} with its first warehouse in nearby Seattle.^[6] Costco has locations in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.^[7]

History[link]

Logo used until the early 1990s.

Founded by James (Jim) Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman,^[8] Costco opened its first warehouse in Seattle, Washington, on September 15, 1983.^[9] Sinegal had started in wholesale distribution by working for Sol Price at both FedMart and Price Club. Brotman, an attorney from an old Seattle retailing family, had also been involved in retail distribution from an early age.^{[citation needed]}

Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton had plans to merge Sam's Club with Price Club.^[10] In 1993, however, Costco merged with Price Club (called Club Price in the Canadian province of Quebec). Costco's business model and size were similar to those of Price Club, which was founded by Sol and Robert Price in 1976 in San Diego, California.^[6] Thus, the combined company, PriceCostco, was effectively double the size of each of its parents. Just after the merger, PriceCostco had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales.^[11] PriceCostco was initially led by executives from both companies, but then Sol and his son Robert Price founded Price Enterprises and left Costco in December 1994.^[6]

The Costco in Moncton, New Brunswick

Entrance in Henderson, Nevada

The first Price Club location was opened in 1976 in an old airplane hangar,^[6][11] previously owned by Howard Hughes, and is still in operation today (Warehouse No.401 located in San Diego).

In 1997, the company changed its name to Costco Wholesale and all Price Club locations were rebranded Costco.^[6][11]

CNBC premiered its documentary "The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant" on April 26, 2012.^[12]

Costco today[link]

In the United States, the main competitors operating membership warehouses are Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club.^[13] Although Sam's Club has more warehouses^[14] than Costco, Costco has higher total sales volume.^[15] Costco employs about 142,000 full and part-time employees,^[7] including seasonal workers. As of September 2009^[update] Costco had 55 million members.^[16]

Costco was the first company to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years.^[11] For the fiscal year ending on August 31, 2009, the company's sales totaled $71.42 billion,^[7] with $1.09 billion net profit.^[17] Costco is 25th on the 2010 Fortune 500.^[17] The ACSI (The American Customer Satisfaction Index) named Costco number one in the specialty retail store industry with a score of 83 in Q4 2008.^[18]

As of September 2010^[update],^{[19][dated info]} Costco's board of directors is chaired by co-founder Jeffrey H. Brotman and includes three officers of the company: CEO/co-founder James D. Sinegal, President/COO W. Craig Jelinek, and CFO Richard A. Galanti. There are also eleven independent directors: Hamilton E. James (the "Lead Independent Director"), Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., Susan Decker, Richard D. DiCerchio, Daniel J. Evans, William H. Gates, Sr., Richard M. Libenson, John W. Meisenbach, Charles T. Munger, Jeff Raikes, and Jill Ruckelshaus.

In the United States, Costco is closed on seven holidays: New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Sales model[link]

Typical Costco warehouse interior

Costco focuses on selling products at low prices, often at very high volume. These goods are usually bulk-packaged and marketed primarily to large families and businesses. Furthermore, Costco does not carry multiple brands or varieties where the item is essentially the same except when it has a house brand to sell, typically under the Kirkland Signature label. This results in a high volume of sales from a single vendor, allowing further reductions in price, and reducing marketing costs. If Costco management feels the wholesale price of a product is too high, they will refuse to stock the product. For example, on November 16, 2009, Costco announced that it would stop selling Coca-Cola products due to the soft drink maker refusing to lower its wholesale prices.^[20] Costco resumed selling Coca-Cola products on December 14, 2009.^[21][22] Costco also saves money by not stocking extra bags or packing materials; to carry out their goods, customers must bring their own bags or use the merchandise shipping boxes from the company's outside vendors.

Lighting costs are reduced on sunny days, as most Costco locations have several skylights. During the day, electronic light meters measure how much light is coming in the skylights and turn off an appropriate percentage of the interior lights. During a typical sunny day, it is very common for the center section of the warehouse to have no interior lights powered on.^[23]

Most products are delivered to the warehouse on shipping pallets and these pallets are used to display products for sale on the warehouse floor. This contrasts with retail stores that break down pallets and stock individual products on shelves. Costco limits its price markup on items to 15%.^[24]

Membership[link]

