Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is a strong voice for the good guys, an undeniable one-two punch with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and much better than anything the Republicans have to offer. Her congressional record speaks for itself: Before being elected to the Senate in 1993, Boxer served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 10 years, establishing women’s rights, education and the environment as the cornerstones of her agenda. She has continued to be a force in pushing for her beliefs and the needs of Californians; her opponent, Bill Jones, has no such record.
In terms of the economy, an issue that will directly affect every UC graduate next year, Boxer is in favor of providing direct federal grants to California in order to cover the budget’s underperformance. She is a major supporter of providing tax relief for working families, increasing the tuition tax credit and lowering interest on student loans. As a staunch proponent of improving all levels of education, Boxer wants to increase funding for Pell grants and Stafford loans that help students pay for college with lower interest rates when repaying the government. Jones, the former California Secretary of State, includes his stance on every issue except education on his Web site.
In the Golden State, we need a Senator who’s willing to focus on the environmental problems that are specific to our state and the number of people who live here. For example, in 2002 she introduced a bill — later refered to as the “Boxer Bill” — to protect areas of the Los Padres National Forest at Big Sur from new logging or recreational activities. Boxer has vowed to alleviate the burden of cleaning up pollution that has been placed on taxpayers and local communities, instead of keeping the responsibility in the hands of the polluters themselves. Also, with an eye on renewable sources of energy, Boxer has opposed an energy bill due to its reliance on oil, coal and nuclear power, which would bring even bigger problems for California’s supply of drinkable water.
Boxer is also the leading advocate of after-school programs, having written a law that provides such programs for 3.5 million students.
Finally, although it is not a state-specific issue, Boxer has taken strides to improve our national defense without compromising her fundamental beliefs; she dissented against the use of force in Iraq in 2002, while writing legislation to provide more security at our ports, which is an important issue to the residents of San Diego.
Although Jones may have been successful in his previous offices, he does not represent Californians nearly as well as Boxer, which is why she deserves the vote on Nov. 2.
