Barbara Boxer: “I am very much in agreement with the thrust of the bill. I served in local government and we had some mandates I never…”

“I am very much in agreement with the thrust of the bill. I served in local government and we had some mandates I never could understand. So I am very hopeful that the bill, in its final form, will be good for my State of California. And I want to make it clear, if I think it is good for the people of my State, I will be very proud to vote for the bill. But if I see that the bill takes some twists and turns and ignores, for example, the biggest unfunded mandate we face, which is services to illegal immigrants, then I am going to have a lot of trouble voting for the bill. Therefore, I look forward to the debate. We know that this bill on the issue of unfunded mandates will make a big difference in the way we fund State and local government.”