Costco in Tlalpan, Mexico City

Costco is only open to members and their guests, except for purchases of liquor and gasoline in some US states because of state law; and prescription drugs because of federal law.^[25] Memberships must be purchased in advance for one year (as of May 5, 2007). Purchases made at Costco's website do not require a membership; however, a 5% surcharge is added to purchases made by non-members. Purchases made with Costco Cash Cards also do not require a membership (except for gas), and there is no surcharge. Canadian and United States Costco locations only accept American Express, PIN-based debit cards (Interac in Canada), Costco credit cards, Costco Cash Cards, cash, checks, and now EBT cards (food stamps). While Costco welcomes members to bring up to two guests, only the members may pay for items. American Express is the only accepted credit card (in the United States, Canada, and Japan) because they charge Costco very low interchange fees (a percentage of revenue from total sales made); as Costco's margins are low in comparison to other retailers. Costco accepts Flexible Spending Account (FSA) debit cards for qualifying purchases at the pharmacy and optical departments in the US. Costco.com accepts the American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards. The website also accepts Bill Me Later accounts for payment.^[26]

As of November 2011^[update] membership fees at Costco are $55 per year for a Gold Star (individual) or Business membership (older memberships are grandfathered in at $50 per year), which can be upgraded to Executive membership for an additional $55 per year.^[27] Along with the additional benefits the executive membership offers (e.g. car purchasing savings, home loans, car insurance, check printing services) Executive members also receive an annual "2% Rewards Check" of up to $750.00 from Costco on all purchases made, excluding select items such as gasoline, tobacco, stamps and in some states, alcohol.^[28]

In Canada, membership is CDN $55.00 a year for a Gold Star membership and includes a card for a spouse, or CDN $110.00 a year for an Executive membership.^[29]

In the United Kingdom, membership is restricted to certain groups only. Trade membership is available to the owners or managers of businesses for £20.00 (plus VAT). Trade members receive a complimentary spouse/partner card, and can purchase additional cards (at a cost of £12+VAT each) for employees. Qualified professionals such as solicitors, magistrates, accountants and engineers, as well as employees in certain specific sectors (such as medical services, education, local government, the civil service, airlines and banking) may apply for individual membership, which costs £25 including a spouse/partner card.^[30] It should be noted that a Costco card issued in another country is valid in the U.K.^[31], and as such, it would be possible for a U.K. resident to sign up elsewhere and use their card at home without meeting U.K. membership requirements.^{[citation needed]}

In Australia, membership is A$55.00 a year for a business membership, or A$60.00 a year for a Gold Star membership.^[32]

In Mexico, membership is MXN $450.00 a year for a Gold Star membership, or MXN $1000.00 a year for an Executive membership.^[33] Costco is only open to members for all services and purchases. Mexican locations only accept cash and Visa Electron debit cards; purchases with Mastercard or Visa credit cards have a surcharge of approximately 4%. Purchases with the Mexican Costco credit card keep cash prices.

Policies[link]

Australia's first Costco outlet, at Docklands, Victoria

Return policy[link]

Costco memberships can be refunded in full at any time before they expire.^[34] Costco guarantees almost all of their products with a full refund within a reasonable amount of time. Exceptions include televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, digital audio players, and cellular phones; these may be returned within 90 days of purchase for any reason for a refund. After 90 days those returns must be done through the manufacturer according to the terms of the warranty. Also excepted are tires (which are covered by their manufacturer's separate defects and treadware warranties) and batteries (which are covered by a 36/100-month warranty, where they may be replaced for free in the first 36 months and are covered under a pro-rated warranty for months 37-100). Costco has negotiated with manufacturers to extend the manufacturers warranty to two years for new TVs and computers (five years on TV's sold by Costco in the UK). Costco also offers a free "concierge" service to members who purchase electronics, to help answer questions regarding setup and use and avoid potential returns due to not understanding how to use the products.^[34]

Food stamps in the U.S.[link]

Until 2009, Costco did not accept food stamps. As of March 14, 2009, an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted Jim Sinegal, co-founder and president of the company, as saying, "Generally we don't have customers who use food stamps."^[35]

In response to the poor economy, as well as competitor BJ's Wholesale Club's decision in April to accept electronic food-stamp benefits chainwide,^[36] Costco announced in May 2009 that it will accept food stamps on a trial basis in two New York City stores starting in June 2009 and depending on its success, might expand it to all New York City stores.^[37] The company subsequently announced plans to expand the program beyond New York City, targeting first the "hard-hit areas like Michigan, Indiana, and the central valley of California", expanding to "half its roughly 410 U.S. stores by Thanksgiving", and then going nationwide.^[38]

Cash Cards[link]

Costco Cash Cards can be purchased in the warehouse and members can load them with money to make non-cash purchases at all Costco warehouses in the United States and Australia. Because Costco gas stations take only Costco Cash, debit cards, American Express, and Costco credit cards, people who can only pay for gas by check or cash must purchase a Costco Cash Card inside the building before filling up. A Costco Membership is not required to purchase an in-store item with a Costco Cash Card, but is required to purchase gas. A non-member may not purchase or re-load a Costco Cash Card; however, they may spend more than the total value of their cash card in-store provided they pay in cash or approved debit cards for the remaining balance.^[39]

