Highlights of Senator Boxer's Record on the Economy

Families across California and around the nation are suffering in this recession -- they are losing their jobs, their homes and their access to health care. Senator Barbara Boxer's top priority is economic recovery for California and the nation.

Jobs for California: Senator Boxer has proposed and supported policies to create more good jobs in America.
- She was a strong supporter of President Obama's economic stimulus plan, which will create and retain 3.5 million jobs in America, nearly 400,000 of them in California.
- She has worked to provide funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, which helps American manufacturing companies remain competitive and keep jobs in the United States.
- In 2004, Senator Boxer proposed the creation of a $24 billion jobs reserve fund to: establish a manufacturing jobs tax credit for companies that create jobs in the United States; expand trade adjustment assistance to help those who lose their jobs because of foreign trade; and end the tax break that companies receive for moving plants overseas.

Infrastructure Jobs: In 2005, Senator Boxer helped write the comprehensive federal transportation bill that resulted in California receiving a 30 percent increase in highway funding. She supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included for California, an estimated $2.6 billion to create jobs on highway projects and about $1.1 billion to create jobs investing in mass transit.

Federal Funding for California: Senator Boxer has spent her career trying to get more federal funding to meet the pressing needs of Californians and strengthen our economy. Since she has been in the Senate, billions in federal funds have been allocated to California to improve schools, repair highways, build transit systems, and recover from natural disasters and fires.

Housing: California has been at the center of the foreclosure and real estate crisis.
- Senator Boxer supported the extension and increase in the first-time Homebuyer Tax Credit to both help aspiring homeowners and stabilize home prices.
- She supported legislation to create procedures, requirements, and standards for the mandatory licensing of mortgage loan originators -- to avoid a repeat of the current mortgage crisis.
- Senator Boxer worked to raise the loan limits under the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac programs -- so that more Californians could afford housing in the high-cost California real estate market.
- Senator Boxer wrote an amendment to prevent foreclosures that would require homeowners to be told in the event that their mortgage is sold or transferred.
- She wrote and passed the Community Choice in Real Estate Act, to ensure that banks cannot expand their businesses to act as real estate brokers and managers, creating conflicts of interest.

Increasing the Minimum Wage: For 10 years, Senator Boxer was a leader in the effort to increase the federal minimum wage to improve the lack of purchasing power due to inflation. When the law was passed in 2007, nearly 1.7 million workers across the country earned the minimum wage.

Unemployment Compensation: In 2008, Senator Boxer supported legislation to extend unemployment benefits for an additional seven weeks -- and for 20 additional weeks in hard-hit states. In 2009, she supported the economic stimulus package, which provides funding for states to make more Americans eligible for unemployment benefits.

Quality, Affordable Health Care: Senator Boxer is committed to ensuring that all Californians have access to quality, affordable health care.
- Senator Boxer has introduced legislation to create a $2000 tax deduction to help pay for part of the costs of health insurance premiums.

- She has supported giving Americans access to the same health insurance program that members of Congress have.
- She authored a bill to provide small businesses with a tax credit to offset the costs of providing their employees with health insurance.

Pension Protection: Senator Boxer wrote the law that prohibits companies from forcing employees to invest their entire 401(k) pension fund in company stock. In the wake of the Enron pension debacle, she introduced legislation to strengthen the law by ensuring that 401(k) plan portfolios were diversified and by limiting the restrictions that employers sometimes place on matching contributions provided in company stock.

California Agriculture: Senator Boxer has been an outspoken advocate for California's farm economy. She has worked to reduce foreign trade barriers on the export of many California products and has supported the Market Access Programs that helps promote U.S. agricultural products overseas. She has also led fights against unfair foreign trade practices that dump foreign agricultural products in the United States.

California's High-Tech Industry: Senator Boxer is a steadfast advocate for California's high-tech industry. She was the lead author of the Jumpstart Broadband Act to set aside a portion of the broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband technology, to help reinvigorate the high-tech industry as well as to give more Americans access to the Internet. In 2008, Senator Boxer cosponsored legislation, which is now law, to further increase access to high-speed broadband. She has opposed access and sales taxes on the Internet.

California's Biotech Industry: Senator Boxer is a strong supporter of various efforts to nurture the growth of California's biotech industry, creating jobs in the process. Among other things, she has supported increasing research funding for the National Institutes of Health, funding stem cell research, and supporting the Human Genome Project.

California's Entertainment Industry: Senator Boxer has worked to protect the intellectual property -- and the economic well-being -- of our film and music industries, both here and abroad, through her support of anti-piracy measures. In addition, Senator Boxer has fought for tax breaks for films and movies produced in the United States, thus keeping and creating jobs in America.

Invest in the U.S.A.: Senator Boxer was the lead Democratic sponsor of the Invest in the U.S.A. Act, to encourage companies to bring overseas profits back to the United States to create jobs here.

Base Closures: Senator Boxer was a leading voice opposing military base closures in California, arguing that California had been unfairly and disproportionately affected by the base closure process. Base closures are not just about the military -- closed bases can be irrevocably damaging to the economies of the communities surrounding military installations. She has also fought the Pentagon to ensure that already closed bases are cleaned up so that they can be used by the local communities for economically-beneficial activities.

Small Business Bankruptcy: Senator Boxer opposed efforts in Congress to make it harder for small businesses to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law. Without this ability, more small businesses will go out of business, costing jobs and depressing economic activity.

Training the Future Workforce: The strength of America's economy in the longterm depends on a highly-skilled and well-educated workforce. Recognizing this, Senator Boxer has been a leader in promoting the use of technology in the classroom. She wrote the law that provides an enhanced tax deduction for companies that donate new and nearly-new computers for educational purposes. She has also supported increasing the tax deduction for the costs of a college education.

Business Expansion: Senator Boxer supported extending bonus depreciation and small business expensing for 2009, allowing businesses that make capital investments to immediately deduct one-half the cost. Small businesses could immediately deduct 100 percent of the cost of these investments. These benefits encourage businesses to invest and grow immediately.

Research and Development: Senator Boxer has also been a long-time supporter and advocate of the Research and Development Tax Credit, which has proven to be an essential element in promoting and encouraging business innovation, which in turn creates jobs.