The papers of David R. Obey, Wisconsin's longest-serving congressman, are one of the largest political collections held by the Historical Society Archives, over 800 cubic feet when the papers arrived in Madison and about 500 cubic feet when the archival processing was completed. Despite the volume, the collection does not fully document Obey's long career and varied interests.
Some material, such as the C-SPAN video recordings, unmarked copies of printed House bills, amendments, committee reports, and other material readily available elsewhere, in many cases online, were removed. Other material documenting Obey's career such as the official records of the committees on which he served was transferred to the National Archives. Still more material, such as the voluminous case files, was not brought to Madison because of their routine and often confidential nature.
The largest gap in the papers is the absence or near absence of documentation from some of Obey's senior staff and most trusted advisers. However, there are extensive files created by Paul Carver, who became Obey's senior policy adviser and who considered himself the information resource of last resort for other staff, as well as by Will Painter, Christine Hamilton, and Anne Georges. But several senior staff who worked for many years in Obey's office such as Scott Lilly, Joe Crapa, and Lyle Stitt are only sparsely represented. Staff files in the Obey Papers include policy and strategy memos prepared for the congressman, unofficial files relating to the important committees on which Obey served, annotated copies of bills and amendments, and research material.
Candid and near-candid photography in the collection ends about 2000, as very few digital images were transferred to the Archives. The primary exception to this is the group of images of Obey and Congressman Bill Young at Ground Zero only a few days after the September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 (9/11). These digital photographs were found on a floppy disc and preserved on the Historical Society's online image database.
The part of the collection in which Obey is most evident is in the speeches and writings series. In an era in which most speeches were prepared by professional speechwriters, Obey was fully involved in the process, generally writing out the first draft of his speeches for non-congressional audiences. Notes and brief comments in his distinctive handwriting are scattered throughout the collection.
The most complete source for examining Obey is in his memoir, Raising Hell for Justice, which was published in 2007. There are no manuscript drafts of the book in the collection, but the DRO (David Ross Obey) Files series, which appear to have been arranged for his particular use, may have been related to the memoir.
The Obey Papers consist of BIOGRAPHICAL FILES, DRO FILES, SPEECHES and WRITINGS, CORRESPONDENCE, PAUL CARVER FILES, STAFF FILES, PRESS OFFICE FILES, DISTRICT OFFICE FILES, COMMITTEE FILES, and CAMPAIGN FILES. In addition, there are appendices for lists of the audio (Appendix B) and film and video (Appendix C) portions of the finding aid as well as an appendix listing the titles of individual Democratic Study Group publications in the papers (Appendix A).
The BIOGRAPHICAL FILES consist of summary biographical information such as lists of bills introduced by Obey, his voting history, ratings by various special interests, selected biographical clippings, awards, and information concerning activities outside of Congress and his pre-congressional career in the Wisconsin Assembly. The files are arranged alphabetically by type. The Biographical series includes files on the Aspen Institute's congressional seminars of which Obey was one of the earliest and most staunch participants. The most comprehensive source of information of a personal nature is Obey's memoir. Although Obey reportedly produced fourteen drafts of the book, there are no drafts or supplementary background information in the papers. Clippings about Obey's career are scattered throughout the collection, with a central file maintained for part of his tenure by his press secretaries. The clippings here, in the Biographical series, are limited, and they primarily consist of feature newspaper and magazine articles.
Information about the bills Obey introduced or co-sponsored is readily available in several ways, and, as a result, clean copies of Obey's bills have not been maintained as a central research file. All congressional bills and resolutions from 1989 to present are available online for full text searching on the Library of Congress website. Also, the government documents section of the Wisconsin Historical Society Library holds microfilm copies of all bills prior to 1989. As an aid to locating information about the legislation Obey sponsored, his bills and amendments are individually identified in the the contents list, along with their bill number and the title, when available. Researchers can also use the Legislative Profiles from 1983 to 2007 filed in the Biographical section of the papers. The profiles were a publication of the House that listed every bill and resolution introduced or cosponsored by a particular legislator. For the years before that, 1973 to 1984, the papers include lists prepared by Obey's staff of all legislation he introduced or co-sponsored. More important than the as-introduced text of Obey's bills are the many drafts of bills, sometimes annotated by Obey or members of his staff that can be found scattered in working files throughout the collection. This type of documentation is present for only a portion of Obey's legislation.
Much like the Legislative Profiles noted above, Obey's votes were recorded in the Legislative Activity Guide, a House of Representatives publication. The guide includes a description of every vote, the vote totals, a record of how Obey voted on each measure (for the later votes), and a subject index. The voting guides in the Obey Papers date from 1983 through 2010. For the years 1969-1973 and 1985-1987, the collection includes unofficial lists of roll call votes prepared by Obey's staff. Thus, the collection documents Obey's votes from 1969 through 1973 and from 1983 through 2010. The papers include several analyses of congressional voting from the Democratic perspective. “Vote Tracker,” was a creation of the Democrats on the House Rules Committee. It covers the years 2001 through 2004. The tracker was an attempt to take up the partisan analyses of voting previously performed by the Democratic Study Group. (The DSG publication, Record Votes (1985-1990), is filed with Paul Carver's reference material.) The papers also contain a brief run (1997-1998) of voting information issued by a non-partisan organization, Operation Vote Smart, that includes a lengthy description of all roll calls, as well as a record of Obey's positions.
In addition, Obey's staff collected the publications of various special interest groups that monitored and rated congressional voting. The represented organizations are weighted toward labor unions and liberal advocacy organizations, but the staff also saved some conservative publications. These publications describe only the issues important to a particular organization, together with the votes of individual legislators. The special interest publications in the collection primarily cover the years 1969 through 1988.
The Biographical series also contains information on Obey's travel, both his official trips as a member of a congressional delegation (CODEL) and his travel to participate in the educational seminars sponsored by the non-partisan Aspen Institute which covered educational issues and foreign relations, including U.S.-Soviet relations. The Aspen files are arranged chronologically by year, and they generally include staff-prepared background readings, information about participants, and Obey's notes. Published reports of the Aspen Institute proceedings have been separated to the University of Wisconsin Library.
As a member of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee and, eventually, as a senior Democrat, Obey traveled with several delegations to the Middle East, Central America, Russia, Eastern Europe, and other locations. These files include reports, notes, and extensive briefing material prepared by the State Department, the Foreign Operations subcommittee staff, and Obey's own staff. Photographs taken during of many of these trips are included with the PRESS OFFICE FILES.