Products[link]

Over the years, Costco has gradually expanded its range of products and services. Initially it preferred to sell only boxed products that could be dispensed by simply tearing the shrinkwrap off a pallet. It now sells many other products that are more difficult to handle, such as fresh produce, meat, dairy, seafood, fresh baked goods, flowers, clothing, books, computer software, vacuums, Home appliances, home electronics, solar panels, jewelry, tires, art, fine wine, hot tubs, furniture and caskets. Many warehouses have tire garages, pharmacies, hearing aid centers, optometrists, photo processors, and gas stations. Optometrists working at Costco locations will see patients without Costco memberships.

Costco Optical ranks as the fourth-largest optical company in the US.^[40] A membership is required to fill a prescription at the optical department.

Some locations have liquor stores, often kept separate from the main warehouse in order to comply with liquor license restrictions. In some states (such as Texas), the liquor store must be owned and operated by a separate company with separate employees.^[41] In 2006, Costco lost a lawsuit against the state of Washington in which it was seeking to purchase wine directly from the producer, bypassing the state retail monopoly.^[42] In Australia, Costco has to comply with regulations set by each state they choose trade in; their first store in the state of Victoria benefits from some of the most liberal alcohol licensing laws in the country, with retailers permitted to sell alcohol on shelves within the store, in a manner similar to most European countries, yet they have chosen to have a separate checkout within the liquor section.^{[citation needed]}

Kirkland Signature[link]

Kirkland Signature branded bottled water

Kirkland Signature is Costco's store brand, otherwise known in the retail industry as an "own-brand," "house brand" or "private label." It is found exclusively at Costco's website and Costco warehouses and is trademarked by the company. The name derives from the fact that Costco's corporate headquarters was located in the city of Kirkland, Washington between 1987 and 1996.^[43]

Costco introduced Kirkland Signature as its house brand in 1995. The idea was to identify categories in which a private label product could provide brand name quality at discounted prices.^[44]

To counteract the consumer confidence problem common in store branding, Kirkland Signature sometimes relies on co-branding. According to Costco, while consumers may be wary of same-store-branding, they are less likely to be wary of brands that they are familiar with and trust.^[45]

Services[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Costco acts as an investment broker and travel agent. Costco has an agreement with Ameriprise for auto and home insurance. In 2004 Costco offered an original artwork by artist Pablo Picasso on their online store; more recently^[when?] a highly regarded 1982 Mouton Rothschild wine was offered as well as other rare wines in rotation.^{[citation needed]}

Costco Photo Center is a multi-functional photography printing lab offering services at the warehouses as well as through their web site, costcophotocenter.com. The website provides free unlimited digital file storage with a current membership. Previous to May or June 2010, Costco had an agreement with Mypublisher.com for custom book and calendar publishing. Now, they print the photobooks and calendars themselves.

Online shopping[link]

The domain costco.com attracted at least 58 million visitors in 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.^[46] Costco has three e-commerce websites including costco.com for the US market, costco.ca for Canada and costco.co.uk for the United Kingdom.

Costco Travel[link]

Costco Travel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Costco Wholesale, and offers leisure travel to Costco members of the United States.^[47] The program was established in 2000 as a service to Costco members. Costco Travel’s offices are located in Issaquah, Washington, adjacent to Costco’s corporate headquarters. Costco Travel employs 290 travel professionals, all of whom are Costco employees.

The program offers vacation packages to Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Orlando, the South Pacific, the Desert Southwest and Las Vegas. Other products include cruises, guided vacations, theme park packages, houseboat rentals, hotel-only lodging and luxury vacation rentals. Select products feature additional benefits for Costco Executive Members.

The program is marketed directly to Costco members through various Costco avenues, including the Travel Guide to Savings (found in all U.S. Costco warehouses), online in the Travel section of Costco.com.

[edit] Costco Connection

The Costco Connection is a magazine sent free to members of the warehouse club Costco and includes articles which regularly tie into the corporation along with business, health and social articles.

