Contact: Chuck Porcari (cell: (240) 286-7566) or Mark Sokolove (cell: (703) 599-7656) or (202) 785-8683

WASHINGTON ~³ervation Voters (LCV), the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community, today named Senator Barbara Boxer (D) as a 2004 Environmental Champion in her race for reelection to the U.S. Senate. 

LCV Environmental Champions are candidates who have proven their pro-environment commitment through their substantive action.  LCV supports these outstanding leaders by rewarding them with direct contributions, fundraising, and occasionally running independent campaigns to help ensure they are reelected to Congress as we continue to build America³ pro-environment majority.

)s proud to name Senator Boxer as an environmental champion in her race for reelection,� Vice President for Policy.  �����leader in the effort to protect our natural environment.  She has worked tirelessly to protect the California Coast from offshore oil drilling, keep our air and water clean, secure funding for urban parks and ensure that polluters take responsibility for clean-up of their toxic waste.�����/p>

As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, she has been the sponsor of many of the important environmental bills included in the LCV Scorecard.  Senator Boxer has led the Senate in the fight to protect of Alaska³ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the great pristine sanctuaries in North America. In March 2003, the Senate approved Boxer³ amendment to strike a provision that counted revenues from drilling in the Refuge in the 2004 budget resolution.

Senator Boxer has stood up to efforts to weaken the EPA³ authority to protect the nation³ water supplies under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act.  In November 2001, her amendment that requires improved standards for arsenic in drinking water and reinstates the community right-to-know program was signed into law.

Throughout her career, Senator Boxer has also been a leader in protecting California³ coastal waters. In May 2001, Senator Boxer introduced the Coastal States Protection Act, and in September 2002, the Senate passed her amendment halting development of oil leases off the coast of California.

Senator Boxer has led the national fight to require polluters, instead of taxpayers, to pay to clean up Superfund sites.  One in four Americans lives within four miles of these most toxic waste sites, and adequate funding is necessary for safe cleanup.  In January 2003, she introduced the bipartisan Toxic Clean-up Polluter Pays Renewal Act which would ensure that the companies that create this waste take responsibility for its clean up.

For information on all of LCV³ 2004 Environmental Champions, visit our website.

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The nonprofit League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community.  LCV, which is not a partisan organization, is the only national organization working full-time to hold Congress and the president accountable for their environmental actions.  For more information, please visit us on the web at www.lcv.org.