The DRO FILES contain the comparatively small quantity of material that can be considered Obey's own records rather than files created by his staff. No clear pattern could be identified as to the creation, arrangement, or purpose of these files. External evidence suggests that some of these files were stored together either in Obey's inner office or in the office of his administrative secretary. The staff collectively referred to these files as “Obey's records” or “DRO records.” For clarity's sake, this series is referred to here as the “DRO FILES.” The series is divided into two sections based on the date and the original appearance of the folders when they arrived in the Archives. A particular style of typed labels clearly identified one set of files that dated from the middle period of Obey's years in office. A second set, generally of later date, was less uniformly foldered, and included many individual folders labeled in Obey's handwriting. There is no evidence that the two sections were ever consolidated into a comprehensive central file. In the contents list, the two sections are distinguished as DRO File I and DRO File II. The DRO File I dates from roughly 1977 through 1984; the DRO File II focuses on the years 1981-2001.
The purpose of DRO File I is unclear, as no individual folder contained much documentation. Sometimes there was only a single letter or clipping in the folder. Exceptions to the scant coverage include sections on the Democratic Study Group (DSG) and the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Although Obey was a leader and chairman of the DSG, these few folders are the most completely documented in the collection on the inner workings of the study group.
Some folders in DRO File II also contain scant material, although on the whole the documentation in this section is more extensive. Some of File II arrived in the Archives arranged into broad subject categories with obvious physical dividers bearing titles such as “Congressional Reform,” “Chippewa Treaty Rights,” “Leadership,” and “Redistricting.” The presence of folders labeled in his own handwriting suggests that Obey may have removed the material from more complete staff-created files and briefing books in order to create files for his own use. Despite the uncertainty about the creation and use of the DRO Files, placement here indicates that the material had some special importance or use for the congressman. In addition to the aforementioned categories, the DRO Files II contain documentation of Obey's efforts to win the Appropriations chairmanship in 1994 and various other leadership positions, as well as his opposition to President Reagan's support for the Nicaraguan Contras and other foreign policy issues. Also well represented are his ongoing efforts to reform the funding of political campaigns and to improve the congressional budget process. These files variously contain draft bills, handwritten notes, Dear Colleague letters, and background information.
David Obey's SPEECHES AND WRITINGS are documented in several ways and many are even available in multiple formats: paper, audio and video recordings, and online. Obey's speeches and remarks from the floor of the House appear in the Congressional Record. The Congressional Record from 1989 to present is available online from the Library of Congress website. Earlier years are available through other online sources, but this availability was only on a subscription basis when the Obey Papers were processed. As a result, the pre-1989 Congressional Record paper files received in the Archives (1969-1973 and 1980-1988 only) have been retained, but in accession level status (M2013-092).
Obey's floor remarks were filmed by C-SPAN, and are available online. Many Congressional hearings were also broadcast by C-SPAN and are also available online. The staff in Obey's office routinely dubbed his appearances on C-SPAN off the television screen. Many of these videotapes were included among the materials donated to the Archives. Because the floor remarks are readily accessed using the C-SPAN indexing system and the staff-made tapes are of inferior quality, the floor videotapes were not retained. Committee hearings, however, proved more difficult to locate online. Despite their inferior quality and preservation problems, these dubbed videotapes were retained for research use pending an improvement in C-SPAN's indexing (see Appendix C part M2013-092).
In general, documentation of floor remarks and committee hearings whether print or digital were not retained in the collection because of their wide availability. Draft materials for this purpose are scarce, and every draft or annotated manuscript found during processing was retained. The draft materials are primarily filed in the staff files rather than in the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series.
The majority of the speeches and writings in the Obey Papers pertain to material presented to non-congressional audiences. These speeches are remarkable because at a time when most congressional speeches were written by staff, Obey was fully involved in the process, often writing out the first draft himself. The papers variously include his initial handwritten outlines, typed revisions, and final drafts with as-delivered annotations. The researcher is advised, however, that Obey's handwriting is very difficult to read. Audio and video recordings in the collection supplement the paper documentation for many items in this series. Some merely illustrate the actual delivery of a particular speech that is also available on paper, while others represent broadcast interviews and other remarks not covered elsewhere. For a list of all audio recordings see Appendix B: Audio Recordings; and for video recordings see Appendix C: Film and Video.
The CORRESPONDENCE series consists of constituent mail filed in several different ways and special correspondence exchanged with Presidents, congressional leaders, and officials in the executive branch.
Obey's long tenure in office coincided with the application of increasingly sophisticated automation to the challenge of constituent correspondence. Obey's earliest form letters were generated by a paper tape known as Dura tape, a few examples of which are included in the collection. By the 1990s, the congressional computer system (CSM) was sufficiently sophisticated so that the staff could monitor and easily revise active form letters and collect data about the number and topics discussed. These reports can be found in Paul Carver's administrative “Weekly Files.”
The earliest constituent correspondence was filed chronologically and then alphabetically by constituent name. As a result, this file was referred to in the office as the “Alphas.” These letters are recognizable by the yellow color of the carbon paper. A second carbon of the letter on pink carbon paper was filed by congressional committee. However, only a small portion of the pink Committee Constituent Files that once existed were saved, and many of the letters were filed under the heading “miscellaneous”. After 1973, the committee assignment can be found in the upper right corner of the outgoing yellow carbons so that researchers can browse for that modest form of subject access.
The “Alpha” Constituent Correspondence consists primarily of exchanges with residents from the 7th Congressional District on legislative and policy issues. Only infrequently are letters from congressional or executive department leaders included. The arrangement here is by personal name rather than by the name of the organization, and there is no index. The chronological arrangement by congressional term was not strictly followed, and some multi-year exchanges with frequent correspondents were sometimes collected and filed by the year in which the correspondence closed. In addition, some chronological segments include only part of a congressional year.
The early “Alpha” Constituent Correspondence, which was voluminous, is thought to have been removed from Obey's office, stored at the National Archives, and shipped from there directly to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Some small gaps in the coverage were noted upon the arrival of the records, and it is not known if the missing boxes were never sent or were lost in shipment. The year 1980, for example, is entirely missing. After 1985 there is a large gap in the correspondence and thereafter the incoming constituent correspondence appears to have been inconsistently handled by the office staff. Sometimes it was not saved at all. Coverage returns fragmentarily for the period 1991-1992, and then skips to 1994.
After mid-1996 the alphabetical arrangement was replaced with a chronological arrangement. Although the letters are arranged by date, the date represents the day when the response was filed rather than the date when the letter was either received or sent. Because filing was done irregularly some individual folders contain letters covering a long period of time. Some chronological files contain both the draft and final form of the outgoing letters. Only the draft version, which sometimes bears the evidence of Obey's personal editing, was retained in the Archives. After 2000, communications from constituents were increasingly received in the form of telephone calls and e-mail, although this trend away from paper may have been heightened by an anthrax scare. By the end of his career, Obey received few communications on paper. No constituent e-mail was saved for the years 2004-2008; the 2009 communications were probably saved only because those files were still in the office when Obey retired. The 2009-2010 files were voluminous (12 cubic feet), but their arrangement by the closing date precluded efficient weeding. The unweeded files illustrate well both the degree to which technology facilitated a vast increase in the volume of orchestrated citizen communications as well the lack of civility that crept into many incoming communications. When the communication was by telephone the staff recorded brief notes about each message; these notes were heavily weeded based on content.
