California's laws to control greenhouse gas emissions lead the nation. Carly Fiorina says that is part of the problem.
"Well, global warming requires a serious global solution and all the scientists agree that a single state or a single nation acting alone will have no impact on global warming," Fiorina said.
Fiorina favors suspending California's global warming regulations indefinitely. Boxer does not.
"My opponent stands with big oil, dirty coal and that is giving the future to China, giving the future to Germany; they are going to take the lead away from California," Boxer said.
Fiorina points to penalties that green house gas emitters will pay under the current regulations.
"Why would we put our state at a competitive disadvantage? Why would we put our nation at a competitive disadvantage particularly when we are bleeding jobs?" Fiorina asked.
"The country that takes the lead on green energy will be the economic leader of this world that is as clear as the nose on your face and on my face," Boxer said.
Boxer's committee on the environment put together a proposal to cap green house gas emissions but could not get it passed.
"Barbara Boxer's cap and trade proposal, which died in committee because of her bitter partisanship, has been described as the most expensive piece of legislation," Fiorina said.
The most expensive piece of legislation discription is often used to tar cap and trade proposals in and outside of the U.S.
Boxer's cap and trade did get out of committee but it is accurate that she could not get the votes to get it passed.
"You know you're not a CEO in the United States Senate you're one of 100," Boxer said.
In his run for the White House, Republican John McCain favored cap and trade and during the campaign Fiorina defended cap and trade on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
"Well I think what the cap and trade proposal is trying to do is provide the incentives of the private market place," Fiorina said at the time. "I'm a business person; I know that incentives and competition in the private market place work."
But now she is singing a different tune.
"Look, I'm not defending John McCain's cap and trade proposals, I was acting at that time as a surrogate for him, I'm running for the U.S. senate today, I'm on the ballot, not John McCain."
On education, Boxer says Fiorina opposes a bill to keep teachers employed.
"We saved those teachers and we did it by ending a tax break to companies who ship jobs overseas," Boxer said. "What could be a better thing than that? She called it 'disgraceful' actually."
"Perhaps the bill you're referring to is one that was supposed to keep teachers from being laid off or was supposed to hire teachers and in fact many of the teachers that were being contemplated weren't even going to be hired until 2011 or 2012, in other words it was another sham," Fiorina said.
Fiorina's claim that the $10 billion provided by the bill will be spread into next year is accurate, but whether that makes it a sham is her opinion.
Where Fiorina splits sharply from the White House and Boxer is on healthcare reform. She would repeal it.
"It is is not compassion to throw 16 million uninsured people into Medicaid knowing that they will be denied service," Fiorina said.
"The worst thing we could do is repeal the healthcare reform bill; lets mend it where it needs to be mended, not end it," Boxer said.
In the Central Valley, Fiorina has been calling for more water for farmers.
"Right now we have a very clear situation where we need to turn pumps back on in the delta," Fiorina said. "Broad bipartisan support for it, again broad bipartisan support, including Dianne Feinstein, it is Barbara Boxer who stands in the way."
"And my opponent consistently says I don't support that plan; she's just making it up, I don't know what to tell you," Boxer said.
Senator Dianne Feinstein confirms that Boxer was on board with Feinstein's plan to move more water to the Central Valley. Feinstein is also the chair of Boxer's campaign.
