A Quick Glance at Barbara Boxer

A Quick Glance at Barbara Boxer

 

Barbara Boxer, incumbent Senator from the state of California, is considered to be both a fiscally and socially liberal democrat.  A tenured member of Congress, she has spent the past ten years in the Senate and a total of nineteen years on Capitol Hill, first serving nine in the House of Representatives. Her first appearance in public office was as a member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors in California from 1977-1983. Prior to her elected time as a public servant, she spent time as a congressional aide, journalist, newspaper editor and stockbroker.  She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, attending New York public schools, and graduated with a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1962. Born on November 11, 1940, Boxer is currently married to a lawyer, Stewart Boxer, and has two grown children. Boxer is of the Jewish faith, and is a strong advocate for the separation of church and state.  Although not the most educated of U.S. Senators, Boxer makes up for her lack of background in law with her experience as a legislator. 

Boxer’s campaign website lists her as an “advocate for families, children, consumers, and the environment” which is reflected by the committees she serves on in the Senate.  Currently, Boxer serves on a total of thirteen legislative committees and subcommittees, chairing the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Committee on Ethics.   She also sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, the Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women's Issues and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  She also serves as the current Chief Deputy Whip to the Democratic Party, holding this position since 2005. 

Boxer has been author to a variety of legislation over her ten years in the Senate, and according to the National Journal, is ranked as the tenth most liberal democrat Senator.  Her voting record supports this ranking, voting to protect the rights of women as a pro-choice legislator, the environment, and acts as a voice for the minority, as over a third of California residents, according to the US Census Bureau, claim Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.  She cosponsored the 2010 DREAM Act which extended citizenship to those brought into the U.S. as minors, and is an advocate of amnesty to illegal immigrants. 

Outside of her domestic vote, Boxer stays true to her leftist democrat reputation.  She voted against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, in October 2002 and 2003.  Boxer also supports utilizing sanctions as means to dampen the Iranian nuclear arms program.  In the most recent question unraveling on Capitol Hill, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Barbara was one of the popular ten votes to authorize military action in Syria, allowing the full Senate to vote on the issue.