In addition to the alphabetical, committee, and chronological constituent correspondence files, a fourth type of constituent communications, entitled Computers Letters, dates from 1969 through 1982. It is not clear why some constituent mail was classed as “Alpha” letters and others filed as “Computer Letters”. Possibly the “Computer Letter” file was meant to contain only single-issue mail, near-form letters, petitions, and telegrams. However, some form letters, petitions and other formulaic correspondence appear in the “Alpha” section. The “Computer Letters” were weeded in the Archives to remove redundant incoming material, and only one copy of a particular incoming form letter or petition was saved. More individualized or “near-form” letters were weeded based on content. Generally, only near-form letters that discussed issues in a unique or personal way were selected for retention. Correspondence pertaining to the budget cuts proposed by the Reagan Administration during the 1980s, for example, often described individual's financial situations, and these letters were retained. Correspondence was also saved that documented something of the manner in which incoming mail had been orchestrated. In addition to the letters themselves, the “Computer Letter” files include the draft and final reply, coding sheets, and information on constituents who voiced their concerns at Obey's district office in Wausau. Although the “Computer Letters” were originally filed by code number, they have been rearranged alphabetically by subject to facilitate access. Despite the previously-described weeding, files concerning topics such as abortion and the economic policies of the Reagan Administration are still extensive. Taken together, the “Computer Letters” file provides the easiest and most concise access to the views and opinions of Obey's constituents during the 1970s.
Gaps in the correspondence are partially covered by a master file of the outgoing form letters that date from 1978 to 2009. Many of the form replies were brief and perfunctory, while others were lengthy statements of Obey's views. Although drafted by staff, the replies often reflect the congressman's unique tone and personality. The outgoing form letters and their revisions are filed chronologically by year or by biennial congress and then by a code, the full meaning of which was not understood in the Archives. Guides to the index codes are filed with the group of the files to which they pertain. Occasionally, as in 1995, the staff printed all active form letters several times. Because of the labor that would have been necessary, these redundant files have not been weeded. Following the form letters is a file of enclosures, often reprints of Obey's committee testimony or floor remarks that were mailed to constituents along with the form letters.
The special correspondence with legislators and political leaders is thought to be incomplete. The special correspondence also includes thank you letters and congratulations for electoral victories and contacts with officials at federal agencies. The content varies with the type of correspondence, and in no case does it represent the full extent of Obey's written contacts with a particular individual. The thank you files consist entirely of letters received, while the committee correspondence consists only of outgoing letters. It is not clear if the staff defined the committee file as official letters written by Obey as a committee member or by the official committee status of the recipient. Also important is a chronological file of Obey's “Dear Colleague” letters dating from 1980 to 2009. The exchanges with federal agency heads include both policy letters and a few items concerning case work.
The Thank you letters comprise half of the special correspondence. They are divided into two parts: letters from members of Congress and thank you letters from the public, including both Wisconsin and the nation as a whole. The letters from members of Congress are primarily letters thanking Obey for his support on a particular issue. They appear to be form letters, although a few are more personalized. Letters from constituents in this section deal with Obey's action on legislative and policy issues, as well as appreciation for his public speaking and participation in various events.
The letters received from Presidents, members of Congress, and other prominent individuals in the Special Correspondence were probably filed here because of their autograph value, rather than creating a master file of interaction with particular individuals. All of the original incoming autograph letters were photocopied prior to shipment to the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, and it is the photocopies that are represented in the collection. Obey's contacts with Presidents and various Speakers of the House are well represented. Among the most extensively documented individuals are President Bill Clinton, Wisconsin Governors Lee Sherman Dreyfus and Patrick Lucey, as well as United States Representatives Carl Albert, Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, Nancy Pelosi, and Jim Wright.
The files of Obey’s staff can be found in four separate series: PAUL CARVER FILES, STAFF FILES, PRESS OFFICE FILES and DISTRICT OFFICE FILES. The files of Paul Carver, one of Obey’s senior policy advisors, are separate from the Staff Files as they are very extensive and complex. Obey’s staff in Washington, D.C. are represented in the Staff files; his representatives in the home office in Wausau are represented in the District Office Files; and his press office staff are represented in the Press Office Files.
The files of some staff members will be strong in specific topics, based on work assignments. For example the Paul Carver files are particularly strong on agriculture, transportation, and Native American issues. Linda Reivitz, Will Painter, and Anne Georges all documented Obey's interest in the environment, Mike Marek's files reflect Obey's leadership on the Foreign Operations Subcommittee and Christina Hamilton worked on education and health care reform. Obey's long standing concern with campaign finance reform is reflected in the files of a succession of staffers. Scott Lilly and Neal Neuberger's files relate to Obey's early interest in cancer research and occupational health and safety. Most staffers arranged their papers as alphabetical subject files. In the Archives, materials touching on the intersection between their subject responsibilities and Obey's Appropriations Committee work are filed together alphabetically.
The British-born Paul G. Carver, joined Obey's staff about 1983 while completing his Ph.D. in political science. He advanced to the position of legislative director and eventually became Obey's senior policy adviser. The PAUL CARVER FILES are so extensive and complex that they have been arranged as a separate series with several subseries. Carver's files consist of General Subject Files, Wisconsin Files, Office Administration Files, and Accomplishment/Agenda Files.
The General Subject Files, which primarily concern national issues, are arranged alphabetically, with the largest number of folders filed under the Appropriations Committee heading. These files are arranged like appropriations files elsewhere in the papers: chronologically by fiscal year and then alphabetically by subcommittee. The Agriculture and Transportation subcommittees, Carver's special subject assignments, are the most extensive. The Appropriations files frequently include briefing books and background information, draft statements and questions for hearings, full committee and subcommittee markup session materials, conference reports, floor debate materials, Dear Colleague letters, and notes. Other appropriations files contain information about Obey's appropriation “earmarks,” from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. When there are multiple files pertaining to a particular subcommittee, procedural files and Obey's projects are arranged first; they are followed by the files on government agencies and specific programs and issues, all interfiled alphabetically. Complementing the strong economic documentation about the Appropriations Committee in Carver's General Subject Files, are materials on the federal budget, which are also arranged chronologically by fiscal year. Of particular note is the information on Obey's alternative budgets and his ongoing efforts to reform the budget process. More economic information is filed under headings such as Gramm-Rudman-Hollings and other deficit reduction legislation, taxes, corporate “welfare” for the automobile and banking industries, and President Obama's 2009 economic stimulus plan (the American Relief and Recovery Act).
International trade was another economic subject of particular interest, and information about Obey's positions in Carver's files is filed as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Many folders about the Great Lakes also concern trade, as well as environmental issues.
The largest number of the agriculturally-related subject files concern milk and dairy policy and prices. Broader agricultural policies are reflected in folders on several farm bills. There are also numerous files on bovine growth hormone (BGH), mad cow disease, and chronic wasting disease, all of which are important issues in Wisconsin, as well as on various non-dairy Wisconsin products such as ginseng and cranberries. Most of the information concerning Carver's specialization in transportation is filed in the Appropriations Committee section, but there are non-appropriation files on individual railroads, particularly the creation and disposition of Conrail, and on several highway reauthorization bills.
