[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 146 (Monday, October 25, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H10733-H10736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HISTORY OF THE HOUSE AWARENESS AND PRESERVATION ACT

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (2303) to direct the Librarian of Congress to prepare the history 
of the House of Representatives, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2303

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``History of the House 
     Awareness and Preservation Act''.

     SEC. 2. WRITTEN HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

       (a) In General.--Subject to available funding and in 
     accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Librarian 
     of Congress shall prepare, print, distribute, and arrange for 
     the funding of, a new and complete written history of the 
     House of Representatives, in consultation with the Committee 
     on House Administration. In preparing this written history, 
     the Librarian of Congress shall consult, commission, or 
     engage the services or participation of, eminent historians, 
     Members, and former Members of the House of Representatives.
       (b) Guidelines.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
     Librarian of Congress shall take into account the following:
       (1) The history should be an illustrated, narrative history 
     of the House of Representatives, organized chronologically.
       (2) The history's intended audience is the general reader, 
     as well as Members of Congress and their staffs.
       (3) The history should include a discussion of the First 
     and Second Continental Congresses and the Constitutional 
     Convention, especially with regard to their roles in creating 
     the House of Representatives.
       (c) Printing.--
       (1) In general.--The Librarian of Congress shall arrange 
     for the printing of the history.
       (2) Printing arrangements.--The printing may be performed--
       (A) by the Public Printer pursuant to the provisions of 
     chapter 5 of title 44, United States Code;
       (B) under a cooperative arrangement among the Librarian of 
     Congress, a private funding source obtained pursuant to 
     subsection (e), and a publisher in the private sector; or
       (C) under subparagraphs (A) and (B).
       (3) Internet dissemination.--Any arrangement under 
     paragraph (2) shall include terms for dissemination of the 
     history over the Internet via facilities maintained by the 
     United States Government.
       (4) Member copies.--To the extent that the history is 
     printed by the Public Printer, copies of the history provided 
     to the Congress under subsection (d) shall be charged to the 
     Government Printing Office's congressional allotment for 
     printing and binding.
       (d) Distribution.--The Librarian of Congress shall make the 
     history available for sale to the public, and shall make 
     available, free of charge, 5 copies to each Member of the 
     House of Representatives and 250 copies to the Senate.
       (e) Private Funding.--The Librarian of Congress shall 
     solicit and accept funding for the preparation, publication, 
     marketing, and public distribution of the history from 
     private individuals, organizations, or entities.

     SEC. 3. ORAL HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

       (a) In General.--The Librarian of Congress shall accept for 
     deposit, preserve, maintain, and make accessible an oral 
     history of the House of Representatives, as told by its 
     Members and former Members, compiled and updated (on a 
     voluntary or contract basis) by the United States Association 
     of Former Members of Congress or other private organization. 
     In carrying out this section, the Librarian of Congress may 
     enlist the voluntary aid or assistance of such organization, 
     or may contract with it for such services as may be 
     necessary.
       (b) Definition of Oral History.--In this section, the term 
     ``oral history'' means a story or history consisting of 
     personal recollection as recorded by any one or more of the 
     following means:
       (1) Interviews.
       (2) Transcripts.
       (3) Audio recordings.
       (4) Video recordings.
       (5) Such other form or means as may be suitable for the 
     recording and preservation of such information.

     SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) orientation programs for freshman Members of the House 
     of Representatives should contain a seminar on the history of 
     the House of Representatives; and
       (2) the Speaker of the House of Representatives should 
     conduct a series of forums on the topic of the history of the 
     House of Representatives.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thomas) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas).
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this measure would require that there be created a 
history of the House of Representatives. The intent is to create a 
popular illustrated and chronologically ordered volume that covers the 
entire history of the House of Representatives. Notwithstanding the 
fact that the House has a House historian, this particular history is 
required in the bill to be prepared with no appropriated funds.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I thank the chairman for his comments and his leadership on this 
issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of this important 
legislation, sponsored by my good friend and our colleague, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson). This legislation has 311 
cosponsors, including the Speaker and the minority leader. I understand 
that a few more have been added even this day.
  H.R. 2303 is an extraordinarily timely initiative, given the massive 
institutional changes which have affected the House over the last few 
years, and as we move into the 21st century.
  Earlier this year, the House recodified its rules for the first time 
since 1880, another recent useful effort to reexamine and hopefully to 
improve things which we tend to take for granted. We benefit as Members 
of the House, and the American people benefit, when Members can take 
some

