E1362 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks July 31, 2012 

CONDEMNING THE ATROCITIES 

THAT OCCURRED IN AURORA, 

COLORADO 

SPEECH OF

HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN OF MARYLAND

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise 

to join m colleagues in honoring and remembering all of the victims of the tragic shootings 

in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater last Friday, July 20, 2012, and to condemn the 

senseless and abhorrent violence that took 

their lives or left them wounded. The victims’ 

friends and families can count on the 

unyielding support of their fellow Americans as 

we come together to mourn the loss and heal 

the wounds caused by the heinous acts of that 

day. 

We must also recognize the heroic efforts 

made by those inside the theater to protect 

others. Their courage, along with the quick 

and decisive actions of the hundreds of first 

responders, law enforcement officials, and 

hospital workers, undoubtedly saved lives. I 

join my colleagues in offering my thoughts and 

our prayers to those touched by this horrible 

event. 

f 

A VOTE AGAINST H.R. 459 

HON. EARL BLUMENAUER OF OREGON

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I voted 

against H.R. 459 because our economy requires an independent central bank, free of 

short-term political pressures. Congress established the twin policy goals of maximum employment and price stability for the Federal 

Reserve, and it is important that the institution 

pursue monetary policy in support of those 

goals independent of political influence. 

Congress conducts regular and robust oversight of the Federal Reserve and expanded 

the Government Accountability Office’s audit 

authority in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In that legislation, Congress expanded the types of audits GAO may conduct of the Federal Reserve 

and the data that must be shared with the 

public. The Federal Reserve’s financial accounts have long been subject to audit both 

by the GAO and an outside, independent audit 

firm. 

I wish to make clear, however, that the independence of the Federal Reserve has no 

bearing on the scrutiny that Congress must 

exert over the large commercial banks. 

Roughly four years ago, the banks were dragging the American people into a financial 

storm the like we have not seen since the 

Great Depression. The recession cost $19.2 

trillion in lost household wealth—40 percent of 

the net wealth of American households. Thirtyone percent of homeowners with a mortgage 

are underwater, owing a bank far more than 

their house is worth. 

As the magnitude of the rot, the corruption, 

the shady practices, the greed, misplaced institutional incentives unfolded, we experienced 

a near-meltdown of our economy. The second-guessing began even when we were in 

the midst of devising remedies to stop the fall. 

That controversy continues, but we’re in the 

midst of a much larger question: ‘‘What is it 

that we do now to speed the recovery and 

make sure that it never happens again?’’ 

The crush of special interests and the near 

constant political campaigns places people 

with limited expertise in the worst possible circumstances as they make these decisions. 

New scandals have continued to unfold. The 

most recent is the LIBOR scandal that we are 

only beginning to unearth, where massive 

international banks gamed the system for their 

own financial advantage, to stave off regulatory action, to avoid a negative market response, or to gain an unfair advantage as they 

placed their own financial bets. 

In response, we must move toward performance-based regulation—providing greater clarity of what we want and linking those goals to 

clear measures. My acquaintances in the business community with long financial expertise 

suggest that we can start by actually enforcing 

the existing rules and providing the regulatory 

capacity to make sure they are enforced. 

We must give adequate personnel and resources to the existing regulatory agencies— 

the SEC, the CFTC, the FDIC and the Treasury, among others—to allow them to better supervise the financial sector. Pay them fairly so 

they are not poached by the industries they 

regulate. In turn, they must prosecute financial 

felons and send people to jail. 

There are people sentenced to prison for 

years who broke into a home or used a gun. 

But all of these crooks put together have not 

robbed the American public of a third of their 

wealth the way the financial crisis did. It is 

doubtful that all of the people in all of America’s prisons have stolen a fraction of the 

money that disappeared from the balance 

sheet of America’s families. But we see continue the fraud, collusion, sharp practices, and 

outright theft in the financial sector that has 

destroyed families, bankrupted businesses, 

and stunted people’s futures. The sooner we 

bring the perpetrators to justice, the less risk 

we are going to have in the future. 

f 

A TRIBUTE TO NYEMASTER, 

GOODE, P.C. 

HON. TOM LATHAM OF IOWA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, it is with great 

pride that I rise once again to recognize the 

Des Moines-based law firm, Nyemaster 

Goode, for being named a recipient of the 

2012 Freedom Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Nyemaster 

Goode was nominated in 2011 by Doug and 

Kristina Stanger. 

The Freedom Award is the greatest honor 

bestowed on employers by the Department of 

Defense for ‘‘exceptional support’’ of Guard 

and Reserve employees. In 2011, the ESGR 

received an incredible 3,236 nominations from 

across the Nation, in the hopes their employer 

would be chosen among the Nation’s best 

companies for Guard and Reserve employees. 

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that 

Nyemaster Goode would receive this prestigious award with 14 other companies from 

across the country that will be honored in 

Washington, D.C. this September at the 17th 

annual Freedom Award Ceremony. Nyemaster 

Goode can now count itself among the 175 

elite employers that have won this award 

since its establishment in 1996. 

Doug and Kristina Stanger, both members 

of the Army National Guard, nominated 

Nyemaster Goode because they knew firsthand that the efforts the company took to accommodate our citizen soldiers were truly 

something special. Doug and Kristina felt that 

Nyemaster Goode represented the ‘‘perfect 

example’’ of how employers should go above 

and beyond to support our local heroes in 

their companies and communities. After 

weighing the merits of more than 3,200 nominations, the Department of Defense has 

wholeheartedly agreed with the Stangers and 

proudly recognized Nyemaster’s job-well-done 

on a national level. 

Mr. Speaker, Nyemaster Goode’s receipt of 

the 2012 Freedom Award highlights the rewarding Iowa traditions of hard work and commitment to our neighbors. I thank Doug and 

Kristina for their nomination of Nyemaster 

Goode, and I thank Nyemaster Goode for setting a pristine example for employers across 

our great Nation. I ask my colleagues in the 

House to join me again in congratulating 

Nyemaster Goode for their outstanding accomplishment and wish them continued success in the years ahead. May God continue to 

watch over all of our soldiers and their families, across the world and here at home. 

f 

IN HONOR OF BRUCE WOOLPERT 

HON. SAM FARR OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 

Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and my colleagues, Representatives ESHOO, LOFGREN, and HONDA, to honor 

the life of Bruce Woolpert, a remarkable businessman, a noted philanthropist, and a stalwart of the Monterey Bay and San Francisco 

Bay Area communities. As the leader of the 

Granite Rock Company, Bruce will be remembered for his integrity and his generosity, not 

only to his employees, but to the community 

where he was raised and in which Graniterock 

was based. 

Bruce Wilson Woolpert was born on May 

30, 1951 to Mary Elizabeth ‘‘Betsy’’ Wilson 

Woolpert and Bruce Gideon Woolpert. Betsy’s 

father, Arthur Roberts Wilson incorporated 

Granite Rock Company in 1900 after seeing 

an opportunity with a small granite quarry located in Aromas, California. Bruce was a native to Watsonville, California, the beacon of 

the Pajaro Valley. He attended MacQuiddy Elementary School, E.A. Hall Junior High 

School, and graduated from Watsonville High 

School in 1970. He went on to study economics and mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating summa cum 

laude. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Stanford University 

in 1976, graduating first in his class, and going 

on to work for Hewlett Packard. By 1986, he 

returned to Graniterock to serve as President 

and CEO. 

It was at Graniterock that Bruce sought to 

make a company where its workers were delighted to come to work every day. He was a 


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