The Wisconsin Files subseries incorporates people, organizations, businesses, and places, all interfiled alphabetically. While the early folders sometimes contain only scant material, Carver enlarged the files to include documentation that reflect his efforts to keep up-to-date on Wisconsin issues in general. Only occasionally do these files document what has been traditionally referred to as case work. (The chief exception to Case Work files concern the Tri-State Homes litigation.) Later files included correspondence, e-mail communications, clippings, and other background information on a host of topics. When possible, the folders are labeled to indicate both the name and location of Wisconsin businesses. In this way, Carver's files provide useful entry to the decline of manufacturing in Wisconsin during the latter part of the 20th century.
The largest group of Wisconsin files date from Carver's early career with Obey, and they concern Chippewa (Ojibwe) treaty rights. Carver collected extensive files of correspondence, reports and clippings, not only about Obey's actions and the effort to recall him by treaty rights opponents, but also about the national treaty rights issue. Some folders focus on other Native American issues, particularly some concerning the Lac Courte Oreille Band and the St. Croix Tribe. Carver's transportation specialization is also reflected in the Wisconsin files. Most prominent are the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee and the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire and many highway projects.
The Office Administration Files document Carver's administrative function, partially documented by files of “Weeklies” and “Whip Packs”. The “Weeklies” contain constituent mail summaries, Obey's itineraries and schedules, occasional releases from Democratic congressional leaders, and Carver's handwritten notes. Some of his notes may refer to staff meetings for which there is no other documentation in the papers. The “Whip Packs” are daily files of legislative information selected for Obey's particular attention by Carver and other senior staff. The significance of the name “Whip Pack” is unknown, although clearly it had nothing to do with the position of party whip. The “Whip Packs” date from 2000 to 2010, with scattered files indicating they existed earlier. The earliest whip packs consist only of the House action reports issued by the Congressional Quarterly: the Legislative Week, Legislative Day, and Conference Summary. Of these, the Legislative Day reports are briefly annotated to indicate staff recommendations on bills coming up for a vote, together with other brief comments. On some topics, there are more extensive staff memoranda. In addition, there may be Dear Colleague letters, leadership releases, copies of bills and resolutions, clippings, and other background information. Occasionally, Obey's own notes are evident. To eliminate duplication in the “Weeklies” and the “Whip Packs” all post-1999 issues of This Week on the House Floor have been filed only in the “Whip Packs.”
Paul Carver also maintained a reference library of material distributed by various Democratic congressional leadership offices for use by Obey's staff. His files of the highly-regarded special reports and fact sheets of the Democratic Study Group (DSG), while not complete, are a research resource that is not widely available. The DSG serial publications are listed alphabetically by title in Appendix A that follows the container list.
The Accomplishment/Agenda Files document Carver's responsibility in preparing several special policy reports. They were Obey's record of accomplishments, his agenda for the following session, and information on Wisconsin's share of federal spending. The reports were sometimes referred to internally as Obey's Record, and played some role in campaign planning. Reports for the years 2006-2008 are lengthy and include analyses of Obey's accomplishments by county and by subject. However files for other years are either brief or missing entirely. For some years only the background research and clippings are included.
Related to the accomplishments reports are files of 6x8-inch index cards, as well as card text printed on paper rather than on cards, on topics such as “What has Obey done for Ashland County?” and “What has Obey done for workers?” The index cards were one of the principal ways in which Obey's staff summarized their policy research for him, but Carver appears to have been the only staff member who saved the cards. The cards (and card sheets) are often undated, without an indication of the author, and only roughly arranged. Preparation of the reports about Obey's accomplishments was a function that Carver inherited from earlier staff, and his files included several issue binders dating from the 1970s that served a similar, although somewhat more campaign-focused purpose. There is no evidence of the individual staff who created these folders.
Beginning in the late 1980s, the agenda report, which was at first called a “game plan,” was a fairly brief report about the status of various legislative initiatives, together with recommendations for the upcoming year. The agendas for 1996 and 1997 suggest that the final report had by then become a substantial document, produced after considerable research and staff input at a retreat. The 2003 agenda is represented by background materials for the retreat that included a detailed election analysis by Jerry Madison, a report on activities from Obey's press office, various issue analyses, and subject-filed clippings. There is little documentation, however, about the decisions that were made. The year 2003 is the only year with agenda documentation in this detail. The 1996 agenda files also include a quantity of similar planning material prepared by the House Democrats.
The STAFF FILES consist of an Early Central File and later alphabetically-arranged files for individuals. The Early Central File was used by Linda Reivitz and Gerald R. Sturges, Obey's first two legislative assistants. Gerald Sturges was a former journalist and congressional intern before joining Obey's staff and Linda Reivitz was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, who had previously worked for the Democratic Caucus of the Wisconsin Assembly. At the time of her appointment in 1969 Reivitz was one of only a few female legislative assistants.
The central file covers the years 1969 to 1974 and includes both working files and reference material. Although the working and reference categories were probably separate in Obey's office, in the Archives they were consolidated and arranged alphabetically. Reference material in the central files was extensively weeded to remove material from readily available secondary sources such as the Congressional Record, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Reference materials were retained if they were annotated either by Obey or his staff, if the item mentioned Obey or Wisconsin, or if it illustrated the wide scope of the staff research. The working files consist of memoranda prepared for Obey, bill drafts, correspondence and Dear Colleague letters, annotated committee reports, notes, and agency publications. Work on DDT, mercury contamination, termination of the Menominee reservation, and Project Sanguine (later Project Elf) are particularly well documented. The Appropriations Committee files included here are chronologically arranged by fiscal year and then alphabetically by subcommittee. While individual appropriation folders are not substantial and no briefing books are included, there are financial analyses for some budget items. The central file ended in 1974 and thereafter individual staff maintained their own files. They are arranged alphabetically by name.
Joseph R. Crapa was Obey's chief of staff for ten years, leaving in 1997 to become a congressional liaison for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Crapa later worked as chief of staff for Senator Charles Schummer, and he was the executive director of the United States Commission on Interreligious Freedom when he died in 2007.
Despite Crapa's policy responsibilities, his files are limited. They primarily concern campaign finance reform and a 1988 study of Wisconsin's share of federal spending, which was an ongoing concern of the congressman. About campaign finance reform there are drafts of Obey's bills, floor materials, Dear Colleague letters, clippings, and studies dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is likely that these few files survived only because they were passed on to Will Stone who continued the work on the campaign finance reform.
Diane Doughty was a legislative aide who monitored Native American issues for Obey during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a responsibility she apparently took over after Linda Reivitz's departure. Her files contain extensive correspondence on the interactions between the state's Native Americans particularly the Red Cliff and Lac Courte Oreille Chippewa (Ojibwe) bands, and the pertinent state and national government agencies.
