[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E60-E61]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CELEBRATING DR. WILLIAM ``BILL'' QUIRK, PhD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ERIC SWALWELL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 26, 2023

  Mr. SWALWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize former California 
State Assemblymember Bill Quirk, who retired Wednesday, November 30, 
2022, after 10 years serving our community in the California State 
Assembly.
  Bill was born in Summit, New Jersey, and moved to the Bay Area when 
he was 15 years old. He received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering 
and Applied Physics in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics in 1970 from 
Columbia University. He then moved back to California to work as a 
postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology.
  Bill continued his work as a research scientist at NASA's Goddard 
Institute for Space Studies. In 1973, he supervised the first global 
three-dimensional model of the earth's climate. Bill then moved to 
Hayward in 1978 and began his work at the Lawrence Livermore National 
Laboratory, where he contributed his talents for 26 years. He 
specialized in foreign nuclear programs until his retirement in 2005. 
His expertise was vital in negotiating the Comprehensive Nuclear Test 
Ban Treaty in 1996.
  In 2004, Bill began his political career when he was elected to the 
Hayward City Council. During that time, he also served on the board of 
the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency and the Hayward Area 
Shoreline Planning Agency.
  In 2012, Bill ran and was elected to represent California's 20th 
Assembly District and was re-elected 4 times before announcing his 
retirement. During his tenure, he served on the Assembly Rules 
Committee, Appropriations Committee, Public Utilities and Commerce 
Committee, Agriculture Committee, Public Safety Committee, and chaired 
the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. Bill and his 
team prioritized legislation that addressed issues related to energy, 
climate change, transportation, and public safety. He helped pass 
numerous critical bills, including one that made it easier to request 
restraining orders to prevent repeated episodes of domestic violence, 
and another that increased resources for testing lead levels in 
drinking water.
  For 10 years, Bill Quirk has diligently served our mutual 
constituents. His work has left a lasting impact on the community in 
Alameda County and California more broadly. I wish him well-deserved 
rest and relaxation with his wife, Laurel, children, Ian and Zephyr, 
and grandchildren, Rory and Emily, as he enters this new chapter.

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