[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 49 (Monday, March 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ROD BLONIEN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 26, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart after the 
passing of Rod Blonien.
  Rodney J. Blonien was born July 20, 1946 in Wisconsin Rapids, 
Wisconsin, to Janet and Clayton Blonien. He was the oldest of four. He 
attended the University of San Francisco and Santa Clara Law School, 
and achieved the rank of captain in the Army National Guard.
  Mr. Blonien was a Capitol fixture for years having served as 
Assistant Legal Affairs Secretary to California Gov. Ronald Reagan, 
Senior Assistant to Attorney General George Deukmejian then Legislative 
Secretary to California Gov. Deukmejian, and Under Secretary of the 
Youth and Adult Correctional Agency.
  While working for the California Department of Corrections, Mr. 
Blonien reduced prison construction time from 5 to 2 years. Today, his 
program serves as a national model. He worked to enact stringent 
sentences for criminal offenders, and implemented Driving Under the 
Influence (D.U.I.) checkpoints.
  He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Noreen, and four children--
Ryan, Jessica, Molly and Jarhett--and 11 grandchildren.

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