Barbara Boxer quotes:

What they [Jim deMint and the oil lobby] do care about is the precedent. If they open up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), they'll think they can do anything to the environment - anything at all. Drilling in Yosemite? In the Grand Canyon? What's next?

We are all different. Yet we are all God's children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause of freedom, justice, fairness, and equality. That is what unites us.

Law enforcement officers are never 'off duty.' They are dedicated public servants who are sworn to protect public safety at any time and place that the peace is threatened. They need all the help that they can get.

Every citizen of this country should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth, their vote has a much weight as that of any CEO, any member of Congress, or any President.

I think Democrats are right. We fight for the American dream, for the environment, for privacy rights, a woman's right to choose, a good public education system.

When service members are discharged, we should express our gratitude for their profound personal sacrifice, not hand them a bill for their hospital food.

President Bush in his inaugural address talked about bringing freedom to countries that don't have it. He didn't specify how.

The White House has embarked on a mission to convince the people of our country that Social Security is in dire need of drastic change in order to save it for all workers.

The Saudi government's denial of basic rights to women is not only wrong, it hurts Saudi Arabia's economic development, modernization and prosperity.

Medical professionals, not insurance company bureaucrats, should be making health care decisions.

It is in Saudi Arabia's best interest to allow women to fully participate in its society, and this includes the right to vote and run for office.

Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement.

Tonight, you are hearing from the Democratic women of the Senate... We stand together on so many issues: economic prosperity, quality education for all, protecting a woman's right to choose.

Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement

I am sure that every one of my colleagues - Democrat, Republican, and Independent - agrees with that statement. That in the voting booth, every one is equal.

When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, 'Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?' They want that.

More than anything, I think as our country matures, we recognize that women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

So when you go up against the Far Right you go up against the big financial special interests like the Halliburtons of the world, the big oil companies, the big energy companies who work so hard to rip us off.

I would love to see a march on Washington that says 'Save our Social Security'.

You know, I wish the world well. I want Iraq to have democracy and the Haitians to have democracy. I want the people of Afghanistan to thrive. Lord knows, we spend enough money there to help them. What about people at home? Isn't that our first responsibility?

We have fought for social justice. We have fought for economic justice. We have fought for environmental justice. We have fought for criminal justice. Now we must add a new fight - the fight for electoral justice.

Really, life is complicated enough without having a bunch of Senators deciding what we should do in the privacy of our own homes.

I was a stock broker once. I think there is an absolute place for market investments. But they should never be the basis of one's retirement. They should be an additional piece on top of a basic, secure, guaranteed retirement benefit.

I know from my constituency what is going on. Doctors that are told, begged, by mothers, 'Please don't write down that my child as asthma. Please lie and say it's bronchitis, because if you write down asthma, when my child turns 18 or 20 and has to get his or her own insurance, it will be a pre-existing condition.'

For the sake of the troops, for the love of the troops, we must not add yet another casualty to this war. We must not let truth be a casualty of this war.

If you don't move to protect copyright, if you don't move to protect our children, it's not going to sit well.

We know no document is perfect, but when we amend the Constitution, it would be to expand rights, not to take away rights from decent, loyal Americans. This great Constitution of ours should never be used to make a group of Americans permanent second-class citizens.

To win the cause we all believe in, the spread of true democracy all over the world, we need to win by example, not just with speeches but by example; not just with military might but by gaining the respect of the world.

Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that we can help bring democracy to every corner of the world.

If you don't move to protect copyright, if you don't move to protect our children, it's not going to sit well

More than anything, I think as our country matures, we recognize that women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity

The Violence Against Women Act protects the lives of tens of thousands of domestic violence victims. But the U.S. must also support gender equality around the world, and that means acknowledging that some nations we consider to be our friends are no friends to women.

The White House has embarked on a mission to convince the people of our country that Social Security is in dire need of drastic change in order to save it for all workers

Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God, I'm still alive.' But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again.

Tonight, you are hearing from the Democratic women of the Senate... We stand together on so many issues: economic prosperity, quality education for all, protecting a woman's right to choose

[On going into politics:] My husband went to bed with Debbie Reynolds and he woke up with Eleanor Roosevelt.

With so many of our fundamental rights hanging in the balance, it is not good enough to simply roll the dice, hoping a nominee has changed his past views. It's not good enough to think, 'This is the best we can expect from this president'.

I would love to see a march on Washington that says 'Save our Social Security'

We have the greatest hospitals, doctors, and medical technology in the world - we need to make them accessible to every American.

Even if I have to stand alone, I will not be afraid to stand alone. I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to fight for what's right. I'm going to fight to hold people accountable

Americans have long recognized the need to protect our public lands and their vast resources.

Look, all this is about is utilizing the rules of the Senate, using a majority of the senators, to make sure that we get health reform done. We cannot wait another day.

Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am? It's just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I'd appreciate it.

If we turn our back on the people of this country who need to work for a living, we shouldn't be here, to be honest, because that has to be an essential part of what we do to protect the country, from the standpoint of defense, protect workers and make sure they have jobs.

Even if I have to stand alone, I will not be afraid to stand alone. I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to fight for what's right. I'm going to fight to hold people accountable.

We need to give the Iraqis a chance to build their own future. It should be in their hands. It must be in their hands. That is what democracy is all about. We can teach it, we can explain it, but they must want it enough to make it work for them.

The American people need to know the truth. The American people need to see the truth. In a democracy, letting the people know the truth is the essence of what it means to be free.

I believe in truth-telling. So let's call it what it is. It's very troubling to see people like Bannon who make anti-Semitic remarks, who has a very checkered past be sitting next to the president of the United States. It puts an absolute responsibility on all of us to call it the way we see it and not use expressions like "alt-right."

In the early stages of a pregnancy, the Government cannot intervene with a woman's right to choose. That is it, plain and simple. Guess what. We are not going to be big brother or sister, as the case may be. We are going to allow a woman, her doctor, and her God to make that decision.

I am very enamored with the free press, and I was part of it for a period of time.

Even though the press at times made me completely crazy as they followed me around the hall, and asked tough questions over and over again - now believe me, every politician feels this way - it is a necessary part of our life, and we must have a press that isn't cowed and won't be afraid of ratings if they get put to the back of the room at a press conference.

If you dared to put your opinion into a factual piece, your editors said, "You can't do this. Write an op-ed."

The press is critical at this time, and if you look at history, this is so critical.

Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am? It's just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I'd appreciate it

Perhaps, one of our greatest challenges as a nation, as a people, as human beings making sure that our grandkids can live on this Earth.

When you have a president-elect who calls the press every name in the book, I think it's a warning shot across the bow, and you go back to what you learn when you were a child.

I have to say that after chemotherapy, Barbara Boxer just isn't that scary anymore.

The difference between the very wealthy and the working poor has grown. We raise that minimum wage and we move forward with the vision of this president that we have, which is everyone pays their fair share.

Voting against the resolution authorizing the use of military force in Iraq was one of my proudest moments as a senator. It is long past time to close this tragic chapter in American history.

You stand up to bullies. Don't shrink back. You fight back with all your strength, and the press is going to have to do it, politicians are going to have to do it, all of us are going to have to do it.

I think the scientists have really caught the attention of the people of this country, and of course, they elected representatives by their very clear pronouncement that if we don't do something, we'll be in a lot of trouble.

Iraq was a war of choice, not necessity.

Nothing is alarmist with Donald Trump because you don't really know what he's going to do.

Since 1980, we've used reconciliation 22 times, and out of those times, Republicans used it 16 times. So, earth to my Republican friends, you can have your option but you cannot change these facts. They're in the Congressional Record

I think being prepared for anything is the way to go.

Some people play golf. Some are artists, Some jog. I like to write.

Americans have long recognized the need to protect our public lands and their vast resources

The combined efforts of millions of concerned citizens could do wonders to help the impoverished. The American people are ready for action!