George Dryden served briefly during 1994 and early 1995 as the aide responsible for military and defense issues. He was followed by Walt Mayo and then by Will Painter and most of the files Dryden created were apparently incorporated into their files. Only a small number of folders relate solely to Dryden's tenure. Included is information on the Defense appropriation for the 1995 fiscal year, fragmentary files on Wisconsin firms with military contracts, and several files on veterans events and issues in Wisconsin.
Elliott Fiedler was a member of Obey's staff during the late 1970s and 1980s. He became a legislative assistant in 1976, legislative director in 1982, and chief of staff in 1985. Fiedler left in 1987 to become a consultant with Cassidy and Associates.
The files Fiedler created primarily document the various budget resolutions, alternative budgets, and procedural budget reforms offered by Obey during the early 1980s. There are many statistical comparisons, a briefing book, committee hearing transcripts, and other details about Obey's proposals. The remaining files include some information on energy issues and on negotiations for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
Anne M. Georges was a legislative aide responsible for education and environmental issues during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She resigned to accept a position as lobbyist for the National Audubon Society, following which she worked for Congressman Maurice Hinchey. During this period Will Painter took on Georges' environmental assignment. Georges returned to Obey's staff as legislative director in 2009.
The documentation here dates largely from Georges' first appointment, although there are substantive files on the Appropriations Committee for 2009. Also included are a few files from her tenure with Representative Hinchey dating 2007 and 2008. Unlike many of her fellow legislative assistants whose papers chiefly document national legislative and appropriation issues, Georges' early papers indicate a focus on Wisconsin subjects. Among them are the pesticide Aldicarb, which had been found in Wisconsin waters, the possible destruction of wetlands near Fish Creek as the result of highway construction, a Superfund site in Wausau, and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The Hmong refugee settlement in Wausau, which Georges also monitored, is also heavily documentated in her files. National topics of interest in Georges' files concern nuclear waste, the advanced light water reactor, the Superconducting super collider (Obey strongly opposed the latter two topics), and passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Among the few files Georges created as legislative director are the memoranda prepared for her by interns on a variety of briefings they attended.
Christina Langelier Hamilton joined Obey's staff as a legislative assistant in the early 1990s, probably succeeding Kathy Sykes. She eventually became chief of staff, and when Obey retired, Hamilton followed him to the Gephardt Government Affairs firm where she became a specialist for health, energy, transportation, and trade issues. Hamilton's files incompletely document her long employment in Obey's office. Files following her promotion to chief of staff are limited, with only a few folders dating from 2010. The earliest files focus on district problems such as the proposed closing of several small Wisconsin post offices (Conrath and Spooner, in particular). Even as Hamilton took on increased responsibility for national issues concerning education, crime, and health care, the district aspect of those subject specializations continued to be reflected in her work through federal grant applications. Wisconsin's welfare reform program, W-2 (Wisconsin Works), the implementation of which required special authorization from the federal government, also absorbed much of her attention during 1996.
On the national front, Hamilton's responsibilities increased so that she eventually handled all appropriation issues that came before the Labor-Health and Social Services and Education Subcommittee. Her L-HHSE files are most complete for the decade between 1994 and 2004. They often include presentation binders for hearings and subcommittee meetings, staff memoranda, Dear Colleague letters, and background information. Even for this decade, however, subcommittee and committee actions are not fully represented. Hamilton's files include material on other Appropriations subcommittees when restrictions on abortion funding, one of the major legislative issues of the period, were attached to their appropriation bills.
Files from the mid-1990s and early 2000s contain strong documentation on many of Obey's most important legislative initiatives of that era, especially those concerning health care and educational reform. There are important papers here on Medicare and universal health insurance that includes bill drafts, Dear Colleague letters, staff memoranda, and background information. The audio portion of the Obey Papers includes many tapes of citizen opinions about health care reform, Medicare, and Social Security that were recorded at forums in the district during the 1990s (see Appendix B). Comprehensive school reform, a national program supported by Obey, is represented by extensive files on additional forums and workshops in Wisconsin in which Obey and Hamilton participated. Anti-crime measures and gun control legislation in the 1990s are also well documented, as is Obey's related safe-schools bill.
Ralph Scott Lilly joined Obey's staff during the early 1970s as a legislative aide responsible for health and education issues. Later he became Obey's senior adviser. After the death of Dick Conlon, the executive director of the Democratic Study Group (DSG), Scott Lilly left Obey's staff to head that organization. Later in 1994 when Obey became chair of the Appropriations Committee, he appointed Scott Lilly as the committee's chief of staff. Lilly's papers in the Obey collection contain no information about the DSG phase of his career. However, Paul Carver maintained a reference library of DSG and Democratic Policy Committee reports that includes many fact sheets and special reports published during Lilly's tenure with the study group. In 2004 Scott Lilly became a senior research fellow at the Center for American Progress. A few essays he wrote for the Center are included.
Scott Lilly's files primarily document his work during the 1970s on cancer and occupational health and safety issues. The most represented are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIESH), and the Appropriation Committee's Labor-Health and Social Services and Education Subcommittee. Additional folders concern funding for the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research and construction of a new NIOSH facility. Lilly also collected photocopied documents from the EPA concerning its investigation of the chemical carcinogen lepthophos which was manufactured by the Vesicol Corporation under the name Phosvel. There is little information here about Lilly's later administrative responsibilities for Obey.
Michael Marek was Obey's staff adviser on the Appropriations' Foreign Operations Subcommittee, beginning in 1975 and continuing until 1995. Marek left Obey's staff to become an officer with the World Bank. He later headed the United Nations Development Program in Washington, D.C. During his early years with Obey, Marek was concerned with Wisconsin issues such as Hmong immigration and Project Elf. The majority of his files, however, are later, and they concern foreign affairs and foreign aid. These files are arranged chronologically by fiscal year, and they contain Appropriations Committee hearing and markup session binders, notes, memoranda, Dear Colleague letters, and background information. Obey's handwriting is evident on many items.
Paul S. Martin, who received a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, worked briefly in Obey's office as an American Political Science Association fellow. His files in the Obey Papers document two assignments for which he prepared brief policy memos for Obey: methamphetamine abuse in Wisconsin and the 2004 Marriage Protection Act (HR 3313). Later Martin became associated with the School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.
