E1356 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks July 31, 2012 

Today, all peer counselors must be at least 

55 years old and are required to receive 60 

hours of training to provide one-on-one and 

group counseling to older adults that covers 

social and family relationships, self awareness, listening skills, understanding depression, substance abuse and other challenges of 

aging. 

Initially the Senior Peer Counseling served 

English speakers, but in 1989 it was expanded 

to Spanish speakers with the La Esperanza 

Vive component which Teresa Hurtado coordinated for over twenty years. 

In 2008, the county put Peninsula Family 

Service in charge of Senior Peer Counseling 

which expanded the services to additional underserved seniors in the Chinese, Filipino and 

LGBT communities. Now a total of 80 peer 

counselors support over 300 seniors under the 

leadership of Susan Houston and Howard 

Lader and their dedicated staff. 

Peer counseling deeply touches the lives of 

the people involved. One senior who was dependent on his electric wheel chair rarely left 

his home and became increasingly isolated. 

His social worker requested a senior peer 

counselor hoping it would help his social life 

and get him involved in a senior center close 

to his home. After six visits the senior asked 

the counselor to assist him in arranging transportation with Redi-Wheels and to join him at 

the senior center for the first couple of visits. 

The senior now happily goes to the center 

twice a week. 

Patti Garber began volunteering as a counselor a few years ago. As a cancer patient 

herself, she says the work gives her a sense 

of purpose. ‘‘I get more back than I put in,’’ 

she says. ‘‘I like solving problems and providing a web of connections.’’ And that she 

does whether she helps a senior find food, 

apply for Social Security online, find a pet or 

get a wheel chair. 

Arleen Henriksen who passed away last 

year at age 92, credited her long live in part 

to her volunteer counseling. Arleen, whom I 

had the privilege of knowing when she volunteered in my legislative offices, dedicated over 

20 years and much of her energy to the program. In 2009, she told the San Mateo Daily 

Journal, ‘‘It’s more rewarding for the counselor 

than the people you help.’’ She added, ‘‘People get scared thinking that, to do this, they 

have to be psychologists. That’s not the case; 

you don’t have to be anything more than a 

caring person.’’ 

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor the caring people at Senior Peer Counseling who for 25 

years have provided a remarkable service that 

has brightened the lives of thousands of seniors in San Mateo county. May it thrive for the 

next 25 years and serve as a model for other 

communities. 

f 

RED TAPE REDUCTION AND 

SMALL BUSINESS JOB CREATION 

ACT 

SPEECH OF

HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN OF MARYLAND

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 

The House in Committee of the Whole 

House on the state of the Union had under 

consideration the bill (H.R. 4078) to provide 

that no agency may take any significant regulatory action until the unemployment rate 

is equal to or less than 6.0 percent: 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, this legislation 

is an amalgam of seven dangerously misguided bills designed to shut down a breathtaking number of safeguards and protections 

citizens rely on—from the quality of health 

care seniors receive to the safety of infant formula babies drink to the benefits our veterans 

have earned. As former Republican Congressman Sherry Boehlert has warned: ‘‘It’s difficult 

to exaggerate the sweep and destructiveness 

of . . . (this) . . . bill.’’ 

The core of H.R. 4078 proposes to freeze 

most regulatory action until the nation’s unemployment rate hits 6 percent—as if the quality 

of seniors’ health care, the safety of infant formula or the availability of veterans’ benefits 

should depend on where the nation’s unemployment rate is. Another provision of H.R. 

4078 would block so called ‘‘midnight rules’’ 

issued in the final days of an outgoing administration—without any apparent recognition 

that the offshore drilling bill the majority 

brought to the floor of the House just yesterday was itself largely proposed as a ‘‘midnight’’ regulation in the final days of the Bush 

Administration. Still other provisions in H.R. 

4078 would tie up the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with additional paperwork, thereby diverting already scarce resources from other critical functions, like ensuring transparency and accountability in our 

financial markets. 

Mr. Chair, I am not opposed to regulatory 

reform. Where a regulation is truly wasteful, 

unnecessary or duplicative, we should fix it or 

get rid of it. But, like the comedy of errors surrounding the numerous typos leading up to 

consideration of this bill, H.R. 4078 is a poorly 

conceived, hastily thrown together mess. The 

American people deserve better. 

f 

IN HONOR OF THE CENTRAL ELECTRIC COMPANY OF WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA 

HON. SAM FARR OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 

Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

honor the Central Electric Company of 

Watsonville, California, on the occasion of its 

centennial anniversary. For 100 years, the 

Central Electric Company pioneered and improved safe electrical installations for residential, commercial, and agriculture customers 

around our beautiful Monterey Bay region. 

In 1912, starting with just a bicycle, $100.00 

in cash, and a 5-foot ladder, John Stanovich 

and Edith DuFour Stanovich began selling fixtures and appliances, and installing electrical 

wiring. At that time the demand for electrical 

work was very limited, but with the growing 

acceptance of the Edison light, plus John and 

Edith’s hard work, the business grew. The 

next generation joined the company in 1926 

with the addition of Edith’s son, Alfred DuFour. 

The Central Electric Company survived the 

great depression and the shortages of World 

War II by supplementing their contracting business selling products such as irons, washing 

machines, and toasters, also china and crystal. 

With the end of the war, the Central Electric 

Company focused on growing communities 

and industries in need of electricity. The next 

two decades would see the continuation of 

that post-war growth and the introduction of 

the company’s third generation with Steve 

DuFour, who joined the company in 1958 after 

serving as a lieutenant in the United States 

Navy. 

The seventies, eighties, and nineties saw 

continued growth and changes to the electrical 

industry, many of which were driven by the 

digital boom. Growth and change also came 

when Steve and his wife Joan were joined by 

Tony Kulich, Patty (DuFour) Kulich, Mark 

Jurach, and Sharon (DuFour) Jurach in the 

daily operations at Central Electric. In 1989, 

the company survived the Loma Prieta earthquake and rallied to aid the surrounding communities in their recovery. In 1999, Tony and 

Patty Kulich and Mark and Sharon Jurach, the 

son-in-laws and great granddaughters of John 

and Edith, purchased the Central Electric 

Company from Steve and Joan, passing the 

torch to the fourth generation. 

The turn of this century saw the Central 

Electric Company’s enjoyment of unprecedented growth, including the completion of a 

$3.5 million contract for a local college campus. This was the largest contract in the company’s 100 year history. This new century has 

also ushered in the fifth generation, when 

great, great-grandsons Matt and Mike Kulich 

joined Central Electric as electricians. 

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to hold up 

the Central Electric Company as an example 

of the American Spirit. Enduring the hardships 

of war, economic downturns, and natural disasters, they have shown that people are more 

important than profit. They have shown us that 

when communities and families work together 

in difficult times, we can continue to face the 

challenges that have made this Nation great. 

May Central Electric’s continued success inspire many more generations to enter the 

business arena, and in doing so, secure our 

Nation’s posterity and its bright future. 

f 

PERSONAL EXPLANATION 

HON. JACKIE SPEIER OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 

state for the record that my vote against the 

Holt amendment, Roll No. 504, to H.R. was 

made in error. I support this amendment, 

which would strike a provision that requires 

the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a single multi-sale environmental impact statement 

for all of the new areas opened for drilling by 

the underlying bill. 

f 

HONORING THUNDER BAY 

COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE 

HON. DAN BENISHEK OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 

the citizens of the First District of Michigan, I 


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