Food service[link]

Most Costco locations have a food court, offering a quarter-pound 100% beef hot dog or polish sausage and 20 oz drink (with refill) for $1.50, the same price since 1985.^[48] In Australia the hot dog is made of pork and is sold at A$2.49 with large soda. In Canada the price for hot-dog and 20 oz pop drink with refill is 1.50 CAD^[49] In Mexico, the hot dog is made of pork, and includes a drink (with refill) for $25 MXN. In the UK, the hot dog is also made from beef and you also get a drink (with refill) for £1.50. Costco sold more than 82 million quarter-pound hot dogs in its food courts in 2008.^[49] Pizza is also available in most locations as cheese, pepperoni, veggie, or combo, and can be ordered to go at many locations. Frozen yogurt is also served in chocolate, vanilla, or swirled together. Also offered are berry smoothies, mocha latte freezes, chicken bake, carne asada bake, sandwiches, turkey wraps, twisted churros, chicken Caesar salads, and in some locations, gelato. French fries are also offered in some locations. Due to slow sales, the pretzel was replaced by the churro.^[50] The nutrition data for the Costco Food Court items is posted online.^[51] In April 2010, certain Costco warehouses in the U.S. and Canada replaced their Coca-Cola drink fountain selections with Pepsi, accompanied with a change in labels on the disposable cups.^{[citation needed]}

Labor relations[link]

While some former Price Club locations in California and the northeastern United States are staffed by Teamsters,^[52] the majority of Costco locations are not unionized. The non-union locations have revisions to their Costco Employee Agreement every three years concurrent with union contract ratifications in locations with collective bargaining agreements. Similar to a union contract, the Employee Agreement sets forth such things as benefits, compensations, wages, disciplinary procedures, paid holidays, bonuses, and seniority. As of March 2011^[update], non-supervisory hourly wages ranged from $11.00 to $21.00 in the United States, $11.00 to $22.15 in Canada, and £6.28 to £10.50 in the United Kingdom. In the US, eighty-five percent of Costco's workers have health insurance, compared with less than fifty percent at Walmart and Target.^[53]

Product-demonstration (e.g., food samples) employees work for an outside company. In the western U.S., the company is called Warehouse Demo Services, Kirkland, Washington.^[54] Costco also uses Club Demonstration Services, based in San Diego, California.^[55] In Canada, demonstrations are done exclusively by Professional Warehouse Demonstrations.^[56] Demonstration employees receive a pay and benefit package that is less than that of Costco employees.^{[57][unreliable source?]}

International[link]

Warehouses outside the US are similar to those in the US. Layout, signage, and even parking lot markings are generally identical to warehouses in the US.^{[citation needed]} Food court menus are tailored to international tastes, with poutine on offer in Canada, seafood-topped pizza available in Asian and Mexican locations, clam chowder in Japan, Taiwan & South Korea, jacket potatoes in the UK and meat pies in Australia.^[58] The merchandise mix available in warehouses is also tailored to local tastes, with a mix of both American and local products available.

Locations[link]

As of September 3, 2011 (2011 -09-03)^[update], Costco has 600 warehouses:^[59]

• 437 in the United States (including 4 in Puerto Rico)
• 82 in Canada
• 32 in Mexico (50–50 joint venture with Comercial Mexicana)
• 22 in the United Kingdom. The latest to open is in Coventry.
• 13 in Japan. The latest to open is in Kobe
• 8 in Taiwan
• 7 in South Korea. The latest to open is in Suyeong-gu, Busan.
• 3 in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra)

In 2005 the world's largest Costco was located in Hillsboro, Oregon, U.S.^[60][61]

Other wholesale formats[link]

Costco has experimented with other formats. Plans for Costco Fresh, a gourmet supermarket, were abandoned in February 2003. The membership-based format was to include a pharmacy, bakery, olive bar, deli, cafe, garden center and photo and optical departments, with products packaged in smaller quantities.^[62]

Costco Business Center[link]

Costco Business Centers carry restaurant, hospitality, janitorial, convenience store, and professional office supplies; items are offered in bulk or in smaller quantities, and selection for a given category of product is much broader.^[63] Delivery is available. Unlike traditional Costcos, clothing, sporting goods, jewelry, tires, hearing aids, and optical products are among the items not available.^[63] A limited assortment of over-the-counter drugs and toiletries are sold, though there is no pharmacy. Some locations have a gas station and/or food court. All except San Diego have a Print & Copy Center.

As of September 2010, there are eight Costco Business Centers, located in California (Commerce, Hawthorne, Hayward, and San Diego), Washington (Lynnwood and Fife), Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona.^[59]

Costco Home[link]

The first Costco Home warehouse debuted in 2002 in Kirkland, Washington. The warehouse's concept was to combine the value, setting and members-only elements of Costco's warehouse clubs with the product array one would find at an upscale home store, such as Fortunoff or Crate & Barrel. The Costco Home warehouses sold furniture, housewares, kitchen products and accessories from higher-end brands such as Lexington, Ralph Lauren and Waterford^[64] in a warehouse-club setting. Costco claimed that, similar to its main warehouses, it accepted lower margins in return for greater volume with minimal overhead.

Over time, the concept was adjusted to include home electronics, some major appliances, office furniture, and a large selection of outdoor furniture and window treatments. Costco also partners with Glentel subsidiary WIRELESS etc. to sell mobile phones and plans in Canada and Wireless Advocates in the US.

On April 2, 2009, the company announced that it would be abandoning its Costco Home concept, closing the two existing stores in Kirkland, Washington and Tempe, Arizona on July 3, 2009, and abandoning plans for a third store on the West Coast.^[65] The company cited cutbacks in consumer spending on home products and its interest in focusing on its core business as the main reasons.

See also[link]

• BJ's Wholesale Club
• Bulk foods
• Sams Club
• Walmart

References[link]

General references

External links[link]

	Seattle portal
	Companies portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Costco

• Costco Wholesale official website
  • Costco Mobile
• Costco Wholesale Australia website
• Costco Wholesale Canada website
• Costco Wholesale Japan website (Japanese)
• Costco Wholesale United Kingdom website
• PriceCostco Company History FundingUniverse
• Costco Travel official website
• Costco Auto Buying Program website

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Joe Biden 47th Vice President of the United States Incumbent Assumed office January 20, 2009 President Barack Obama Preceded by Dick Cheney Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2009 Preceded by Richard Lugar Succeeded by John Kerry In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 Preceded by Jesse Helms Succeeded by Richard Lugar In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001 Preceded by Jesse Helms Succeeded by Jesse Helms Chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2009 Preceded by Chuck Grassley Succeeded by Dianne Feinstein Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary In office January 6, 1987 – January 3, 1995 Preceded by Strom Thurmond Succeeded by Orrin Hatch United States Senator from Delaware In office January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009 Preceded by Caleb Boggs Succeeded by Ted Kaufman Personal details Born Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. (1942-11-20) November 20, 1942 (age 69) Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States Political party Democratic Spouse(s) Neilia Hunter (1966–1972) Jill Jacobs (1977–present) Children Joseph R. III (b.1969) R. Hunter (b.1970) Naomi C. (1971–1972) Ashley B. (b.1981) Residence Number One Observatory Circle (Official) Wilmington, Delaware (Private) Alma mater University of Delaware (BA) Syracuse University (JD) Profession Lawyer Religion Roman Catholicism Signature Website Vice President Joe Biden Joe Biden (Facebook) @Joe Biden (Twitter)

	This article is part of a series on Joe Biden
Obama–Biden campaign Biden presidential primaries campaign, 2008 Presidential primaries campaign, 1988 Political positions Electoral history

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (pronunciation: /ˈdʒoʊsɨf rɒbɨˈnɛt ˈbaɪdən/; born November 20, 1942) is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama. A Democrat, he was a United States Senator from Delaware from January 3, 1973 until his resignation on January 15, 2009, following his election to the Vice Presidency.

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and lived there for ten years before moving to Delaware. He became an attorney in 1969, and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate six times, was the fourth most senior senator at the time of his resignation, and is the 15th-longest serving Senator in history. Biden was a long-time member and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. His strong advocacy helped bring about U.S. military assistance and intervention during the Bosnian War. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991. He voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, but later proposed resolutions to alter U.S. strategy there. He has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties, and led creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. He chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.

Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, both times dropping out early in the race. Barack Obama selected Biden to be the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Biden is the first Roman Catholic and the first Delawarean to become Vice President of the United States. As Vice President, Biden has been heavily involved in Obama's decision-making process and held the oversight role for infrastructure spending from the Obama stimulus package aimed at counteracting the late-2000s recession. His ability to negotiate with Congressional Republicans played a key role in bringing about the bipartisan deals that resulted in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 that resolved a taxation deadlock and the Budget Control Act of 2011 that resolved the United States debt ceiling crisis.

Early life and education[link]

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania,^[1] the son of Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr. (1915–2002)^[2] and Catherine Eugenia "Jean" (née Finnegan; 1917–2010).^[3] He was the first of four siblings^[1] in a Catholic family. His mother was of Irish descent, with roots in County Londonderry.^[4][5][6] His paternal grandparents, Mary Elizabeth (Robinette) and Joseph H. Biden, an oil businessman from Baltimore, had English, Irish, and French ancestry.^[7] He has two brothers, James Brian Biden and Francis W. Biden, and a sister, Valerie (Biden) Owens.^[8] His maternal great-grandfather, Edward F. Blewitt, was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.^[9]