Walter L. Mayo was a State Department Foreign Service officer who worked in Obey's office for the 1995-1996 year as Pearson political science fellow. Walt Mayo took on the Defense Department and military appropriations assignment, the responsibility previously handled by George Dryden. At the conclusion of his fellowship Mayo became a development officer with Dell Computers and with Endeavor Global. Mayo's alphabetical subject files document the Foreign Operations and Defense Department budgets for Fiscal Years 1996 and 1997, several Wisconsin firms that bid on defense contracts, and the resettlement of Hmong refugees in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
Nathan Myszka, beginning about 2003, worked on Obey's staff both in Washington, D.C., and in the Wausau district office. In 2008 he took a leave of absence from the district staff to make an unsuccessful run for the Wisconsin legislature. The years documented by Myszka's files are primarily 2005 and 2006, during which he worked on a vaguely defined set of issues. His responsibilities seem to have included oversight of the Commerce-Justice-State Subcommittee; telecommunications, case work and appointments, campaign finance reform, and grant funding administered by the Justice Department. By volume, the chief topic is legislation concerning the drug methamphetamine. Important, although less voluminous, are Myszka's memoranda, financial data, clippings, and multiple drafts of Obey's “Let the People Decide” campaign finance reform bill introduced in 2006.
Neal I. Neuberger, previously a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Medical Society and a Dane County Board supervisor, joined Obey's staff during the mid-1980s, where he seems to have specialized in environmental health issues. He also worked for the Labor-Health, and Human Services Subcommittee during the 1980s. It is impossible to assess the full range of Neuberger's work based on his files in the collection. They focus almost entirely on his investigation of alleged political favoritism which led to the demotion of Curtis Foster, the head of OSHA's Denver regional office, the region in which the headquarters of the Coors Brewing Company was located. Documentation of this investigation includes background information about the Coors Company and the Coors family, photocopied files from official sources on inspections of various Coors facilities, and court documents from Foster's Labor Department trial. Also included is photocopied correspondence, 1983-1984, of Milan Racic of the Allied Industrial Workers of America concerning that union's investigation of OSHA and an unpublished manuscript by Stephen Vendor about his experiences as an OSHA employee. Neuberger's file also contains information on remediation of groundwater contamination in Wausau. After leaving Obey's staff, Neuberger worked as a senior lobbyist for the American Hospital Association. Later he became a national leader in the development of electronic health policy.
William H. Painter III joined Obey's staff as a specialist in environmental and military affairs during the mid-1990s. He eventually became the legislative director. More recently Painter was a Congressional Research Service analyst specializing in Emergency Management and Homeland Security issues. A substantial portion of Painter's alphabetically-arranged subject files concern the Defense, Energy and Water, Interior, and Veterans Affairs subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee. In addition to the material filed under the subcommittee name, related material may be found elsewhere in Painter's subject files. However Painter weeded much of the procedural material from committee briefing books, apparently discarding most outdated background material that related to his general oversight responsibilities, and primarily retaining files on Wisconsin earmarks and files containing Obey's notes and annotations. His Defense Subcommittee files are particularly useful for their documentation of individual Wisconsin contractors. Additional Wisconsin companies, probably not related to a specific appropriation, are filed alphabetically under their own name. The most extensively documented of the Wisconsin contractors is Cray Research. Files on military issues concern the war in Iraq and, to a growing extent, the war in Afghanistan. Painter's files also illustrate Obey's concern for services and health care available to veterans in his district and for funding of the Department of Veterans Affairs generally.
Wisconsin is also evident in Painter's energy and environmental files. There are numerous folders about the Apostle Islands, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, the Ice Age Trail, the proposed mine at Crandon, various natural disasters, and clean-up of Wisconsin Superfund sites. Other energy issues with local ramifications include the Arrowhead-Western transmission line and the Viking-Voyageur gas transmission line. Many files on the U.S. Forest Service and the forest products and paper industries demonstrate Obey's long-standing concern for Wisconsin economic and environmental interests.
Richard J. Pollack joined Obey's staff in 1976. He left in 1980 to become a lobbyist for the American Nurses Association; in 1982 he moved to the American Hospital Association and in 1999 he became that organization's executive vice-president. Pollack's documented work for Obey concerns health and education issues that came before the Labor-Health and Social Service Subcommittee and the implementation in Wisconsin of CETA, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act.
Cathy L. Reed was a congressional fellow sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology who worked in Obey's office in 1977 and 1978. Files on cancer and other related subjects reflect this background.
Judy Robinson was a legislative assistant who worked for Obey during the late 1980s. The papers suggest that she focused on health care and OSHA-related issues. Her files contain draft legislation of bills sponsored by Obey, information about bills introduced by others, staff memoranda and analyses, correspondence, and clippings. Prominently noted are files on rural health care, health insurance reform, long-term care for the elderly, and OSHA work place standards.
Alan D. Romberg worked for Obey in the 1970s. His files reflect international issues, the Middle East in particular.
Brendan Rose was a legislative assistant who worked in Obey's office from 2007 through 2009. His files are fragmentary so that it is difficult to precisely determine his responsibilities, but there are multiple files on health care and criminal justice grants. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject, except for most of the 2007 material, which Rose himself consolidated into broad categories such as criminal justice and voting. Another exception are his chronologically-arranged meeting files. These files on meetings with constituents and advocacy groups often contain handwritten notes about the discussion and background information. If Obey was to attend the meeting, Rose prepared a briefing memo. Rose's files include some Appropriations subcommittee materials about the subjects for which he was responsible, but his role appears to have been one of monitoring issues, particularly with regard to Wisconsin earmarks, rather than serving as an active adviser on the proceedings. In 2010 Rose became legislative director for Representative Steve Kagen.
Zeda Rosenberg, Ph.D. was a science and engineering congressional fellow who worked for Obey during the early 1980s. Later she worked at the National Institutes of Health, eventually becoming one of the nation's experts on AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)prevention. Her files document research on health care for the unemployed and involvement with the office's ongoing OSHA research project.
Glen Rosselli, a former researcher with Senator Robert Kerrey, was Obey's senior policy advisor for economic issues from 1991 to 1994, as well as serving as policy director for the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) during Obey's second term as chairman. There is much overlap between Rosselli's files and the JEC portion of the Committee Files series in the collection. Rosselli's responsibility for economic issues is reflected in folders on the budgets for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, the Balanced Budget Amendment, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and health care. Also included are four folders of memos on the economic aspects of a wide variety of legislative issues. Approximately one quarter of Rosselli's files consists of information collected about NAFTA and the fast-track trade agreement with Mexico that preceded it. Despite Obey's leadership of the opposition to NAFTA, only a limited quantity of these files pertains to the congressman's particular involvement. Rosselli also collected information on President Clinton's 1993 health care reform plan. Both the NAFTA and Clinton health care files have been weeded to remove information from readily available secondary sources such as the New York Times and the Washington Post.
The Rosselli files also include folders about a project on deficit reduction for which Rosselli was associated with Robert Greenstein, the founder of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Clinton policy advisor Ira Magaziner. Materials here consist of an incomplete manuscript and memos to Magaziner from Rosselli and Greenstein. Rosselli also collected reference materials on various business, political rating, and conservative groups. The purpose of these files, which are filed alphabetically under the “business” subject heading, is unknown. Early in his association with Obey, Rosselli had some responsibility for economic issues in Wisconsin. About this assignment there is material on an investigation of general economic conditions in the state, education for workforce improvement, and the closing of the J.I. Case plant in Schofield.
