Vice President Joe Biden attended a rally today at the HUB-Robeson Center to address the Penn State community regarding the upcoming legislative elections in November.

Speaking to a crowd of over a thousand students, professors, and townspeople in the HUB, the vice president spoke on behalf of President Obama about the issues that Americans will face when they go to the polls in two months. Of the issues that Biden discussed, the one he became most animate about was the rise of the new Republican party, warning that they would continue the agenda of the previous administration resulting in a drastic decline in governmental services and add over a trillion dollars to the national debt.

“If the Republicans take back the House and Senate, our entire agenda will come to a screeching halt,” Biden said.

He also spoke of the United States’ need to overhaul its energy and economic policy in order to lead the world in the 21st century, noting that doing so would be impossible if certain reforms were not made. Biden touted the significant reforms that the Obama administration has undertaken already within the last two years in office and emphasized that if the GOP were to regain control of Congress, those changes would be undone.

His tone grew somber when describing his family’s move from Scranton, Pa. to Wilmington, De. when he was young. He explained that his father was in search of work and therefore decided that the move to Delaware was necessary.

He also addressed the plight of the middle class, education, and the American Restructuring and Reinvestment Act. On education, he cited recent changes to policy that would make available more student loans and Pell Grants in particular, to students looking to seek out post-secondary education.

Finally, he spoke directly to the students about getting involved in political activism and volunteering for Democratic congressional campaigns.

“I’m asking you all to keep the enthusiasm going, keep the phone calls going, like you did for us last time,” he said, referring to the immense amount of young persons volunteering during Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008.

“The only thing that can allow them to win is our apathy,” Biden said.