Biden's father had been very well-off earlier in his life, but had suffered several business reverses by the time Biden was born,^[10] and for several years the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents, the Finnegans.^[10] When the Scranton area went into economic decline during the 1950s, Biden's father could not find enough work.^[11] In 1953, the Biden family moved to an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, where they lived for a few years before moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware.^[10] Joe Biden Sr. then did better as a used car salesman, and the family's circumstances were middle class.^[10][11][12]

Biden attended the Archmere Academy in Claymont,^[13] where he was a standout halfback/wide receiver on the high school football team; he helped lead a perennially losing team to an undefeated season in his senior year.^[10][14] He played on the baseball team as well.^[10] During these years, he participated in an anti-segregation sit-in at a Wilmington theatre.^[15] Academically, Biden was undistinguished,^[10] but he was a natural leader among the students.^[16] He graduated in 1961.^[13]

Biden attended the University of Delaware in Newark, where he was more interested in sports and socializing than in studying,^[10] although his classmates were impressed by his cramming abilities.^[15] He played halfback with the Blue Hens freshman football team,^[14] but he dropped a junior year plan to play for the varsity team as a defensive back, enabling him to spend more time with his out-of-state girlfriend.^[14][17] He double majored in history and political science and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1965,^[1] ranking 506th of 688 in his class.^[18]

He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University's College of Law in 1968,^[19] where by his own description he found it to be "the biggest bore in the world" and pulled many all-nighters to get by.^[15][20] During his first year there, he was accused of having plagiarized 5 of 15 pages of a law review article. Biden said it was inadvertent due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation, and he was permitted to retake the course after receiving a grade of F, which was subsequently dropped from his record.^[20] He was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1969.^[19]

Biden received five student draft deferments during this period, with the first coming in late 1963 and the last in early 1968, at the peak of the Vietnam War.^[21] In April 1968, he was reclassified by the Selective Service System as not available for service due to having had asthma as a teenager.^[21][22] Biden was not a part of the anti-Vietnam War movement; he would later say that at the time he was preoccupied with marriage and law school, and that he "wore sports coats ... not tie-dyed".^[23]

Negative impressions of drinking alcohol in the Biden and Finnegan families and in the neighborhood led to Joe Biden becoming a teetotaler.^[10][24] Biden suffered from stuttering through much of his childhood and into his twenties;^[25] he overcame it via long hours spent reciting poetry in front of a mirror.^[16]

Family and early political career[link]

On August 27, 1966, Biden, then a law student, married Neilia Hunter, who was from an affluent background in Skaneateles, New York and had attended Syracuse University.^[1][10][26] They had met in 1964 while on spring break in the Bahamas, and he had overcome her parents' initial reluctance for her to be dating a Roman Catholic.^[27] They had three children, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III (born 1969), Robert Hunter (born 1970), and Naomi Christina (born 1971).^[1]

In 1969, Biden began practicing law in Wilmington, Delaware, first as a public defender and then with his own firm, Biden and Walsh.^[15] Corporate law, however, did not appeal to him and criminal law did not pay well.^[10] He supplemented his income by managing properties.^[28] He ran as a Democrat for the New Castle County Council on a liberal platform that included support for public housing in the suburban area.^[15] He won by a solid margin in the usually Republican district,^[15] and served from 1970 to 1972^[19] while continuing his private law practice as well.^[29]

His entry into the 1972 U.S. Senate election in Delaware presented Biden with a unique circumstance. Longtime Delaware political figure and Republican incumbent Senator J. Caleb Boggs was considering retirement, which would likely have left U.S. Representative Pete du Pont and Wilmington Mayor Harry G. Haskell, Jr. in a divisive primary fight. To avoid that, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon helped convince Boggs to run again with full party support.^[30] No other Democrat wanted to run against Boggs.^[15] Biden's campaign had virtually no money and was given no chance of winning.^[10] It was managed by his sister Valerie Biden Owens (who would go on to manage his future campaigns as well) and staffed by other members of his family, and relied upon handed-out newsprint position papers and meeting voters face-to-face;^[31] the small size of the state and lack of a major media market made the approach feasible.^[28] Biden did receive some assistance from the AFL-CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell.^[15] Biden's campaign issues focused on withdrawal from Vietnam, the environment, civil rights, mass transit, more equitable taxation, health care, the public's dissatisfaction with politics-as-usual, and "change".^[15][31] During the summer Biden trailed by almost 30 percentage points,^[15] but his energy level, his attractive young family, and his ability to connect with voters' emotions gave the surging Biden an advantage over the ready-to-retire Boggs.^[12] Biden won the November 7, 1972 election in an upset by a margin of 3,162 votes.^[31]

