The Congressional Papers of Representative Thomas Petri, of the Sixth District of
Wisconsin, relate predominately to his United States congressional career (1979-2015) with a
small amount of personal records. The papers were received from the Unite States House
Records Center, as well as from the Congressman's offices in Washington, D.C., and Fond du
Lac. The collection follows the broad categories found in the original arrangement when
possible. The offices had the habit of creating folders for single items and multiple
folders for the same subjects but often titling them with slight differences. When
practical, folders were combined, renamed, and reorganized. Petri's records as a Wisconsin
State Senator (1973-1978) are in the Thomas E. Petri State Senate Papers (Oshkosh Mss BY).
The collection is arranged into 11 series: THOMAS E. PETRI FILES, SPEECHES AND REMARKS,
CORRESPONDENCE, SPONSORED LEGISLATION, STAFF FILES, PRESS AND MEDIA RELATIONS FILES,
LEGISLATIVE PRODUCTION RECORDS, ELECTION POLLS/SURVEYS, AUDIO RECORDINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, and
VIDEO RECORDINGS.
THOMAS E. PETRI FILES, 1956-1972, 1980-2014, include materials considered more personal
than standard office records and includes three subseries: Pre-Congressional, Personal
Congressional Files, and Miscellaneous.
Pre-Congressional files, 1956-1972, document Petri's
political interests and activities outside of his congressional or state legislative
careers. Included are letters, cards and correspondence from early acquaintances including
Richard Nixon and William F. Buckley. Also included are some of Petri's legal and other
personal papers documenting his activities in the Ripon Society and the Sixth District
Republican Party as well as his Peace Corps service in Somalia. These files are arranged in
alphabetical order with letters arranged by the last name of the correspondent.
Personal Files, Congressional, 1980-2014, include Petri's personal files from his congressional
office. In addition to guest books or registers of visitors to his office, there are thank
you letters, letters of support, invitations to the White House, and greeting cards. Some
documents relate to Petri's retirement.
Miscellaneous files, 1981-2013, include information
related to Presidential inaugurals and congressional trips taken by Petri. The congressional
trips are arranged in loose alphabetical order by name of conference or city where it is
held.
SPEECHES AND REMARKS, 1978-2000, include written scripts for Petri's public
appearances at rallies, holiday observances, dedications, conventions, as well as
educational, business, and civic events in the Sixth District. Also includes testimony and
statements with prepared remarks on issues before congressional committees and
subcommittees. Some public statements, speeches or remarks were given by Petri staff
members. These files are arranged in rough chronological order.
CORRESPONDENCE, 1980-2013,
include letters written by Petri enlisting support for his legislation (“Dear
Colleague” letters), responding to issues raised by Congressional activities and
legislation as well as addressing constituent concerns. Also included are co-signed on, or
self-initiated, Wisconsin delegation letters. These files are arranged in a rough
chronological order.
SPONSORED LEGISLATION, 1968-2008 (bulk 1979-2008), includes bills Petri
introduced with “Dear Colleague” letters and Wisconsin Delegation letters.
Arranged in chronological order, roughly by Congress Session with some overlap.
STAFF FILES,
1960-2014 (bulk 1978-2014), are comprised of records produced and gathered by Petri's
congressional staff members and include research and other documentation on issues important
to the Congressman and the district. The files are arranged into six sub-series, including
four by name of staff member: Debbie Gebhardt, Richard Markowitz, Joe Flader, Catherine
Johnson, General Staff Files, and Local Office Subject Files.
Debbie Gebhardt, 1967,
1979-2014 started working for Petri in 2001, eventually becoming Petri's Chief of Staff.
Gebhardt's files have a strong emphasis on transportation issues as Petri was a member of
the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its subcommittees on Highways, Transit
and Pipelines (chairperson). Topics include the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration),
aviation issues, roads and bridges, safety and security, and highway projects. These files
include documents related to pending legislation; staff memos; cosponsor requests
(“Dear Colleague” letters); drafts of bills; hearing records; appropriations
requests; Congressional Research Service reports; position papers; letters for and against
proposed legislation; newspaper and magazine clippings related to issues/proposed
legislation; think tank and lobby group input; materials documenting local Wisconsin issues;
grant requests; Republican Party documents and issues; speeches; and issue papers. The files
are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Richard Markowitz, 1977-2014, worked as a
legislative assistant to Petri. Markowitz's files cover a variety of issues. Among the bills
Markowitz worked on and documented here are: Making Work and Marriage Pay Act; Push Poll
Disclosure Act; as well as bills regarding retirement security, Social Security, and the
Earned Income Tax Credit. Records contain similar materials as described in the Debbie
Gebhardt sub-series. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Joe Flader,
1979-2001, worked as a legislative assistant to Petri. Flader's files cover a broad range of
topics. Among the bills Flader worked on and documented here are: The Income Dependent
Education Act (IDEA); Higher Education Reauthorization Act; as well as bills regarding the
Earned Income Tax Credit, minimum wage, MultiCare, and Federal Deposit Insurance reform.
Records contain similar materials as described in the Debbie Gebhardt sub-series. The files
are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Catherine Johnson, 2006-2014, worked as a
legislative assistant to Petri. Some of the files in this sub-series include files from
other staff members including Kevin James and Meagan McCanna. The files include issues
related to transportation, postal, and environmental (water) issues. Records contain similar
materials as described in the Debbie Gebhardt sub-series. The files are arranged
alphabetically by subject.
General Staff Files, 1978-2014, include records like those of the
named staff members records. While some boxes in this sub-series were attributed to
individual staff members, they were not of a sufficient amount to justify separate
sub-series. Among the staff members listed were George Conant, Tyler Schwartz, Katie
Birschbach, Julie Pfister, Pat Sheehy, Lee Brooks, Carlos Maxwell, Jason Delisle, Thomas
Culligan, and Maureen Drummy. Topics documented in this subseries include the 2000 Census,
agriculture, the La Plata water project, deposit insurance reform, Fox River clean up,
health care, education, the United States Postal Service (USPS), abortion, tobacco,
veterans, and water resources. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Local
Office Subject Files, 1978-2014, includes information and documents housed in the
constituent office in Fond du Lac and relate to local issues particularly in the Sixth
District. Included are citizen, business, corporation, local government, and municipality
requests for assistance; Wisconsin military installations' assistance; obtaining grants;
and/or appropriations for local projects and development. Of note are records regarding Fort
Camp McCoy and the Fox River Locks. These records were selected by archival staff for
inclusion in the collection. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject.
PRESS AND
MEDIA RELATIONS FILES, 1979-2014, document Petri's opinions and initiatives through weekly
press releases, newsletters, and communications to constituents. The Weekly Reports and
Media Releases are arranged chronologically (1982-2007). Newsletters to special interest
groups (including agriculture, business, education, environment, family issues, seniors, and
veterans) are arranged by topic. Reports and questionnaires to District 6 constituents are
arranged in chronological order. The series also includes sample constituent letters
(addressed to staffer Linda Towse), pre-scripted responses, and tobacco subsidy information.
LEGISLATIVE PRODUCTION RECORDS, 1977-2010, document Petri's legislative output and voting
records. The materials in this collection provided metrics as to Petri's output and
performance from official government sources and from outside lobby groups, as well as
constituents. The files are arranged into four sub-series: Voting Statistic Records,
Legislative Activity Guides, Legislative Profiles, and Scorecards.
Voting Statistic Records,
1979-2000, include a compilation of the voting record of Petri.
Legislative Activity Guides,
1985-2010, were prepared by the legislative office of Congress and outline an individual
congressperson's voting record. The guides are divided into five sections: Statistical
summary of votes; Index of votes by bill number; Index of short title; Index of votes by
subject and author; and Appendix: Compilation of Roll Call Votes.
Legislative Profiles,
1979-2006, were also published by the legislative office of Congress and outline legislation
sponsored or cosponsored by Petri. There are six sections to each volume: Sponsored
measures; Cosponsored measures; Sponsored measures by Committee of Referral; Co-sponsored
measures by Committee of Referral; Superseded measures; and Sponsored amendments.
Scorecards, 1977-2008, are rankings given by various public interest and lobbying groups.
The scorecards rate Petri's voting record according to the political philosophy of the group
doing the scoring. They are arranged in rough alphabetical order according to the name or
acronym of the organization.
ELECTION POLLS/SURVEYS, 1966, 1979-2014, were taken by private
vendors in the Sixth District with some surveys of his predecessor in Congress William
Steiger.
AUDIO RECORDINGS, 1979-2009, include cassette tapes, reel to reel tapes, and CDs.
The audio is arranged into three subseries according to their focus: Report to the Sixth District Radio Show, Campaign Advertisements, and
Miscellaneous.
Report to the Sixth District Radio Show,
1984-2002, was weekly radio program featuring Petri who was interviewed by a moderator on
current issues in Congress. Shows are from seven to ten minutes long and touch on two or
three current issues. The interactions in the discussions are scripted. Many recordings end
with the “Porker Award” describing recent egregious use of earmarks by Congress
or government agencies. Recordings are arranged chronologically. Some recordings have
specific topics identified while most descriptions are just air dates.
