Floor SpeechCeremonial2026-01-13

HONORING BARRY DEL BUONO'S LIFETIME OF IMPACT

TaxesHousingInfrastructure

Context

On 2026-01-13, Representative Sam T. Liccardo (D-CA-16) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING BARRY DEL BUONO'S LIFETIME OF IMPACT" in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered housing, infrastructure.

Full Text

HONORING BARRY DEL BUONO'S LIFETIME OF IMPACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E35] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING BARRY DEL BUONO'S LIFETIME OF IMPACT ______ HON. SAM T. LICCARDO of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Mr. LICCARDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise along with my colleague, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, to recognize the life and contributions of Barry Del Buono, a champion for the unhoused and a longtime community leader in San Jose, California, who passed away on December 26, 2025. Mr. Del Buono dedicated his life to building a more compassionate and equitable society, working tirelessly to ensure that every person, regardless of circumstance, had access to shelter, dignity, and a second chance. From the time I first met Barry as a child, I considered Barry as a hero for the way he transformed his quiet strength and potent faith to launch and lead organizations to which thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors owe their survival. Barry began his life of public service as a Catholic priest in San Jose, where he cofounded the Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen to serve meals to the hungry--an organization that continues to serve our community to this day. Even after leaving the priesthood, he never left the mission. Instead, he expanded it. In the early 1980s, Barry became the first employee, and soon the executive director, of the Emergency Housing Consortium, later known as EHC LifeBuilder, and now HomeFirst. He built EHC into a dependable organization for Santa Clara County residents. He developed what was then a groundbreaking ``continuum of care'' model that extended beyond emergency shelter to transitional and permanent supportive housing. From San Jose to Gilroy, Barry launched programs that offered not just temporary relief, but a genuine pathway toward stability and recovery. Barry brought remarkable creativity to this work. He recognized the potential in empty farmworker cottages during the off-season and turned them into a winter family shelter. He helped run the cold-weather shelter at the National Guard Armory in Gilroy for nearly two decades. He secured public funding by mastering the machinery of government grants, writing proposals late into the night while running services by day. Through both lean years and economic booms, Barry made sure that EHC remained a lifeline for thousands of families and individuals. Though widely respected for his strategic mind and fundraising skill, Barry was most admired for his relentless conviction that homelessness could be solved. He built programs and mentored a generation of nonprofit leaders who now carry on the work he started. Barry was as fierce in his advocacy as he was generous in spirit. After stepping down from EHC in 2007, Barry continued to serve his community. He became a sociology instructor at San Jose City College, sharing decades of hard-earned wisdom with his students. He launched an educational nonprofit with his wife, Dr. Maile Del Buono, to help underserved workers and students access opportunities. San Jose's City Council appointed Barry to San Jose's Housing and Community Development Commission, lending his voice and experience to policymaking until the final year of his life. Throughout his multi-act career, he maintained a deep commitment to his family of five children and seven grandchildren, and to Maile. With her by his side, they battled cancer courageously for several years--both hers, and his own-- until he succumbed at age 74. Throughout his battle, he demonstrated the same quiet strength and powerful faith that made him a great community champion. We will remember Barry Del Buono not only for what he built, but for what he believed--that no one is beyond help, and that it is our shared responsibility to lift each other up. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends, joined by the grateful many he touched throughout his extraordinary life. May he rest in peace and achieve his hero's welcome in heaven. ____________________

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HONORING BARRY DEL BUONO'S LIFETIME OF IMPACT Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E35] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING BARRY DEL BUONO'S LIFETIME OF IMPACT ______ HON. SAM T. LICCARDO of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Mr. LICCARDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise along with my colleague, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, to recognize the life and contributions of Barry Del Buono, a champion for the unhoused and a longtime community leader in San Jose, California, who passed away on December 26, 2025. Mr. Del Buono dedicated his life to building a more compassionate and equitable society, working tirelessly to ensure that every person, regardless of circumstance, had access to shelter, dignity, and a second chance. From the time I first met Barry as a child, I considered Barry as a hero for the way he transformed his quiet strength and potent faith to launch and lead organizations to which thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors owe their survival. Barry began his life of public service as a Catholic priest in San Jose, where he cofounded the Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen to serve meals to the hungry--an organization that continues to serve our community to this day. Even after leaving the priesthood, he never left the mission. Instead, he expanded it. In the early 1980s, Barry became the first employee, and soon the executive director, of the Emergency Housing Consortium, later known as EHC LifeBuilder, and now HomeFirst. He built EHC into a dependable organization for Santa Clara County residents. He developed what was then a groundbreaking ``continuum of care'' model that extended beyond emergency shelter to transitional and permanent supportive housing. From San Jose to Gilroy, Barry launched programs that offered not just temporary relief, but a genuine pathway toward stability and recovery. Barry brought remarkable creativity to this work. He recognized the potential in empty farmworker cottages during the off-season and turned them into a winter family shelter. He helped run the cold-weather shelter at the National Guard Armory in Gilroy for nearly two decades. He secured public funding by mastering the machinery of government grants, writing proposals late into the night while running services by day. Through both lean years and economic booms, Barry made sure that EHC remained a lifeline for thousands of families and individuals. Though widely respected for his strategic mind and fundraising skill, Barry was most admired for his relentless conviction that homelessness could be solved. He built programs and mentored a generation of nonprofit leaders who now carry on the work he started. Barry was as fierce in his advocacy as he was generous in spirit. After stepping down from EHC in 2007, Barry continued to serve his community. He became a sociology instructor at San Jose City College, sharing decades of hard-earned wisdom with his students. He launched an educational nonprofit with his wife, Dr. Maile Del Buono, to help underserved workers and students access opportunities. San Jose's City Council appointed Barry to San Jose's Housing and Community Development Commission, lending his voice and experience to policymaking until the final year of his life. Throughout his multi-act career, he maintained a deep commitment to his family of five children and seven grandchildren, and to Maile. With her by his side, they battled cancer courageously for several years--both hers, and his own-- until he succumbed at age 74. Throughout his battle, he demonstrated the same quiet strength and powerful faith that made him a great community champion. We will remember Barry Del Buono not only for what he built, but for what he believed--that no one is beyond help, and that it is our shared responsibility to lift each other up. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends, joined by the grateful many he touched throughout his extraordinary life. May he rest in peace and achieve his hero's welcome in heaven. ____________________