Barbara Boxer: “Mr. President, normally I have fancy charts. I have not had time to develop those because we just saw some of the riders…”

“Mr. President, normally I have fancy charts. I have not had time to develop those because we just saw some of the riders of the bill. I take the floor to make the point that I have many problems with this bill in the area of homeland security--as we are told to take duct tape and plastic and get ready for a chemical or biological attack. God forbid. We have shorted homeland security in this bill. We have shorted port security as it relates to inspecting containers at the ports. We have shorted border security, firefighter grants, community policing grants; and in education, we are leaving many children behind. That breaks a promise to them. To me, this bill is wanting in many ways. In the area of the environment, which I will talk about, brownfield cleanups have been reduced, and the meaning of organic meat has been turned on its head. It breaks my heart to tell the Senate tonight that I think America's forests are under major attack. It is unbelievable to me that without any debate or discussion, a pilot program has been expanded massively and, in my opinion, it is going to lead to the ruination of our national forests--our forests that belong to the American people.”