[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1260-E1261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN REMEMBRANCE OF DR. ANNA SCHWARTZ

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEVIN BRADY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2012

  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, last month, the United States lost 
one of its most pre-eminent minds.
  Anna J. Schwartz, perhaps the most pioneering economist in her 
generation, passed away at the age of 96. Dr. Schwartz had considerable 
impact upon how academics and others think about monetary policy and 
the role it can play in sustaining the economic health of nations. She 
was best known for co-authoring, along with Milton Friedman, ``A 
Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960.'' The book's thesis 
attributed the worst depth of the Great Depression to the Federal 
Reserve's restricting the supply of money, when it should have expanded 
it. Its conclusions revolutionized both our understanding of that era 
and how its history was being taught.
  The book was instantly recognized as a classic in its field. ``Anna 
did all of the work, and I got most of the recognition,'' Friedman, who 
received the Noble Prize in economic science in 1976, observed.
  As he did most things, Friedman had that right. Had Anna either been 
born male or entered the world a generation later, she certainly would 
have won more plaudits than she did and received those that came her 
way much earlier in her career.
  Yet in many ways, hers was the typical American story, one we would 
do well to keep in mind as we prepare to celebrate the 236th 
anniversary of our nation's independence.
  The third child of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe, Anna, at an 
early age, showed that pioneering spirit that so characterizes the best 
of America. While at Walton High School in the Bronx, she showed a 
particular bend for economics, hardly a field known to be hospitable to 
women. ``I found it more exciting than literature or foreign 
languages.'' She was only 18 when she graduated from Barnard College. 
She would be

[[Page E1261]]

well into middle age when she obtained her Ph.D.
  Right until the end, Anna remained active in her field. She lectured 
officials at the Federal Reserve when she thought they made wrong calls 
and blissfully engaged in debates in the opinion pages of newspapers to 
correct misstatements of fact and of economics by columnists she 
thought incorrigible.
  Looking back on her career, she quoted the poet Wordsworth:
  ``Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive/But to be young was very 
heaven!''
  I ask that the House join in paying tribute to this most inspiring 
woman and in expressing both our gratitude and condolences to her 
family.

                          ____________________