Barbara Boxer is dedicating millions of her special interest funded campaign coffers to perpetuating her claim that she wants to see the words “made in America” again. And while no one could argue about just how important it is to bring jobs – and especially manufacturing jobs – back to the United States, Barbara’s claim represents the height of election-year hypocrisy.
If Barbara Boxer cares so much about ensuring products are made here in the United States, then why has she championed policies that kill American manufacturing jobs? If products are to be “Made in America” again, then they obviously must be made in American manufacturing plants. Problem is, those plants are suffering as a result of Barbara Boxer’s job-killing policies.
Manufacturers Opposed The Health Care Legislation Boxer Voted For Because It “Would Drive Up Manufacturers’ Health Care Costs And Force Many Companies To Consider Abandoning The Benefits They Currently Offer Their Employees.” “Vote on final passage of Senate health care bill H.R. 3590. Approved 60-39 on Dec. 24, 2009 (Roll No. 396). The NAM opposed the bill, which would drive up manufacturers’ health care costs and force many companies to consider abandoning the benefits they currently offer their employees. Signed into law (P.L. 111-148 on March 23, 2010. NAM POSITION: No.” (National Association Of Manufacturers Website, www.bipac.net, Accessed 9/7/10)
The National Association Of Manufacturers Predicted Cap-And-Trade Proposals Like The One Barbara Boxer Championed Could Cost 850,000 Jobs By 2014. “A study by the National Association of Manufacturers projected that emissions caps similar to those rejected by the U.S. Senate in 2008 — calling for a 63 percent cut in emissions by 2050 — would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by up to $269 billion and cost 850,000 jobs by 2014.” (Tom Borelli, Op-Ed, “Cap-And-Trade Means Energy Bubble,” Washington Examiner, 2/17/09)
Boxer Supports Card Check Legislation Saying It Is “Long Overdue” And Has Even Co-Sponsored The Legislation In The 111th Congress. “The Senate recently voted on whether to end debate and call for a vote on the Employee Free Choice Act. While the majority of Senators supported this action, the vote was not sufficient to allow us to move forward. This was deeply disappointing to me because I believe that this bill, already passed by the House, is long overdue for America’s workers. I am pleased to share with you my comments on the Employee Free Choice Act and why it should become law. You can count on me to continue to work for the nation’s workers.” (Sen. Barbara Boxer, “Senator Boxer on the Employee Free Choice Act,” Press Release, 7/27/07; S. 560, Introduced 3/10/09)
The National Association Of Manufacturers “Vigorously Opposed” The Plan Because It Would Have Stripped Away The Right To A Secret Ballot Union Election. “Eliminating Secret Ballot Elections in the Workplace. Vote on a procedural motion to debate H.R. 800, the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act.” Vote was 51-48, nine votes short of the 60 votes required under Senate rules, on June 26, 2007 (Roll No. 227). The NAM vigorously opposed the procedural motion and the bill, which would strip away the right of American workers to vote via federally supervised, secret ballot elections when deciding whether to unionize. NAM POSITION: No.” (National Association Of Manufacturers Website, www.bipac.net, Accessed 9/7/10)
After supporting such a litany of anti-manufacturing legislation, it’s no wonder the National Association of Manufacturers has given Boxer such a dismal rating over the course of her career. Between 1997 and 2008, Boxer sided with the National Association of Manufacturers on an average of only 18.8 percent of key Senate votes. Boxer’s record in the House of Representatives was even worse, when she only voted on the side of manufacturers 11 percent of the time.
And for all her rhetoric, even Barbara Boxer herself doesn’t put her money where her mouth is. She’s taken thousands of dollars from companies like Bank of America, Pfizer, Boeing, Verizon, Johnson and Johnson, and Microsoft that have laid off American workers and shipped jobs overseas.
Yet again, Barbara Boxer’s rhetoric simply does not match her record. No surprise there, but for the thousands of workers whose jobs have been destroyed by Barbara Boxer’s policies, that bites.