[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 82 (Thursday, May 15, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BILL HIMPLER

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2025

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of Mr. Bill 
Himpler, who resides in Virginia, but is a proud native son of Chicago, 
IL, a man of deep faith, a loving husband, father and grandfather, an 
attorney, former congressional tax counsel and legislative director, 
former legislative director at the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development in the Administration of George W. Bush, and most recently 
as the President and CEO of the American Financial Services 
Association, the national trade group representing the consumer credit 
industry.
  Bill is known to many of us in Congress, not only for his 
longstanding support of the American consumer's access to a wide 
variety of credit products, but his irrepressible passion and good 
humor in doing so. Where others might seek to use the politics of 
division to achieve then organization's goals, Bill has never played a 
zero-sum advocacy strategy.
  Bill's advocacy has focused on how access to consumer credit in its 
many forms provides real economic opportunity for consumers of all 
financial standings. In his meetings here on Capitol Hill and in 
testimony over the years before Congressional committees, he has 
stressed that the economic opportunity access to some form of credit 
provides is not simply a luxury for a few, but a civil right for all. 
In a similar way, while advocating responsible rules of the road for 
his industry, he is also a stalwart advocate for empowering consumers 
with the financial literacy tools they need to successfully build a 
strong and stable financial future. As a result of his leadership, he 
has made the American Financial Services Association a trusted voice 
for both the consumer credit industry, but the tens of millions of 
consumers they serve.
  After more than 40 years in Washington, Bill is retiring to enjoy 
well-earned time with his wife, Mary Sue, his children, Bill, Maggie, 
Jack and Ruth, his seven, with two more on the way, grandchildren, and 
his golf game.
  The American consumer may not know the name Bill Himpler, but they 
have benefited from his efforts over the past twenty years at AFSA, as 
have policy makers and regulators here in Washington and across the 
country. I thank him for his service and dedication and congratulate 
him on an outstanding career.

                          ____________________