I rise today to speak about my longtime friend and colleague Barbara Boxer, who is retiring from this body along with me this year. Senator Boxer will be remembered as an inspiration to young women across our country. Her career is a textbook of how to get involved in public service. Starting at the local level, she came out of the antiwar movement and got involved in the environmental movement and local causes. Taking lessons from grassroots organizing, she ran for the Marin County Board of Supervisors. She lost that first race, but she didn't give up. She ran again and won and became the first female chair. Eventually, she made her way to the U.S. House of Representatives. Along the way, she heard a lot of ``no,'' but always turned it into a ``yes.'' She never quit, never lost faith in herself, and never stopped trying. When it looked like the accusations of Anita Hill would be swept under the rug, I spoke out in the Senate against it, but I was only one female voice. Barbara Boxer came to my aid. Even though she was in the House, she led a troop of fierce House women running up the steps to the Senate to face down the Judiciary Committee and demand they shed light on the accusations of sexual harassment. Barbara had the crack team of Eleanor Holmes Norton, Pat Schroeder, Louise Slaughter, Nita Lowey, Jolene Unsoeld, and Patsy Mink to back her up. They marshalled the press and marched right up these steps.…
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