A forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, and her State of California, Barbara Boxer became a United States Senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives. Elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any Senate candidate in American history.
A national leader on environmental protection, Senator Boxer is the first woman to Chair the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). On the Committee, she advocates forcefully for clean air and water, with a particular focus on the fight against global warming. She also Chairs EPW’s Subcommittee on Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, and Children’s Health Protection.
In addition to her work on the EPW Committee, Senator Boxer has won numerous awards for her efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment. She authored the amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act ensuring that drinking water standards are set to protect children and other vulnerable populations. She has been a leader in the fight to remove arsenic from drinking water, block oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and along California’s coast, stop the use of human subjects in pesticide testing, and revitalize the Superfund by making polluters – not taxpayers – pay to clean up the toxic waste they leave behind.
A champion of quality public education, Senator Boxer wrote landmark legislation establishing the first-ever federal funding for afterschool programs. With her leadership, support for afterschool has risen dramatically. The first federal appropriation for afterschool programs was in fiscal year 1995 – for $750,000. Over the next eight years, funding increased to reach $1 billion per year, covering 1.4 million children. She is now pushing for coverage of 3.5 million children by 2007.
A strong proponent of medical research to find cures for diseases, Senator Boxer wrote bipartisan legislation to accelerate America’s contribution to combat global HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. As one of the first in Congress to recognize HMO abuses, she authored a Patients’ Bill of Rights in 1997 and continues to fight for these much-needed protections and for affordable health care. She wrote a bill to make health insurance tax deductible and another bill to let any American buy into the same health insurance program that members of Congress have. She supports revision of the current prescription drug coverage program to make it accessible through Medicare and the right of all consumers to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs reimported from Canada.
The Senate’s leading defender of a woman’s right to choose, Senator Boxer authored the Freedom of Choice Act of 2004 and helped lead the floor fight for passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. She continues to lead efforts to stop extremists in Congress from weakening a woman’s Constitutional right to choose.
Senator Boxer has worked to preserve the safety net for older Americans. She introduced the 401(k) Pension Protection Act to protect workers’ retirement nest eggs by requiring the diversification of 401(k) plans; a modified version of her bill was signed into law as part of the 1997 tax bill. This work set the stage for her active involvement in preserving Social Security.
Senator Boxer has worked to pass targeted tax cuts to help revitalize the economy. She supports a permanent Research and Development tax credit, accelerated depreciation of new business equipment, and a 20% tax credit for broadband investments focused on rural and underserved areas. Along with Senator John Ensign (R-NV), she co-authored the bipartisan Invest in the USA Act to reduce the tax on profits earned abroad by U.S. companies if those profits are invested in creating American jobs. In the 11 months following its passage, the Invest in the USA Act was credited with bringing more than $275 billion in foreign earnings by 500 American companies back to the United States.
Senator Boxer joined colleagues to pass the 1994 Crime Bill, which led to the lowest crime rate in 25 years. She strongly supports a ban on cop-killer bullets and authored legislation to require child safety locks on guns. Her bill to prevent the criminal use of personal information obtained through motor vehicle records was signed into law and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. She also authored the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) while serving in the House and helped steer it through the Senate; it too is now law. She has authored the Violence Against Children Act, based on the successful VAWA.
In response to the September 11th attacks, Senator Boxer authored a bill to protect commercial airliners against attacks by shoulder-fired missiles, and she wrote the law allowing airline pilots with special training to carry guns in the cockpit. She wrote the law to ensure that air marshals would be on board high-risk flights. She has also authored legislation on port security, rail security, and providing assistance to first responders.
In addition to her Chairmanship of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator Boxer also serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Commerce Committee, is the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, and serves on the Democratic Policy Committee’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations. She has been married to Stewart Boxer for 45 years. They have two children, a daughter-in-law, and an 11-year-old grandson.
I admire a politician who is willing to listen to the people and accept their comments, warts and all. It was always a concern to me that the previous administration only interacted in public with hand-picked crowds and carefully screened questions. On the political issue poll that you conducted it was difficult to choose just one but I will mention health care.