Who knows when Donald Trump will have a press conference? Maybe he's just going to stay in Trump Tower and issue tweets - you know, gold-plated tweets to the American people. It's scary.

Unfortunately, Trump has showed hateful inclinations toward many, many groups. Many groups. The most obvious: undocumented immigrants and Muslims. His comments that I've seen that he's made about Jewish people, about black people - they're all very troubling to me - even though he sort of said, "Oh, I distance myself from hate and don't do any of this hating stuff."

We have to be realistic about what we can achieve in Afghanistan. The notion that the United States can build a Western-style democracy there is a myth

There are many faces to war. There is the face of courage, of bravery, of fellowship.There is the face of fear. Above all, there is love of country.

The fact of the matter is actions speak louder than words.

If you want to be a leader, it doesn't mean that you have to have an opinion on everything. But if you do have an opinion and it is clear and you feel strongly about it, then you should say it.

Just look at the Judiciary Committee, You have some people on the Judiciary Committee who may well decide not to send the nomination to the floor, and now it all depends on what Democrats do.

I've gone through so many of these stages of defeat and loss and victory, the ups and downs, that I know how to handle it.

I would not run for president. I really like what I'm doing now. People say I'm giving them energy and hope.

It's very important to face the grief, face the anger, and then get into a place where you are ready to fight because if you go back to the history of the United States of America, our Founders said we're giving you a Republic if you can keep it, and they also said we have a Constitution and we're going to form a more perfect union.

I take great solace in the fact that Donald Trump lost the popular vote. Hillary Clinton got over 2.5 million more votes than Donald Trump got. So I can't say in any way that the people think that harassing women is appropriate. So I don't think we should read into his victory the fact that, you know, women's rights are going to be diminished.

I'm hopeful that the energy efficiency and public buildings bill will have their endorsement.

I'm a very big believer in collaboration and teamwork.

If it's racist, it's racist. If it's anti-Semitic, it's anti-Semitic. If it's anti-women, it's anti-women. If it's anti-immigrant, it's anti-immigrant, and we need to really strengthen our language, so that it is clear and not mushy.

Our message will be that we're going to make federal government buildings a model - an energy-efficient model - and also start matching grants for cities and counties so that they can also do the same with their government buildings.

I think we have to stop using the expression "alt-right." It's ridiculous. It's racist, fascist, nationalist.

I think we need to get back to truth-based news. It won't be easy, but we better do it because otherwise we're not acting on information.

If something is opinion, put it in the opinion section: Don't put it in the facts section.

We have to treasure our country, our freedom, the progress we've made, and if we see any of that threatened, we have to respond.

I'm not leaving the fight just because I decided not to run. I'm going to expand my political action committee and volunteer for it. I'm going to do lots of other things where I will have a voice. So I'm not leaving the fight.

There has to a certain responsibility, whether it's TV news, online news, to sort out opinion from fact.

Let me tell you, life is interesting regardless of when you are in the fight.

You take what you've learned, you pass it down, and you keep working.

The job is never done and every generation has to fight again.

I've faced the grief, I've faced the anger, and I'm ready to keep up the fight because America is worth fighting for.

I am saying there are women in the Senate, there are women in governorships, there are women in statewide office, there are women in the House, and I do think we can't ignore the fact that we have had the first woman ever win a nomination of a major party and the first woman ever winning the popular vote. So I think the table is set for a woman in the near future. I really do.

I can't predict if I will see a woman president, but I think I may well because, again, Hillary Clinton got more votes probably than any other Democratic candidate ever, except for Obama. But she got more votes than Trump and she got more votes than Richard Nixon got when he won the election, more votes than John Kennedy got when he won.

I don't know how long I'm going to live, but I hope my seeds are pretty good.

My understanding of the Electoral College is that they have the right to vote for who they want. So they should vote their conscience, and if their conscience leads them that way, they should follow their conscience.

I've been there for so many crossroads in American history. My whole political life spans the birth of the environmental movement, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, putting an end to unjust wars, and so and so.