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Barbara Boxer: In The News
News Clips - Boxer blasts Bush administration on global warming
By Deborah Barfield Berry
The Desert Sun WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barbara Boxer blasted the Bush administration Tuesday for ignoring warnings about the dangers of global warming and not stepping up to address the problem.
“Despite the scientific consensus, despite the danger, the Bush administration has failed to take any meaningful action,’’ said Boxer, D-Ca., chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The committee held an oversight hearing on the science of global warning and its implications. Several witnesses, including a former official with the Environmental Protection Agency, testified about the impact of global warming, including more flooding and wildfires.
Boxer, who lives in Rancho Mirage, also accused the administration of covering up the threat.
“They have censored documents…They have muzzled scientists,’’ Boxer said. “And they have ignored unanimous recommendations from agency experts to act.’’
Boxer has criticized the administration for denying California a waiver to regulate its own greenhouse gas emissions.
Republican lawmakers, however, said the hearing had little to do with addressing global warming and more to do with political grandstanding. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., called the hearing “political theater with a predetermined outcome.’’
Inhofe said if Democrats were serious about addressing global warming they would focus on drafting measures such as one to improve technology to reduce emissions. “Instead," he said, "we are here to politicize the internal deliberative process of the administration.’’
Link to article - Senate debate a sign of readiness to tackle global warming
By Barbara Boxer
San Jose Mercury News
Last week, the United States Senate had a landmark moment in the fight against global warming when 54 senators came down on the side of tackling this issue now.
While the floor debate on the Climate Security Act was ultimately cut short by a Republican filibuster, our strong vote proves that we are moving in the right direction.
When a comprehensive global warming bill last came to the floor in 2005, only 38 senators voted in favor of it. Today, our nation is poised to confront this challenge and once again become an environmental leader in the world.
In remarkable contrast to President Bush - who fiercely defends the status quo and threatened to veto the bill even before he saw the final product - both presidential candidates said they are in favor of addressing the issue now.
It is imperative that we move forward - not just for the sake of our planet, our children and grandchildren, and all of God's creatures threatened by global warming, but also for the sake of our economic security.
The best hope we have for affordable energy is to pass a bill like the Climate Security Act, which will allow the free market to put a price on carbon and send a signal that it is time to invest in alternative energy and new technology. Continuing to rely on big oil and conventional coal would be the worst scenario for the American people, who are paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump and being held captive by hostile Middle East regimes that have too much control over our energy policy.
What better time to encourage the development of alternative fuels and energy efficient technology than when oil is nearly $140 a barrel?
Silicon Valley leaders have told me that when we enact a strong, federal cap-and-trade law, they anticipate billions of dollars in investment in green technology, which will create millions of "green jobs" here in America. And, if we take those steps now, we will be able to export that technology to other nations.
The Senate debate, however abbreviated, gave us a road map for the future. But until we have a new president who is willing to work with us to confront this challenge, we must continue to push policies forward at the state level.
One of the central fronts in that battle is California's efforts to obtain a waiver from the Clean Air Act so that we can implement standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
California has been granted a waiver from the Clean Air Act more than 50 times by both Republican and Democratic administrations, but President Bush and political operatives at the Environmental Protection Agency for the first time outright denied California's request for a waiver, overruling the unanimous opinion of EPA's career scientists and lawyers.
EPA's decision means that California, and at least 14 other states that adopted California's standards, cannot act. The states, led by California's attorney general, are suing EPA, and I will file an amicus brief supporting them in their efforts.
I hope the courts will act quickly to reverse EPA's outrageous decision so that California can get started on this problem and continue to set an example for the federal government.
Our generation has been handed a tremendous challenge. Legislation to combat global warming will not happen overnight; it took 10 years to pass major Clean Air Act legislation. We started voting on comprehensive global warming legislation in the Senate five years ago. We must get there - scientists have told us clearly that time is not on our side.
We must convince the negative voices that we need to act now to avert the dangers of global warming.
BARBARA BOXER, a Democratic U.S. senator from California, is chairwoman of the Senate environment and public works committee and a sponsor of the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. She wrote this article for the Mercury News. Link to article - Barbara Boxer wants federal funding for Great Park
IRVINE – Sen. Barbara Boxer on Tuesday got a first-hand look at the future home of the Great Park, announcing her intention to seek federal assistance in making several parts of the ambitious project a reality.
Boxer (D-CA), who serves as chair of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, said the funds would go toward the creation of a 30-to-50-acre community farm, the refurbishment of a historic WWII hangar for public use and a storm water reclamation and management system.
"I'm going to fight to get these appropriations for you, right now, this year," Boxer said. "I want to be a part of this adventure."
Lead designer Ken Smith gave Boxer a brief update on the parks master plan, which is approaching the 70 percent completion mark. The ambitious plans call for the transformation of the former El Toro Marine Base into the $1.1 billion, 1,374-acre Great Park.
Boxer praised park designers' plans to restore natural and agricultural land to the area, as well as efforts to retain and celebrate the site's military heritage. She was unaware of how much federal money is available for the park, but indicated that it would be tied to matching local funds.
"I don't look at this as subsidizing anything," Boxer said. "I look at it as an investment."
Boxer's ties to the Great Park effort date back nearly a decade, said Larry Agran, chairman of the parks board of directors, who first approached her to weigh in on the battle between those who wanted to turn El Toro into a commercial airport and Great Park proponents. Boxer said it was important that the issue was decided on a local level.
"This has not been easy. This has been hard fought. But the fight is over," Boxer said. "We need to stick together and get this done."
Boxer's visit comes a little more than a month before local leaders are scheduled to celebrate the third anniversary of the Great Park's approval. The celebration on July 12, known as the "Festival of Flight," is also scheduled to include the return of the Great Park balloon ride, and the unveiling of the first section of a 27.5 acre preview park.
Agran acknowledged the sometimes difficult road in creating the Great Park – from the initial airport battles to the current housing crunch that has delayed adjacent development – but expressed optimism for the park's future.
"We faced challenges in the past. We continue to face challenges," Agran said. "But fundamentally this is a great opportunity." By Sean Emery Source OC Register - Lawmakers question dismissal of EPA official
By Ken Thomas
Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Two lawmakers pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday for information surrounding the resignation of a top EPA administrator
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