[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HELP US TO PRESERVE THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 22, 1999

  Mr. LARSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform my colleagues about 
legislation I am introducing today to help preserve the history of the 
House.
  Every time we pass through Statuary Hall, which is the old House 
chamber, we are reminded by the statue of Clio that our actions as 
members of the House should be recorded for the benefit of future 
generations. Unfortunately, however, we do not have an updated 
narrative history of the House of Representatives, especially one 
arranged chronologically. Moreover, it seems that the only time we take 
stock of the history of the individual members of the House is either 
when they retire, such as the recent tribute to Representative Robert 
L. Livingston, or when they die, such as the recent memorial service 
for Representative Mo Udall. These events, however, are fleeting 
snapshots of the rich portrait that is the House and its members, which 
is why we need a more comprehensive history.
  My bill, the History of the House Awareness and Preservation Act, 
would authorize the Library of Congress to commission eminent 
historians to assemble a written history of the House. The history is 
intended for Members, staff, and the general public. Copies will be 
provided to each Member and will also be sold to the general public by 
the Library of Congress. It is expected that there will be no cost to 
the federal government for this book. The bill lets the experts at the 
Library decide whether the cost of this book should be paid for by 
selling it or through the raising of private funds.
  The bill would also allow the Library to update and expand the 
collection of oral histories of members given to the Library by the 
Association of Former Members of Congress, and it is hoped that the 
oral histories will be made available in digital format so they can be 
downloaded from the Library's Internet Web Page. Additionally, the bill 
contains two sense of the Congress provisions, which state that 
orientation programs for freshman members of the House should contain a 
seminar on the history of the House, and that the Speaker of the House 
should conduct a series of fora on the history of the House.
  I am introducing this bill with over 240 original co-sponsors, 
including the Speaker of the House, the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, 
and the Democratic Leader, the Honorable Richard A. Gephardt. I 
sincerely appreciate their endorsement and encouragement.
  I am including a copy of a letter in support of this bill from the 
Librarian of Congress, Dr. James H. Billington, for which I am very 
grateful. I would like to urge the rest of my colleagues to support 
this bi-partisan effort in order to ensure that we do our best to 
preserve the history of this great body in which we serve.

                                     The Librarian of Congress

                                                    June 22, 1999.
     Hon. John B. Larson,
     U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Larson: I very much appreciate the opportunity to 
     review the final version of your draft bill authorizing the 
     Library of Congress to oversee the preparation of a written 
     history of the House of Representatives. I believe the 
     legislation you have developed allows the Library to bring 
     together a number of necessary elements to produce an 
     authoritative publication that will fill a void in the annals 
     of the Congress, and I support both the bill's goal and 
     substance.
       Your legislation will allow the Library's publishing office 
     and curatorial staff to work together to develop the project, 
     identify primary source material in our collections, and 
     explore various options for its publication. As I indicated 
     in my comments on an earlier draft of the legislation, I 
     envisage appointing a scholarly advisory board, including 
     historians as well as current and former Members of Congress, 
     to assist in the selection of one or more historians to 
     provide the text of the book, and to continue to be involved 
     through the publication stage. The legislation provides 
     sufficient discretion for the Library to work out the details 
     of funding, publication, marketing and distribution in a 
     manner consistent with the best interests of the House of 
     Representatives.
       The legislation also reflects the appropriate roles of the 
     Library of Congress and the U.S. Association of Former 
     Members of Congress in the collection and preservation of 
     oral histories of the Congress. These will undoubtedly prove 
     invaluable to some future historian in continuing the 
     narrative begun by your legislation.
       I would like to extend again my offer to hold a lecture 
     series on the history of the House of Representatives in the 
     Members' Room, as a way of both stimulating interest in the 
     published history and drawing together Members, former 
     Members, historians and the Library's incomparable 
     collections for the enjoyment and enlightenment of all.
           Sincerely,

                                          James H. Billington,

                                        The Librarian of Congress.



     

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