Visiting Senator Praises Clinton Economic Program

On her first trip to Ventura since she won election last November, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer sought to buoy the president’s stalled economic program at a town hall-style meeting Wednesday.

“I’m trying to reinvent this office to stay closer to the people,” Boxer told a supportive audience of more than 450 who packed the Ventura College Theatre to see the freshman Democratic senator.

“I want to make sure I hear from you and understand what you care about,” she added.

“I’m going to take your hopes and dreams back to Washington, D. C.”

During the question-and-answer segment of the 1 1/2-hour meeting, Boxer responded to queries about issues ranging from abortion to chronic fatigue syndrome.

But the economy was the focus of the forum.

The Republican Party’s opposition to President Bill Clinton’s economic stimulus bill, which Boxer said would provide California with 50,000 additional jobs, was a frequent target of Boxer’s ire--and wit.

“This program is in big trouble today because Republicans in the U. S. Senate have decided they do not like it and are filibustering it,” Boxer said. “I don’t blame them. They don’t like the Clinton program. They like the Bush program . . . whatever that was.”

Boxer said the forum, part of a weeklong swing through California, was the sixth community forum she has held since taking office in January.

Earlier in the day, Boxer met with members of the Oxnard City Council and city officials in Thousand Oaks.