[[Page H10734]]

time away from the constant pressures of legislating, meeting our 
constituents, traveling back and forth from our districts and keeping 
hectic schedules, to think about the environment in which we work and 
the legacy of all those who came before us. And we have so little time 
even to do that.
  In my earlier career, I was president of the State Senate in 
Maryland, and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) was president 
pro tempore of the Senate in Connecticut, roughly equivalent positions 
in two parliamentary bodies which are older than this House of 
Representatives. As such, we had some responsibility for managing the 
work of our legislative institutions and the environment in which State 
Senators worked, environments rich in history.
  Here in Washington it takes real work and effort for Members to learn 
about the history of the House, however. We rarely think of the 
historic figures who populate artwork throughout the Capitol as having 
been persons of great accomplishment in legislation, oratory, and the 
philosophy of democracy, rather than figures we may notice momentarily 
as we dart through the corridors from meeting to meeting.

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. Speaker, the Constitution requires that Congress assemble to do 
its work and that we can exercise our priorities only by working 
collectively. Too often Members can feel isolated managing their 
individual offices tending to constituent problems in their district 
and come to the floor only for a few minutes to vote. But it was not 
always like that in this chamber, and we do well to remember that.
  It would benefit this House if the public had a better understanding 
of not only what we do on a daily basis, but what our predecessors did 
and how we stand up compared to them. Certainly, the public has more 
than enough exposure to the politics of the House.
  The bill offered by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) would 
offer interested citizens a chance to appreciate, in addition to the 
politics of the House today, the historic role of the House as the 
representatives of the popular will.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill would direct the Librarian of Congress, at no 
cost to the Government, I might add, and with the ability to accept 
private funds, to prepare an illustrated narrative history of the House 
of Representatives.
  The Librarian could use the extensive scholarly resources at his 
command and would be authorized to consult, commission, or engage the 
services of eminent historians, Members, and former Members of the 
House to produce a book accessible to the public at large as well as to 
the House and to the scholarly community.
  The Librarian has informed us, Mr. Speaker, that once the bill is 
enacted into law he intends to appoint a scholarly advisory board to 
engage an eminent historian or historians who would conduct the 
principal work of writing the book.
  The Librarian will also consult with the House Administration 
Committee led by the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas). The bill 
would also authorize the Librarian to accept materials relating to an 
oral history of the House as told by its Members and former Members.
  The bill states the sense of the House that orientation programs for 
freshmen Members of the House should include a seminar on the history 
of the House and that the Speaker should conduct forums on the history 
of the House.
  As ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, I 
participate in orientation sessions on many occasions; and I believe 
that they would be benefited greatly from the inclusion of a big 
picture view of the House, the Members' place in it, and its historical 
role.
  I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this legislation and that it has 
received the strong bipartisan and leadership support needed to give 
the history of the House project momentum to get it underway quickly 
and do it thoroughly.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), the former 
President pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate, now a very, very 
active and effective leader in the House of Representatives, the 
sponsor of this legislation.
  (Mr. LARSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. LARSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2303, an act 
concerning the history of the House Awareness and Preservation Act.
  At the outset, Mr. Speaker, let me profoundly and deeply thank the 
gentleman from California (Chairman Thomas) and his staff for taking a 
good concept and making it into a much better bill.
  I would also like to thank my good friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), for his constant advice and 
mentoring. As a former Senate president, as well, he understands how 
important it is, especially amongst freshmen Members, to make sure that 
we receive the appropriate kind of guidance at all times. So I want to 
thank the staffs, as well, who have labored on this bill.
  The bill has over 300 sponsors, Mr. Speaker, and in large part 
because of two prominent cosponsors on the bill, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Speaker Hastert) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Gephardt). So I foster no illusions that my name on the top of this 
bill attracted so many sponsors, but would point out that at the heart 
of this bill is a deep and abiding respect for this chamber and its 
history; and the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) and the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) personify all the Members who 
care deeply about this Chamber and its history.
  A special thanks must go, as well, to the staff of the Speaker and 
Ted VanDerMead as well in our leader's office, Dan Burton for the 
tireless work they performed, as well.
  I would be remiss if I did not mention George Shevlin and my entire 
staff who have shepherded this bill to this point.
  How fitting, Mr. Speaker, that as it approaches its 200th year that 
the Library of Congress will undertake this important local legacies 
project as it reaches out and asks every congressional district in 
return to report back to it the legacies of the 435-Member body here.
  I wanted to thank the Members, especially the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Mrs. Emerson), who, on a trip to Hershey, talked to me about 
how important the history of this institution is and reflecting on her 
husband Bill; and to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), who, 
also during that sojourn, talked about its importance, talked about his 
service with Bob Michel. They were enormously helpful.
  Also, I want to thank for her constant encouragement the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Eshoo).
  This bill had its genesis actually at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy 
School in Harvard in meetings with Alan Simpson and David Broder, when 
they challenged the freshmen class of the 106th Congress to return to a 
time of civility. This charge was further echoed when we went on to 
Williamsburg by Cokie Roberts, talking about her dad, Hale Boggs and, 
of course, the beloved Lindy Boggs and the feeling that they had for 
this great institution. And at a dinner in Virginia with the dean of 
the House, to be able to hear the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Dingell), who has been here since 1954, talk about the Presidents and 
the speakers that he has served with was incredible.
  All of that led me to believe that we deserved a history of our own 
here. I had observed, having traveled over to the other body to listen 
to debate, that there appeared a four-volume history of that body 
written by Senator Byrd. And to my chagrin, I learned that we had no 
such works for the People's Chamber.
  Just a walk through Statuary Hall will indicate to anyone the 
magnitude of the history of the House of Representatives. In the very 
short time that I have been here, the number of important speeches that 
have taken place in this Chamber and the fond memories that were 
recalled of people like Moe Udall, of people like George Brown, who 
when I came here was the ranking member of the Committee on Science and 
had chaired that committee and, as we all know, has passed on.
  The richness of the political experience and the governmental 
experience are the people that come here and the people that serve, and 
that is why this