Mary A. Scheckelhoff files concern campaign finance reform from 1987 to 1988. Scheckelhoff had previously been an administrative assistant for Congressman William Ratchford from 1979 to 1984. During the period documented here Scheckelhoff may have been on the Obey office staff or she may have staffed the ad hoc Campaign Finance Reform Study Group. Her papers include minutes, memoranda prepared for Obey, legislative analyses, and background information.
Sara “Sally” C. Schurr was a congressional fellow sponsored by the American Psychological Association who worked in Obey's office during 1976-1977. Her files suggest she was responsible for at least part of the review of the health appropriations issues in 1977.
Rachel Spector's work as a member of Obey's staff is documented from 1986 through 1989. Her responsibilities during those years is represented by folders on two issues, both of which had strong 7th District implications. In 1988 she advised Obey on the issue of congressional pay, particularly after the issue was raised by Republican Kevin Hermening, Obey's opponent during the 1988 campaign. Her files also reflect a focus on the Hmong refugees in Wisconsin.
Lyle H. Stitt was the news director at WAOW-TV when he became Obey's campaign manager in 1969. After Obey's victory Stitt moved to Washington, D.C., as staff director. Stitt's files are limited despite his long tenure with Obey. The files do include Stitt's oversight of federally-funded grant and disaster relief projects in the district during the 1970s and 1980s. For this there are extensive correspondence and annual project summaries. Also included is material concerning the controversial redevelopment project of downtown Wausau into a shopping mall.
Will Stone, who became chief of staff about 1998 and was a senior policy advisor to Obey. His files are limited but do include documentation on Obey's ongoing effort to reform campaign financing (1997-2007). In 2007 Stone joined Denny Miller Associates, a prominent government relations consultant.
Floyd E. Stoner, a Ph.D. graduate of the University of Wisconsin in political science, was a legislative aide who specialized in health care and legal issues. The dates for his employment on Obey's staff are not certain, but his files span the years 1976 to 1981. Dena Grove Stoner, his wife also worked for Obey. She has no separate files in the Obey Papers, but some of the memos she prepared can be found scattered within the files of other staff. Floyd Stoner left Obey to become head of congressional relations and policy for the American Bar Association. Dena Stoner went on head the National Rural Cooperatives Association.
Floyd Stoner's papers include information and a few memoranda gathered for a study of fraud in government and the functions of the Inspector General positions, but the results of this study are undocumented. The health care files consist of information gathered for review of appropriation requests in that area. Also included are folders on diverse topics such as self-regulation of the accounting profession, national health insurance, and an accounting issue at the University of Wisconsin.
Kathy Sykes, a University of Wisconsin graduate, was a legislative assistant responsible for health and human services, aging, consumer issues, housing, and the judiciary. Her papers document the years from 1990 to 1994. The date when she left Obey's staff is unknown, so the completeness of her files cannot be determined. It is known that in 1998 Sykes joined the Environmental Protection Agency where she headed that agency's Aging Initiative.
The majority of Sykes' files concern funding for health and human services reviewed by the Labor-Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee, particularly as they concerned restrictions on abortion, the human genome project, funding for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Clinton Administration's health care proposals. The files variously contain Sykes' memoranda, selected background information, funding analyses, briefing books used during committee and subcommittee deliberations, and Obey's occasional handwritten notes. The purpose of the briefing binders is not always identified. Sykes' memos about Obey's positions on abortion are numerous. Sykes was also responsible for much of the planning for the health care reform forums that Obey sponsored in his district during the early 1990s. Her files also include several folders of health care memoranda prepared by Linda Reivitz, then a member of the Joint Economic Committee staff.
Andrew M. Tantillo was a legislative assistant on Obey's staff from 1999 to 2001 when he resigned to become a lobbyist for the firm Lockridge-Grendal-Nauer. He later became chief of staff for Congressman Brian Higgins. Tantillo's files almost entirely concern prisons, especially prisoner health, and juvenile justice. They consist of staff memoranda, correspondence, Dear Colleague letters, draft legislation, a study of employee wages at the federal prison at Oxford, Wisconsin, and two case files. One case is an investigation into the death of a prisoner at Taycheedah Correctional Institute; the other is the complaint file of a prisoner at Columbia Correctional Institution.
Melissa Vetterkind worked for Obey from around 2000 to around 2003. Her files focus on crime and women’s issues.
Stuart Wegener was a member of Obey's staff during the early 1980s, although his name also fails to appear in Obey's list of acknowledgements in Raising Hell for Justice. Wegner's files document the campaign finance reform legislation Obey introduced in 1983. These folders contain bill drafts, correspondence, solicitations for co-sponsorships, draft press releases, Wegener's notes and memoranda, and reference information. Other than the campaign finance material no further information is known about Wegener's work for Obey or about his later career.
The PRESS OFFICE FILES consist of a variety of newsletters, press releases, mass mailings, radio scripts, and other press materials and the files of several press secretaries. The products issued by the office are arranged alphabetically by type; the secretaries' files are arranged chronologically. In addition, to the material it created, the press office subscribed to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association clipping service, and the Wisconsin clippings were circulated among the staff for their various uses. Master files of the Wisconsin clippings were not routinely saved by the press office until the 1990s, but there are some earlier clipping files, in varying degrees of completeness and in varying degrees of physical preservation. An additional file of subject-sorted clippings is included with Paul Carver's Accomplishment/Agenda project files.
The mass mailings consist of form letters and announcements of public meetings and forums that were sent to selected audiences in the district such as farmers, seniors, educators, and environmentalists. The general district newsletter was issued under a variety of titles beginning in 1969. Within the newsletter format Obey also distributed a variety of special reports and questionnaires. At one time the newsletter was published on a monthly basis, but after 2000 it appeared less frequently, and after 2006 there are no newsletters whatsoever in the collection. As this parallels a gap noticed in other parts of the press materials, it is not known if newsletters were not issued after 2006 or if the most recent press materials were not preserved in the office. Obey's office also prepared a weekly newsletter for publication by the newspapers in the district. Begun in 1971, the newspaper column continued through 1985. A similar oral item was distributed for radio broadcast. For this format the collection includes only lists of the topics covered during the years 1970 through 1991, with full text broadcast scripts covering only the period 1991 to 1995. The press releases represent the most complete section of the Obey Papers. They include items issued by Obey's congressional office, as well as a few items issued by the Appropriation Committee while he was the chair or ranking member and by the Citizens for Dave Obey campaign organization.
The press secretaries' files document Kathy Martin, John Deeken, Kori Hardin, Tom Powell-Bullock, Ellis Brachman, and Sara Merriam. Their files include clippings and other background information, but only limited material pertaining to their own work such as drafting press releases or making local arrangements. Although identified as a press secretary, Kathy Martin's files, which date from the 1970s, only document a special responsibility concerning Native Americans in Wisconsin. In addition to her regular duties for Obey, press secretary Kori Hordin also worked for the Appropriations Committee during the period when he was the ranking Democrat on the committee. Her part of the Obey Papers consists almost entirely of background information about appropriations dating from 1996 to 1998.