Campaign
Advertisements, 1980-1992, are short ads for radio. Most are thirty seconds in length and
are from the 1992 congressional campaign where Petri's opponent was Peg Lautenschlager.
Recordings are arranged chronologically.
Miscellaneous, 1979-2009, recordings include some
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) by Petri and his wife Anne Neal; audio clips from
Petri's office; a tape of proceedings from the Wisconsin State Senate; and a tape where
Petri interacts with comedian Bob Hope. Recordings are arranged chronologically.
PHOTOGRAPHS, circa 1956-circa 2014, contain black and white, and color prints, and
negatives. Includes portraits of Petri; photographs with constituents, staff, and
“VIPs” (political leaders and others); publicity shots taken in the district; as
well as during committee meetings and other legislative activities and foreign diplomatic
travel. Of note are several photographs from Petri's youth, including images of him
graduating college and as a youth leader in the Boys State and Boys Nation programs. Also
included are images of Petri's wife and daughter.
Petri photographs were unorganized at the
time of donation with few images labeled. Substantial weeding was done to the photographs
which included many duplicates. Archives staff endeavored to create a representative, rather
than exhaustive, collection of images.
Sometimes distinguishing between constituent guests,
lobbyists, and staff or interns was difficult. Researchers not finding images under one
category are encouraged to look in the others. The photographs are arranged by nine
subjects: Personal and family; Official portraits and publicity; VIPs (notable people);
Constituents in Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin; Congressional work and activities;
Lobbyists and award acceptances; Congressional travel; Congressional staff; and Negatives.
Personal photographs of Petri and his family. The photographs include his youth and
pre-congress years. The photos during his tenure as a congressman include candid shots of
himself, his wife and daughter. Included in this sub-series are images of Petri next to
artworks displayed in his Washington office presumed to have been created by constituent
artists.
Portraits and publicity photographs include official portraits of Petri taken
during various periods of his career as a politician. Also includes posed publicity shots
taken of Petri at a lectern for release to media and news outlets.
VIPs photographs of Petri
with state, municipal and federal government politicians; international politicians;
celebrities; and business leaders. In many cases the photos include identifying information.
Constituents in Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin. The D.C. photographs appear to be
individual or groups of constituents visiting Washington that were taken on the Capitol
building steps or in Petri's office. The Wisconsin images of Petri were taken during local
visits to the Sixth District and other Wisconsin locations. Included are photos taken at
town hall meetings, parades, picnics, holiday celebrations, military installations, and
agricultural facilities. Some of the photos include campaign activities at various
locations.
Congressional work and activities photographs of Petri participating in hearings
and meetings in Washington, D.C., and its environs.
Lobbyists and award acceptances
photographs of Petri receiving awards from organizations, or meetings with lobbyists, or
interest group members. There are photos related to an annual ice cream social in
Washington, D.C., supported by a dairy related interest group.
Congressional travel
photographs of Petri taken while traveling in and outside the country, and visiting foreign
government leaders during his tenure as a congressman.
Congressional staff photographs
including interns, office staff, administrative staff and campaign staff. Also contains
images presumed to be congressional pages from Wisconsin or the Sixth District. Staff from
both Washington, D.C., and from his Wisconsin offices appear to be included.
Negatives of
print images organized throughout the series. Associated contact sheets were filed under the
other subseries. A unique negative number references the corresponding negative in this
sub-series.
VIDEO RECORDINGS, 1979-2014, include videos taken during Petri's political
career. The videos are arranged into four subseries: Campaign, Petri focused, Public Service
Announcements, and Newscasts.
Campaign, 1979-2000, related to Petri's election campaigns.
The bulk consists of campaign advertisements. There are also videos of debates Petri
participated in during elections and one video of anti-Petri campaign clips.
Petri focused,
1982-2014, include appearances at events and discussions of current political issues. Most
of these videos were created by congressional or independent broadcasters.
Public Service
Announcements (PSAs), 1989-1996, 2003-2011, created as Public Service announcements, or for
educational purposes, and are generally apolitical.
Newscasts, 1987-2007, include videos
where Petri discusses political issues on programs of broadcast or cable television networks
including the Congressional TV network. Most clips appear to have been recorded on a home
video system and are intermingled with network programming. There is one clip of Petri's
appearance on 60 Minutes interviewed by Leslie Stahl.