[[Page H10735]]

history is so important. And yet this seeks to accomplish more than 
just the writing of history, but the capturing of its membership in 
oral history, as well.
  The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) has discussed what the bill 
proposes and what it actually carries out. First is to have the 
Librarian of Congress summon both Members of this House, past and 
present, and eminent historians to decide how to go about and write 
this great history of this institution, not only including this 
Congress but the Continental Congress, as well. It also calls on the 
Library of Congress to become a repository for oral history.
  The Former Members of Congress Organization, for example, has already 
set out on this task. But, in talking to many of them, it has been 
piecemeal and catch as catch can. And to come under the vast umbrella 
of the Library of Congress will aid it immensely because there are 
unique stories to be told by all the Members of this body. It truly is 
what makes this a representative institution.
  And the last, of course, is to provide a sense of the Congress, a 
sense of the Congress in terms of instructing incoming freshmen about 
the rich history of the House of Representatives and having our more 
learned Members and providing them with the opportunity to meet and 
discuss the great history of the House of Representatives.
  It also provides for the Speaker, as he may choose, to conduct forums 
and to provide the same kind of meetings where dialogue can take place. 
In discussing this with the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert), 
he was reflecting, as we are both former school teachers, how 
interesting it would be to have Bob Michel and Dan Rostenkowski 
discussing the Congress in Statuary Hall and its importance and 
significance.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to stand here today as a sponsor of this 
bill and continue to be humbled every time I walk into this Chamber. I 
believe that history is important. I believe this bill is important, 
not so much because it is a bill that I have introduced and care deeply 
about, but because what it means to this grand institution.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record a letter of support from James 
H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress.

                                    The Librarian of Congress,

                                    Washington, DC, 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.

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Hoyer) has 6 minutes remaining.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood).
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time that has been 
yielded to me, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 2303. I would like 
to give a couple of observations, primarily as a history teacher I 
think.
  For most of my career before coming to Congress, I taught history 
both at the university level and at the high school level. Sometimes 
historians make the wry observation that historians are people who, 
those who cannot make history, are condemned to teach it.
  As a consequence, I think, in trying to meld these two experiences 
together, those of us who have a unique appreciation of history and 
also have a unique appreciation and understanding of this institution, 
I think this kind of legislation is very critical and much needed. I 
certainly congratulate all the cosponsors and in particular applaud the 
efforts of our colleague the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) to 
educate, inform, and ultimately preserve the legacy of this body for 
future generations.
  What we are seeking to preserve here is not so much history but the 
raw material of history. And there is a little bit of a distinction in 
the profession of history in understanding that history is really what 
historians write. It is not the raw data; it is not the raw material, 
but what we are seeking to do here is provide the historian with an 
opportunity to sift through the multitude of information which this 
institution can provide in a more organized fashion.
  Like the other Members who support this legislation, I, too, am in 
awe of the institution.

                              {time}  1445

  I would like to point out, because I know that perhaps this debate, 
or this discussion that we are having here will be part of the legacy 
for this legislation which hopefully will get the history of the House 
awareness and preservation projects under way, that I am not one of 
those 435 Members alluded to. The official title of the office I hold 
is Nonvoting Delegate. Sometimes it gets a little bit cumbersome and 
awkward when people come to the floor and talk about the 435 Members of 
the House, and you are one of five people who regularly come here and 
try to do business and represent your constituents and you are not one 
of those 435 alluded to.
  So I would certainly hope that in the course of conducting this 
project and in the course of writing this history, that certainly those 
people who were Delegates, and the first Delegate, I believe, was 
William Henry Harrison, so there is hope for Delegates. They could 
become President, although they would die 1 month in office. But 
certainly he was the very first Delegate elected to this office. Since 
that time there have been a couple of models on how to represent 
people, in a slightly imperfect way, for those people who are not 
representatives of various States ranging from the Resident 
Commissioner model which is used currently for Puerto Rico and 
previously for the Philippines.
  In light of that, I want to take the time to point out that in 
support of this legislation, we should make every effort to include all 
of the people who have served here.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Guam for his contribution. I might 
want to say, as well, that I had the opportunity of being on the West 
Coast just a few days ago and there was a former broadcaster on Guam, a 
journalist with whom I talked, and she said whenever there was a 
problem from an historical or political perspective that the media had 
in Guam and wanted some expert information, they would call Dr. 
Underwood who was a distinguished historian and teacher and get advice 
and counsel and he always knew the answers. He makes an appropriate 
point, the 440 Members indeed that make an impact on this body.
  Mr. Speaker, I again want to congratulate the gentleman from 
Connecticut for his leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As I indicated, I moved to suspend the rules on H.R. 2303 with an 
amendment, and there was no discussion of

[[Page H10736]]

 the amendment, so I will briefly for the Members review the 
amendments. There were three.
  One, based upon the number of cosponsors and an indication that we 
want to extend it to every person who has had an affiliation with the 
House, whether they be Member or Delegate, that the oral history 
portion may in fact be of a considerable length, and so in the 
amendment, one of the items is that ``in consultation with the 
Committee on House Administration'' was added so that there could be 
some minimal institutional control over the history in terms of its 
overall purport and direction.
  Secondly, there was a provision of changing ``may'' to ``shall.'' The 
language was that ``the librarian may use private funds'' and it was 
changed to ``the librarian shall use private funds.'' One only need 
pick up current newspapers and examine the way in which ``may'' and 
``shall'' will be of significance.
  There was to be an event in Lisbon, Portugal which was to be funded 
by private dollars. It turns out that they became public dollars, 
including an $18,000 a month apartment for former Member Tony Coelho 
who headed that operation, and that was one of the reasons we stressed 
``shall'' instead of ``may.''
  And then finally, based upon the description about what folks thought 
was important in presenting this legislation to the Members, the third 
amendment, and probably ultimately the most important amendment, 
required that on the Internet, not, as the bill originally stated, 
excerpts of the history would be presented but, in fact, the entire 
history.
  It seems as though as time goes on, people tend to have their own 
particular view of what was important and what was not, of who was 
important and who was not. And to ensure that no future majority is 
able to distort the full history of the House of Representatives, the 
third item was added, and I think all Americans will be supportive of 
the fact that the entire history is made available, not someone's 
version of what the history of the House of Representatives ought to 
be.
  And so with those amendments, I am pleased to support the measure.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2303--The 
History Of The House Awareness And Preservation Act. I wish to commend 
my colleague from Connecticut for introducing this bipartisan 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know how easy it is to forget our history. In the 
hectic days and weeks that make up our lives on Capitol Hill, many of 
us rush from meeting to meeting through this magnificent building, 
often not even glancing at the beautiful artwork that adorns its walls, 
or to consider the awesome achievements of the men and women who 
preceded us.
  As a freshman legislator, I am still struck with a sense of awe when 
I walk in this chamber to cast a vote, representing more than 600,000 
Americans in their national legislature. As I walk in Statuary Hall, I 
am still halted by the serene statue of Wisconsin's Fighting Bob 
LaFollette, a progressive champion who represented my district nearly a 
hundred years ago. What I think is great about this institution, and 
why it is valuable to record its history, is that members who have been 
here for decades still get those feelings too.
  This legislation will help us all take a moment to reflect on the 
importance of what has been decided here and its context in history. By 
having the Library of Congress create the first history of the House of 
Representatives, the Nation will have a resource to remind us of the 
how and why the 13 colonies came together in something called a 
Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I know it is not fashionable to praise this body. I know 
that pundits and critics make healthy livings denigrating Congress and 
the work we do here. This legislation, this history, may give them 
pause to consider the underpinnings of this institution, and realize 
that the nobler calling of the Founding Fathers are still with us, and 
that all of us--Republican and Democrat--are still trying to do our 
best to live up to those high standards established more than two 
centuries ago.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2303, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________