The DISTRICT OFFICE FILES are an incomplete record of Obey's staff at his home office in Wausau. The files document the work of several home secretaries: Jerry Madison, Don Gerhardt, and Rene Daniels, but field secretaries such as Bob Jauch, a Wisconsin legislator, and Martin Hanson, a prominent Wisconsin environmentalist, are not included. Although case files represented the bulk of the work done by the home office staff, no case files were accessioned by the Historical Society because of their routine and sometimes confidential nature. (Case files from Obey's Capitol office were also not accessioned.) The home office files that were archived document two broad functions: earmarked appropriation requests and arrangements for local tours, meetings, and hearings. The appropriation requests concern district projects submitted for Obey's consideration and eventually submission to the House Appropriations Committee during the years 2001 to 2010. Included are applications for Defense Department projects, as well as applications for federal funding focused on education, water and sanitation, and economic development. Transportation projects were presented directly to Obey's Washington office by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and these projects are sparsely represented here. The home office appropriation request files partially duplicate material in the files in Obey's Washington, D.C. office, but they also contain some unique information. Like the Appropriation earmarks, but separately arranged because their funding source, are applications for the Corps of Engineers' Section 154 Environmental Infra-structure Assistance grants. These files date from 2002 to 2009.
The Local Arrangements files are very incomplete, and for the most part they document an earlier period than the requests. The retained files include materials on President Carter's visit to Wausau in 1979, a background paper on the Wisconsin economy prepared for the 1985 Joint Economic Committee hearing in Wausau, and several public forums.
The Subject Files contain useful and detailed field memos prepared by Don Gerhardt during the years 1989-1992, memos received from Washington, D.C. (1987-1988 only), and Gerhardt's files as Obey's representative for the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC) planning. Although some of this duplicates content in the Harold Jordahl Papers and elsewhere in archival custody, the files of minutes that Gerhardt acquired have not been found elsewhere. Jerry Madison, Obey's first home secretary, is represented in the subject files by folders on reapportionment in 1971 and 1990.
The COMMITTEE FILES in the Obey Papers are not official records, and the degree to which they duplicate information at the National Archives is unknown. The bulk of the committee files pertain to Obey's long tenure and leadership on the House Committee on Appropriations and its subcommittees. The subcommittees, especially the Labor-Health and Social Services and Education and the Foreign Operations subcommittees, are more fully documented than the proceedings of the full committee. Committee files were created by individual staff members as part of their role as policy advisers when issues concerning their particular specialty came before the committee. Consequently, a large part of the Appropriations Committee material in the Obey Papers is scattered throughout the STAFF FILES series. Staff with strong documentation about the Appropriations Committee includes Paul Carver, Christina Hamilton, Mark Marek, and Will Painter. Some committee materials arrived at the Archives with no external evidence of their staff association. These unattributed files have been arranged as part of an artificial COMMITTEE FILES series. In addition to information about the Appropriations Committee this series includes records of the Joint Economic Committee, which Obey chaired for two sessions, and the Committee on Administrative Review, which was sometimes referred to as the Obey Committee. The committee files are arranged alphabetically by name. None of these files contain much information on actual proceedings.
The Appropriations Committee materials in a particular staff member's files are arranged alphabetically by committee name, then chronologically by fiscal year and alphabetically by subcommittee. Occasionally the responsibilities of the subcommittees changed. Commerce-Justice-State, for example, changed to Commerce-Justice-Science when the State Department was merged with Foreign Operations. The staff often shelved committee materials in the three-ring binders in which they were distributed, rather than physically incorporating the bulky binders into their standard files. In the Archives the binders have been dismantled, although they are referred to as binders and presentation books in the finding aid. The briefing books were prepared by the Appropriation Committee's own staff, but the committee files in the collection, both in the individual staff files and the Committee Files series, contain memoranda, prepared statements, hearing questions, amendments, and other information clearly added by Obey's staff. It is also clear that Obey used these books, for the pages are sometimes annotated in his distinctive handwriting.
The Joint Economic Committee files document the two sessions when Obey was chairman: 1985-1986 and 1993-1994. The earlier session is much more carefully documented here, as the staff created a set of “record” binders that probably duplicated the official files, now in the National Archives. The 1985-1986 files were weeded to retain material that specifically documented the actions and interests of Obey and his staff. Most useful are Obey's Dear Colleague letters, correspondence, clippings, correspondence, press releases, and hearing statements. There are also files of studies (including some presented at the 40th anniversary symposium) that appear not to have been published or that are not readily available elsewhere. Another group of folders documents the planning for the JEC anniversary symposium and a conference on the Pacific Rim economy.
There is no evidence that Obey's office created a similar set of files for his second term as JEC chair. The correspondence and press releases documenting his activities for those years are limited, although the “Dear Colleague” letters and the reports are probably complete. Some evidence suggests that these hearing files and briefing books were collected by Glen Rosselli, then Obey's chief economic adviser. They do not document all of the JEC hearings during 1993 and 1994. (It is likely that the memoranda in Rosselli's separately-arranged staff files also relate to the JEC.) Highlighting the 1993-1994 studies are several examinations of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) that informed Obey's opposition, as well as several unpublished studies issued by the committee and by the Republicans on the committee about taxes and the Clinton Administration.
The CAMPAIGN FILES, which are chronologically arranged, date from 1962 to 2010, but they essentially cover only Obey's early career, and even for that period, are incomplete. The papers are thought to be material found in Obey's district office in Wausau when it closed. A separate building in Wausau is reported to have housed Obey's permanent campaign office, but no files from that location, which were presumably much more complete than material in the home office, were ever offered to the Archives.
Perhaps because they were not governed by the same rules that pertained to federal elections, Obey's Wisconsin Assembly campaigns were stored in the District Office. They are comparatively complete. They represent a wide range of documentation types, including print and media advertising, television and radio spots and scripts, clippings, and campaign literature. The value of the early paper files is enhanced by the photographs produced by University of Wisconsin filmmaker Fritz Albert. Albert's scripts are listed as part of the Campaign Files; the still photographs are arranged with the PRESS OFFICE FILES. None of the television spots made by Albert are included.
Campaigns dating from the congressional portion of the campaign files primarily represent the work of Jerry Madison, Obey's first home secretary. Include analyses of election results and plans for overall strategy. In addition, his files variously include polls, literature, and clippings concerning both Obey and several of his opponents, but no fundraising or expenditure information. Of the information collected about Obey's opponents perhaps the most interesting concerns Nick Reid, an earlier user of the blog format as a campaign tool. The files include many printouts of Reid's postings. None of Obey's individual congressional campaigns is represented by more than fragmentary material. The Historical Society library received Dave Obey News, the newsletter of the Citizens for Dave Obey Committee in 1988 and 1990. This is available on microfilm.
