Barbara Boxer: “for more than 30 years, Vice President Joe Biden has held a big place in my heart. Through thick and thin, he trusted me…”

“for more than 30 years, Vice President Joe Biden has held a big place in my heart. Through thick and thin, he trusted me to be his partner in so many fights, and I will be forever grateful to him. Joe first impressed me after he took a stand against the Reagan administration's support of South Africa when it was still in the depths of apartheid. So when he asked me to help organize women for his 1988 Presidential campaign, I was all in. While that race wasn't meant to be, I fell in love with Joe's vision of ``reclaiming the idea of America as a community'' and his beautiful, persistent optimism and hope--qualities we all still love him for today. I cherished our time serving in Congress together, and I was so honored that he asked me to carry the Violence against Women Act in the House. Joe was determined to put the spotlight on this quiet epidemic-- and he has been doing just that ever since. I took 5 years, but President Bill Clinton finally signed VAWA into law in 1994. It was one of Joe's many monumental achievements. By then, I had won election to the U.S. Senate where Joe played a major role in one of my own biggest personal accomplishments: the Dolphin-Safe tuna label law. Well, if I am being honest, it was his then 8-year-old daughter, Ashley, who got him involved.…”