Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) will be Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) running mate. A Bloomberg story says the Biden pick is “aimed at addressing questions about Obama’s inexperience on international affairs, his biggest vulnerability against [Republican presidential candidate Senator John] McCain.”

Let’s take a look at Senator Biden’s legislative priorities. (Disclosure: I was a college intern in Senator Biden’s personal office in the fall of 1988.)

So far in the current Congress, Biden has introduced 37 bills, mostly dealing with foreign affairs and criminal justice issues. Of those, nine have passed into law, either directly or as part of other legislation. (This analysis does include amendments or symbolic resolutions, and relies on the Thomas legislative database for incorporation of bills into passed legislation.)

Listed below are bills that Senator Biden has introduced and that have been passed into law, followed by the bills he has introduced but that have not been passed into law.

PASSED INTO LAW

S. 676 became Public Law 110-38
A bill to provide that the Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank or the Alternate Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank may serve on the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Foundation
Costs $0.00 per family

S. 1060
The Recidivism Reduction and Second Chance Act of 2007
Costs $3.49 per family
was passed as The Second Chance Act of 2007, Public Law 110-199

S. 1709
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2007
was passed as The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, Public Law 110-229.

S. 2106 became P.L. 110-113
The Procedural Fairness for September 11 Victims Act of 2007

S. 2257
The Burma Democracy Promotion Act of 2007
was pased as The Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007, Public Law 110-286.

S. 2565 became P.L. 110-298
The Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2007
Costs $0.01 per family

S. 2731
The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008
Costs $298.60 per family
was passed as The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, Law 110-293.

S. 3218 became Public Law 110-296
The Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2008

S. 3370 became Public Law 110-301
The Libyan Claims Resolution Act

INTRODUCED BILLS

S. 345
The Homeland Security Trust Fund Act of 2007

S. 368
The COPS Improvements Act of 2007
Costs $1.72 per family

S. 392
A bill to ensure payment of United States assessments for United Nations peacekeeping operations for the 2005 through 2008 time period
Costs $1.59 per family

S. 449
The State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act of 2007

S. 534
The FBI Act of 2007

S. 1011
The Recognizing Addiction as a Disease Act of 2007
Costs $0.00 per family

S. 1044
The Effective Care for the Armed Forces and Veterans Act of 2007

S. 1055
The American Automobile Industry Promotion Act of 2007

S. 1399
The College Affordability and Creating Chances for Educational Success for Students Act of 2007

S. 1467
A bill to establish an establish an Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment Demonstration Program

S. 1515
The National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act

S. 1562
The Fluorescent Lightbulb Implementation Program to Save Americans Value and Energy

S. 1565
The Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2007
Saves $0.52 per family

S. 1684
The Return of Talent Act

S. 1687
The Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2007
Costs $0.98 per family

S. 1711
The Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007

S. 1738
The Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007
Costs $4.91 per family

S. 1839
A bill to require periodic reports on claims related to acts of terrorism against Americans perpetrated or supported by the Government of Libya
Costs $0.00 per family

S. 1876
The National Security with Justice Act of 2007

S. 2230
The Nursing Education Opportunities Act

S. 2237
The Crime Control and Prevention Act of 2007

S. 2274
The Dextromethorphan Abuse Reduction Act of 2007

S. 2279
The International Violence Against Women Act of 2007

S. 2349
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation Reauthorization Act of 2007

S. 2495
The Bail Bond Fairness Act of 2007

S. 2756
The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2008
Costs $0.09 per family

S. 3024
The Eurasia Foundation Act
Costs $0.26 per family

S. 3052
The Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2008
Costs $0.00 per family

S. 3061
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008

S. 3103
The International Space Station Payments Act of 2008

S. 3136
The FIND Act

S. 3168
The International Development Association Replenishment Act of 2008
Costs $33.81 per family

S. 3169
A bill to authorize United States participation in, and appropriations for the United States contribution to, the eleventh replenishment of the resources of the African Development Fund
Costs $4.21 per family

S. 3245
The Justice Integrity Act of 2008

S. 3263
The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2008

S. 3273
The International Clean Development Technology Fund Act of 2008

S. 3351
The Drug Trafficking Interdiction Assistance Act of 2008

S. 3433
The Iraq Security Agreement Act of 2008

And I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Via TechCrunch, the Republican party has a site up that purports to give ordinary people a voice in the platform that the GOP will adopt.

The Republican Party is seeking your input as we develop the policies and principles upon which we should stand for the next four years. On this website, you can share your thoughts, participate in polls, and communicate directly with the policymakers who will be shaping the party’s agenda. All comments and feedback will be reviewed and taken into full consideration as we prepare for our convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

“Full consideration” is the equivalent to the weasel-phrase “all due respect.” When none is due, none is given.

The math here is fairly simple. The people who serve on the platform committees in either party have spent thousands of hours over years and years getting to where they are in the party hierarchy. They are not going to hand their power and pet issues over to the unwashed masses just because someone in the party set up a Web site.

It’s good that a party feels like it should make its platform process “open,” but this will only be a pretense of openness. It’s designed to look good to folks like the writers at TechCrunch, but don’t expect a lot of change from this. (Not a knock on TC – the power dynamics in the political system is not their beat.)

An interesting post on the Official Google Blog called “More Tools for Citizen Participation” says:

Political participation isn’t just about casting your vote; everyone should be able to become an informed participant instantly. When Americans want to learn about candidates and issues using Google, we find that they want more than one source, and immediate results. Instead of sitting through entire television broadcasts, voters are going online to get their daily dose of politics – as they did during the primaries, when searches for political queries spiked.

The piece links to a map showing search queries for the presidential candidates.

It’s true that television lacks the depth people need to become informed citizens, and people are going online to get what they need to know, but I’m not sure who expects to be informed “instantly.” It takes time and some work. The political process would be quite different if it were that easy to gather and distribute the most relevant information about political candidates.

More importantly, though, I think the focus on politicians in most of the tools Google is pointing to is just a little bit beside the point. During campaign time, we get a lot of biography and a lot of promises, but what happens when election season ends and our attention wanes? Back in 2006, we pointed out that they spend enough money to buy every American family a new car.

Rather than following politicians, it would be good to know what is happening with our nation’s public policies. (Needless to say, that’s what we focus on here at WashingtonWatch.com, where you can track the newest bills in Congress, for example – in your browser or your RSS reader.) Maybe policy should animate our inquiries about politicians, rather than putting politicians first.

The toys they’ve put together are interesting, of course – and there’s nothing wrong at all with studying politicians. Here, for example, is a fun biography of Barack Obama: