Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. paid a visit to the Capitol for lunch in the Senate dining room Wednesday afternoon.

He visited with several senators in the room but was dining with Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, according to Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who was in the room.

“I had a chance to visit for a while,” Conrad said. “He’s got a lot of good relationships here — a lot of affection for Joe here.”

“I had a great time,” Biden said. Asked about the fiscal cliff, he added, “Let our negotiators talk to you about that.”

“Absolutely,” Biden replied, when questioned if the GOP would need to accept higher tax rates for negotiations to move forward. He added that President Barack Obama has “made clear: The top rate goes up.”