On December 18, 1972, a few weeks after the election, Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware.^[1] Neilia Biden's station wagon was hit by a tractor-trailer as she pulled out from an intersection; the truck driver was cleared of any wrongdoing.^[32] Biden's two sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries.^[1] Biden considered resigning to care for them;^[12] he was persuaded not to by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and others and was sworn into office from one of their bedsides.^[33] The accident left Biden filled with both anger and religious doubt: "I liked to [walk around seedy neighborhoods] at night when I thought there was a better chance of finding a fight ... I had not known I was capable of such rage ... I felt God had played a horrible trick on me."^[34]

To be at home every day for his young sons,^[35] Biden began the practice of commuting every day by Amtrak train for 1½ hours each way from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, D.C., which he continued to do throughout his Senate career.^[12] In the aftermath of the accident, he had trouble focusing on work, and appeared to just go through the motions of being a senator. In his memoirs, Biden notes that staffers were taking bets on how long he would last.^[26][36] A single father for five years, Biden left standing orders that he be interrupted in the Senate at any time if his sons called.^[33] In remembrance of his wife and daughter, Biden does not work on December 18, the anniversary of the accident.^[37] Biden's elder son, Beau, later became Delaware Attorney General and an Army Judge Advocate serving in Iraq;^[38] his younger son, Hunter, became a Washington attorney and lobbyist.^[39]

In 1975, Biden met Jill Tracy Jacobs, who grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and would become a teacher in Delaware.^[40] They had met on a blind date with the help of Biden's brother, although it turned out that Biden had already noticed her in a local advertisement.^[40] Biden would credit her with renewing his interest in both politics and life.^[41] On June 17, 1977, Biden and Jacobs married.^[1] They have one daughter, Ashley Blazer (born 1981),^[1] who later became a social worker.^[39] The Bidens are Roman Catholics and regularly attend Mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware.^[42]

United States Senator[link]

Drawer of chamber desk XCI occupied by Biden in the U.S. Senate. Note signature at upper center inside of drawer. President John F. Kennedy once occupied the desk in the U.S. Senate.^[43]

Senator Biden, Senator Frank Church and President of Egypt Anwar El Sadat after signing Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, 1979

Biden with President Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office

When Biden took office on January 3, 1973, at age 30 (the minimum age to become a U.S. Senator), he became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history.^[44] In 1974, freshman Senator Biden was named one of the 200 Faces for the Future by Time magazine.^[45]

Biden was subsequently elected to six additional terms, in the elections of 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, usually getting about 60 percent of the vote.^[46] He did not face strong opposition; Governor Pierre S. du Pont, IV chose not to run against him in 1984.^[47] Biden spent 28 years as a junior senator due to the two-year seniority of his Republican colleague William V. Roth, Jr.. After Roth was defeated for re-election by Tom Carper in 2000, Biden became Delaware's senior senator. He then became the longest-serving senator in Delaware history.^[48] In May 1999, Biden set the mark for youngest senator to cast 10,000 votes.^[49]

In February 1988, after suffering from several episodes of increasingly severe neck pain, Biden was taken by long-distance ambulance to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and given lifesaving surgery to correct an intracranial berry aneurysm that had begun leaking;^[50][51] the situation was serious enough that a priest had administered last rites at the hospital.^[52] While recuperating, he suffered a pulmonary embolism, which represented a major complication.^[51] Another operation to repair a second aneurysm, which had caused no symptoms but was also at risk from bursting, was performed in May 1988.^[51][53] The hospitalization and recovery kept Biden from his duties in the U.S. Senate for seven months.^[37] Biden has had no recurrences or effects from the aneurysms since then.^[51]

Judiciary Committee[link]

Biden was a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 and on which he served as ranking minority member from 1981 until 1987 and again from 1995 until 1997. In this capacity, he dealt with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties.

While chairman, Biden presided over the two most contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings in history, those for Robert Bork in 1987 and Clarence Thomas in 1991.^[12] In the Bork hearings, Biden stated his opposition to Bork soon after the nomination, reversing an approval in an interview of a hypothetical Bork nomination he had made the previous year and angering conservatives who thought he could not conduct the hearings dispassionately.^[54] At the close, Biden won praise for conducting the proceedings fairly and with good humor and courage, as his 1988 presidential campaign collapsed in the middle of the hearings.^[54][55] Rejecting some of the less intellectually honest arguments that other Bork opponents were making,^[12] Biden framed his discussion around the belief that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to liberty and privacy that extend beyond those explicitly enumerated in the text, and that Bork's strong originalism was ideologically incompatible with that view.^[55] Bork's nomination was rejected in the committee by a 9–5 vote,^[55] and then rejected in the full Senate by a 58–42 margin.