Insurance companies need to have as little say so as possible in this debate. They have added nothing to the system while chasing good doctors out of practice and causing untold hardship to millions of Americans who thought they had coverage. If we don't reign them in now and have a little more government protection for citizens caught in the system I believe our overall prosperity as a nation will continue to deteriorate. Thank you for bravely handling all comers on this site.
I am sad to read all the hate written towards Senator Boxer on the below posts. I understand that abortion is abhorrent to some people, but am so very thankful that they have a right to express themselves. I am a godless buddhist and gay, too! Welcome to our secular country. Thank you Senator Boxer for assuring that we don't morph into a theocracy like Iran, where gay guys like me can be publicly executed for having sex. I am shocked that Keith Olberman is your favorite TV program, I thought you may have converted to Dr. Maddow, who really rocks. Like you do, Senator. Thank you for giving so many years of your life to care for our very diverse families in California. I'll be in the streets at Placita Olvera to fight for my civil rights Wednesday February 4th from 5 til 8 PM. I know you're with us. Peace and thank you!
Barbara Boxer, I am a strong believer in a single payer national health care plan. In your opinion, will the United States ever adopt a plan similar to what they have in the U.K.? I know that President Obama's health care proposal does not go that far.
Boxer and Feinstein neither one even knows what I want or cares. Everything I am for they are against.
This pork filled stimulas package is not the way to solve the economic problem.
I may only have an Associate Degree in Business Management but even I know that the private sector has to create the jobs and put people to work. Creating government jobs will only hurt the taxpayer because it is our taxes that will pay their salary. Government does not create wealth.
She's for children? How many unborn children has her policies killed. She stands up on th Senate Floor where some of the greatest people of this country has stood, and preaches abortion rights, and then says she is for Children. She's backed every Firearm issue that has came up on the floor, she's blockes drilling so we can stop being under the thumb of the middle east. She defendes the RIGHTS of the illegal's that sneak into this country and are killing us with all of the hand out programs we are forced to deal with. I don't know who wrote this and is tooting her horn, But it sure as hell is not me. When you look at the whole of what she stands for, I really belive she would like to see this country fail.
Stand up and face the illegal immigrant issue head on - enforce our laws, and THEN you will earn our respect, but not until. California is sinking rapidly and only enforcement of our labor laws in regards to hiring legal workers will begin to patch the sinking ship. Follow the lead of AZ and maybe we can begin to turn CA around!
You Liberals crack me up yeah San Francisco is a Good example of what our Country should be like.
Jesus sorry profanity for you guys
Get your own house in order before you take the mantle of Inteligence
Funny? I got NO response to my question of why the Senate would put forth a motion to chastize the Modern Turkish Secular Republic, where women have had the vote since 1932, for an event that was done by an Empire that no longer exists! Oh well?
I would like to mention that Barbara Boxer and her staff are ingenius for getting people to sign up on Sodahead on an e-mail questionaire sent out a month or two ago. By signing up to answer one of the questions regarding important issues that we are concerned about, many of us, including myself, have become participants on SodaHead. I've noticed that a lot of the attack machines (esp. aimed at Democratic presidential contenders) operate at this grass-roots level, including here at SodaHead. By having so many in the progressive movement sign up, Barbara Boxer has put a bunch of us into action, to put out our message, to defend against unjust attacks, and put a strong progressive voice into one of the more popular internet debate/poll sites. This kind of grassroots organization on the internet, especially the kind that gets wide exposure to all kinds of different people, will allow the progressive movement to grow and become a popular movement in this country.
Also, I, as many of us undoubtedly are, am greatly indebted to Barbara Boxer's heroic fight to protect our natural resources and environment. I'm proud she represents us in the Senate!
I want to give a warm welcome to the late Senator Paul Wellstone's hero in the Senate, Sen. Barbara Boxer. Not only are you Sen. Paul Wellstone's hero, you are mine, too! I have admired your career fighting for the underdogs and less fortunate people--and other animals--since you were in the House. My best to you!
