Barbara Boxer: “I have a number of problems with the fast-track legislation. It has only been confirmed as I read the Robert Caro book…”

“I have a number of problems with the fast-track legislation. It has only been confirmed as I read the Robert Caro book, ``Master of the Senate,'' which is a biography of Lyndon Johnson. The first 100 pages talk about the role of Senators. One of the very strong points made in the book is that our Founders wanted to make sure there was a check against executive power. This was, of course, the reason we have a Constitution and we have a balance of powers. The trade issue, and assuring Congress is part of that process, is mentioned over and over again in this biography as one of the issues on which the Founders focused. The underlying premise of fast track is to write Congress out of the equation, to pat us on the head and say: Be good boys and girls; just give the President the right to do whatever he wants, and then you give up your right to amend; you can vote up or down. There are some occasions where I can see it makes sense if we are talking about a specific treaty and we want to give the President some flexibility, this is really overarching authority to the President. I knew this President when he was the Governor of Texas, supporting a minimum wage of $3.35 an hour. I don't want to see that for our people. This is a very serious point. I have also seen this President attack the environment such as I have never seen before.”