In the Thomas hearings, Biden's questions on constitutional issues were often long and convoluted, sometimes such that Thomas forgot the question being asked.^[56] Thomas later wrote that despite earlier private assurances from the senator, Biden's questions had been akin to a beanball.^[57] The nomination came out of the committee without a recommendation, with Biden opposed.^[12] In part due to his own bad experiences in 1987 with his presidential campaign, Biden was reluctant to let personal matters enter into the hearings.^[56] Biden initially shared with committee, but not the public, Anita Hill's sexual harassment charges, on the grounds she was not yet willing to testify.^[12] After she did, Biden did not permit other witnesses to testify further on her behalf, such as Angela Wright (who made a similar charge) and experts on harassment.^[58] Biden said he was striving to preserve Thomas's right to privacy and the decency of the hearings.^[56][58] The nomination was approved by a 52–48 vote in the full Senate, with Biden again opposed.^[12] During and afterwards, Biden was strongly criticized by liberal legal groups and women's groups for having mishandled the hearings and having not done enough to support Hill.^[58] Biden subsequently sought out women to serve on the Judiciary Committee and emphasized women's issues in the committee's legislative agenda.^[12]

Joe Biden at the World Economic Forum in Jordan in 2003

Biden was involved in crafting many federal crime laws. In 1984, he was Democratic floor manager for the successful passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act; civil libertarians praised him for modifying some of the Act's provisions, and it was his most important legislative accomplishment at that point in time.^[47] He later spearheaded the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, also known as the Biden Crime Law, and the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), which contains a broad array of measures to combat domestic violence and provides billions of dollars in federal funds to address gender-based crimes. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Morrison that the section of VAWA allowing a federal civil remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence exceeded Congress's authority and therefore was unconstitutional.^[59] Congress reauthorized VAWA in 2000 and 2005.^[60] Biden has said, "I consider the Violence Against Women Act the single most significant legislation that I’ve crafted during my 35-year tenure in the Senate."^[61] In 2004 and 2005, Biden enlisted major American technology companies in diagnosing the problems of the Austin, Texas-based National Domestic Violence Hotline, and to donate equipment and expertise to it in a successful effort to improve its services.^[62][63]

Biden was critical of the actions of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr during the 1990s Whitewater controversy and Lewinsky scandal investigations, and said "it's going to be a cold day in hell" before another Independent Counsel is granted the same powers.^[64] Biden voted to acquit on both charges during the impeachment of President Clinton.

As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Biden wrote the laws that created the U.S. "Drug Czar", who oversees and coordinates national drug control policy. In April 2003, he introduced the controversial Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act, also known as the RAVE Act. He continued to work to stop the spread of "date rape drugs" such as flunitrazepam, and drugs such as Ecstasy and Ketamine. In 2004, he worked to pass a bill outlawing steroids like androstenedione, the drug used by many baseball players.^[12]

Biden's legislation to promote college aid and loan programs allows families to deduct on their annual income tax returns up to $10,000 per year in higher education expenses. His "Kids 2000" legislation established a public/private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet access, and technical training to young people, particularly to low-income and at-risk youth.^[65]

Foreign Relations Committee[link]

Biden was also a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 1997, he became the ranking minority member and chaired the committee in January 2001 and from June 2001 through 2003. When Democrats re-took control of the Senate following the 2006 elections, Biden again assumed the top spot on the committee in 2007.^[66] Biden was generally a liberal internationalist in foreign policy.^[67][68] He collaborated effectively with important Republican Senate figures such as Richard Lugar and Jesse Helms and sometimes went against elements of his own party.^[66][67] Biden was also co-chair of the NATO Observer Group in the Senate.^[69] A partial list covering this time showed Biden meeting with some 150 leaders from nearly 60 countries and international organizations.^[70] Biden held frequent hearings as chair of the committee, as well as holding many subcommittee hearings during the three times he chaired the Subcommittee on European Affairs.^[68]

During his first decade in the Senate, Biden focused on arms control issues.^[68][71] In response to the refusal of the U.S. Congress to ratify the SALT II Treaty signed in 1979 by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and President Jimmy Carter, Biden took the initiative to meet the Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, educated him about American concerns and interests, and secured several changes to address objections of the Foreign Relations Committee.^[72] When the Reagan administration wanted to interpret the 1972 SALT I Treaty loosely in order to allow the Strategic Defense Initiative to proceed, Biden argued for strict adherence to the treaty's terms.^[68] Biden clashed again with the Reagan administration in 1986 over economic sanctions against South Africa, leading to a heated exchange between the senator and Secretary of State George P. Shultz.^[71]