[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2735-S2736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZING THE PRINTING OF THE HISTORY MANUSCRIPT OF THE REPUBLICAN
AND DEMOCRATIC POLICY COMMITTEES
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 67 submitted earlier
today by Senators Craig and Reid.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 67) authorizing the printing of the
history manuscript of the Republican and Democratic Policy
Committees in Commemoration of their 50th Anniversaries.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the resolution?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise to speak on ``A History of the
Senate Republican Policy Committee, 1947-1997.''
Fifty years ago, the Senate established the Republican and Democratic
policy committees. At the end of the Second World War and at the
beginning of the cold war, U.S. Senators had concluded that this
venerable old institution needed modernization to enable it to handle
the increasingly complex foreign and domestic issues on its agenda, and
to hold its own against an expanding presidential influence.
From 1945 to 1946, a joint committee chaired by Senator Robert M.
LaFollette, Jr., a Republican from Wisconsin, and Representative Mike
Monroney, an Oklahoma Democrat, investigated ways to reform the
legislative branch. The joint committee proposed creation of
professional staffs for each standing committee and allowing Senators
and Representatives to appoint administrative assistants. It also
recommended expansion of the Legislative Reference Service, now known
as the Congressional Research Service. Those reforms were incorporated
into the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.
One proposal that was not included in the act was the joint
committee's recommendation that the Senate and House establish policy
committees to assist the parties in promoting their legislative agenda.
House Speaker Sam Rayburn feared that such policy committees
might threaten his authority and refused to support them. Although the
idea was dropped from the Legislative Reorganization Act, it was
shortly thereafter incorporated in an appropriations bill but
authorized policy committees for the Senate alone. Some time later the
House also established policy committees.
Chief credit for the policy committees belongs to Ohio Republican
Senator Robert A. Taft. As chairman of the Republican Steering
Committee, from 1944 to 1946, Taft firmly believed in thorough
preparation and expertise. Although Republicans were then in the
minority, Taft used the Steering Committee to plan and coordinate the
party's legislative program, rather that wait to react defensively
against the initiatives of the President and the majority party. Under
Taft the Steering Committee helped Republican Senators become better
informed on pending issues. His staff ran evening meetings that some
called a night school for Senators. The Republican Steering Committee
became the model for the proposed policy committees. Indeed, when the
policy committees were written into law, the Republican Conference
simply redesignated its Steering Committee as the Republican Policy
Committee. Chairman Taft and all of the other members of the Steering
Committee become the first members of the Policy Committee.
The Republican Policy Committee came into existence at the beginning
of the 80th Congress, just as Republicans resumed the majority in the
Senate and House. The 50th anniversary finds Republicans back in the
majority in both Houses of Congress. Over the years the Policy
Committee's services and functions have expanded considerably. Since
1947, it has produced the very useful Record Vote Analyses. Since 1956,
it has hosted working lunches each week for Republican Senators. Since
1987, it has operated an in-house bulletin-board cable information
channel to keep Senators and their staffs apprised of Senate floor
activities and the upcoming agenda. In 1995, the Policy Committee stood
among the first Senate offices to develop a home page on the Internet's
World Wide Web, to provide information inside and outside the Senate on
its publications, and to share information on key Republican policies.
The Policy Committee staff prepares both brief and indepth reports on
the major issues facing the Senate. The Policy Committee conducts
seminars for new legislative staff members, and holds issue forums and
roundtable discussions for Senators. It also hosts regular meetings for
staff directors, legislative directors, and press secretaries.
During its first 50 years, the Republican Policy Committee grew into
a thriving operation staffed by a variety of experts. Working directly
with the
[[Page S2736]]
Senators, and educating the journalists who report on them, the Policy
Committee has assisted Republican Senators in setting policy, enacting
legislation, and getting their message out. That is an accomplishment
entirely consistent with the goals that Robert Taft set in founding the
Republican Policy Committee. The story of how those goals were achieved
is contained in the history of the Policy Committee that was prepared
by the Senate Historical Office, and will now be available for
Senators, staff, students, and the general public.
I understand that the Democratic Policy Committee is considering a
companion publication, and I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate its chairman, Senator Tom Daschle, and cochairman, Senator
Harry Reid, on our mutual 50th anniversary.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the
table, and that any statements relating to the resolution appear at
this point in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 67) was agreed to.
The resolution is as follows:
S. Res. 67
SECTION 1. PRINTING OF THE HISTORY MANUSCRIPT OF THE
REPUBLICAN POLICY COMMITTEE IN COMMEMORATION OF
ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY.
(a) In General.--There shall be printed as a Senate
document the book entitled, ``A History of the Senate
Republican Policy Committee, 1947-1997,'' prepared by the
Senate Historical Office under the supervision of the
Secretary of the Senate, with the concurrence of the U.S.
Senate Republican Policy Committee.
(b) Specifications.--The Senate document described in
subsection (a) shall include illustrations and shall be in
the style, form, manner, and binding as directed by the Joint
Committee on Printing after consultation with the Secretary
of the Senate.
(c) Number of Copies.--In addition to the usual number of
copies, there shall be printed with suitable binding the
lesser of--
(1) 1,000 copies for use of the Senate, to be allocated as
determined by the Secretary of the Senate; or
(2) a number of copies that does not have a total
production and printing cost of more than $1,200.
SEC. 2. PRINTING OF THE HISTORY MANUSCRIPT OF THE DEMOCRATIC
POLICY COMMITTEE IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS 50TH
ANNIVERSARY.
(a) In General.--There shall be printed as a Senate
document the book entitled, ``A History of the Senate
Democratic Policy Committee, 1947-1997,'' prepared by the
Senate Historical Office under the supervision of the
Secretary of the Senate, with the concurrence of the U.S.
Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
(b) Specifications.--The Senate document described in
subsection (a) shall include illustrations and shall be in
the style, form, manner, and binding as directed by the Joint
Committee on Printing after consultation with the Secretary
of the Senate.
(c) Number of Copies.--In addition to the usual number of
copies, there shall be printed with suitable binding the
lesser of--
(1) 1,000 copies for use of the Senate, to be allocated as
determined by the Secretary of the Senate; or
(2) a number of copies that does not have a total
production and printing cost of more than $1,200.
____________________