Collections
Senate Papers (1968-1996)

 
 
 
 

Series and Subseries Description

 

Series Three: Legislative Relations

This collection series ranges in date from 1970-1995, comprises 9 sub-series, and includes material related to committee files, Kansas projects, briefing books, floor statements, subject files, and the files accumulated by Senator Dole’s Washington D.C. staff. 
           
Briefing Books
This sub-series is housed in six boxes and contains subject briefing books, trip briefing books, and petitions.  Briefing books are collections of balanced research material, data and articles all relating to specific subjects or places.  Briefing books are intended to give Congressional men and women a detailed and unbiased overview of materials in order to support informed decisions on capital hill and abroad.  Senator Dole was an active legislator, in particular he advocated for the needs of disabled and elderly citizens.  These folders contain briefing books relating to the challenges facing older Americans e.g. nutritional needs, Medicare, physician fees and rural hospitals.   Other topics include capital financing, national security, labor, and agriculture.  The dates range from 1976-1995, with the bulk of the materials from 1977-1985.

As part of his duties in the Senate, Senator Dole traveled with Congressional Delegations (CODELS) on trips abroad.  Briefing books would be prepared in advance of their trips.  Typically, these briefing books are divided into general information about hotel accommodations and scheduled events, as well as important information regarding U.S/ foreign relations, political infrastructure, military to military relations, and governmental official biographies. 

This sub-series also includes petitions put forth by constituents.  These petitions are a collection of signatures in support of political prisoners. These folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title

Committee Files
Committee Files include memoranda, correspondence, reports, testimony, and other research materials connected to Dole’s work with the Senate committees upon which he sat.  These committees include:  Finance (1973-1996), of which Dole was chairman from 1981-1983; Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition (1969-1996); Judiciary (1979-1988); Public Works (1969-1972); Budget (1975-1980); Rules and Administration (1981-1996); Labor and Human Resources (1989-1994); the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs (1969-1978); the Select Committee on Small Business (1969-1975); and the Joint Committee on Taxation (1979-1994). 
These materials illuminate the groundwork of some of Senator Dole’s most important projects, such as his work with school lunch programs, welfare reform, and the federal budget.  Specific topics include the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) reauthorization, the Food Stamp Reform Act, Social Security tax cuts, and the confirmation hearings for Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and U.S. Attorney General William French Smith
Also appearing in this series are materials belonging to three of Senator Dole’s staff members who assisted the Senator in his committee work: Pete Velde (Judiciary), Kim Wells (Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition; Budget; Finance; Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs), and Richard Friedman (Finance). Committee Files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the relevant committee.

Congressional Record Inserts
This sub-series is housed in one box and ranges from 1973-1980.  Anything said by a congressman or woman on the floor of the House of Representatives or Senate becomes part of the public record, thus added to the Congressional Record.  Congressional Inserts are addendums added to the official Congressional Record ex post facto.  These folders contain the Congressional Inserts of Senator Dole and include statements on Kansas issues, national security, arms sales, the economy, and welfare.  These folders contain press releases, newsletters, and clippings as well. This sub-series is arranged chronologically by congress, session, and the specific date the insert was added e.g. 94th Congress – 2nd Session, December 12, 1975-September 1, 1976

Floor Statements
This sub-series is housed in 25 boxes and is arranged chronologically.  This sub-series contains original and re-printed floor statements detailing the activity on the floor of the Senate. Both Senator Dole and various members of the Senate are represented in these folders.  The statements cover a wide range of government activities and issues.  This sub-series ranges from 1976-1992. The folders are arranged chronologically. 

Kansas Projects
Kansas Projects describes Senator Dole’s efforts to obtain federal funding for matters of concern to Kansans from 1969-1989.  These include highway construction, drought relief, public works, university programs, military issues, state parks, and wildlife areas.  These materials are organized by city.

Legislative Assistants Files
The Legislative Assistants (LAs) series includes the files of Senator Dole’s legislative staff.  These staffers performed the bulk of the work in the Senator’s office and were responsible not only for corresponding with constituents but also for following developments on a wide range of topics such as disability issues, welfare reform, defense spending and other military issues, energy, labor relations, foreign policy, commerce, and transportation to list a few. 

Over his twenty-seven years in the Senate, Dole employed many individuals as legislative assistants, most of whom are represented in this series.  These LAs are: Margaret Berlin (foreign policy), Barbara Bodine (foreign policy), Chris Bolton (food and agriculture, welfare and social services, education, foreign policy, budgets, disability issues, health policy, labor, energy, and trade), Judy Brotman (disability issues), Janeal Cabbage (commerce and trade, emergency management, and energy), Karen Carmean (education), Steve Coen (defense, energy, public works, transportation, taxation, and veterans affairs), David Cordova (foreign policy and defense), Ed Duckers (agriculture, environmental protection, and energy), Andrew Fedynsky (foreign policy), John Finch (housing), Bret Fox (agriculture), Richard Friedman (foreign policy), Ernie Garcia (business, immigration, labor, and minority issues), Kathy Gaston (taxation), John Gordley (agriculture and environmental protection), Stacy  Hoffhaus (food and agriculture and welfare), Jeff House (space activities), Don Lee (education, labor, budgets, foreign policy, and housing), Brenda Levenson (foreign policy), Ann Lindgren (religion and civil liberties), John McGuinn (veterans affairs), Jack O’Connell (defense), Mike Packard (foreign policy and defense), Greg Schnacke (commerce, energy, environmental protection, and transportation), Naomi Schweisow (foreign policy and defense), Dave Spears (agriculture and trade), Dan Stanley (defense), David Taylor (elections), Ward White (defense and foreign policy), and David Wilson (education, housing, welfare and social services, disability issues, transportation, education, communications, labor, budgets, and Indian affairs). 

Some specific topics covered are the 1990 Farm Bill (Spears, Hoffhaus, Fox), the B-1 bomber (O’Connell and Cordova), the settlement of the Vietnam War (White), cult activities (Lindgren), food stamp reform (Bolton), and human rights issues in the Soviet Union (Fedynsky, Levenson, Schweisow, Berlin, Packard, and Friedman). Each folder in the Legislative Assistants files has been assigned an index term to clarify which subjects were handled by each LA.  Since most LAs dealt with more than one subject as part of their duties, the files are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the LA, then alphabetically by index term. 

Subject Files
The Legislative Subject Files are housed in 28 boxes and range in date from 1970-1995.  This sub-series contains corroborating materials related to legislation of particular interest to Senator Dole.  These folders include colleague and constituent correspondence, newsletters, legislation, clippings, press releases, floor statements, committee notes, mark-ups and government reports. 
Senator Dole was very active in the Senate overseeing far reaching legislation that would have a direct and lasting impact on millions of Americans.  These subject files underscore Senator Dole’s dedication to citizens both abroad and domestically, as well as reflecting Senators Dole’s concern for national security in the midst of the Cold War.  These folders describe Senator Dole’s commitment to returning Vietnam soldiers, Missing Persons, and Prisoners of War through statements made on the Senate floor, “our decision in this matter does not diminish our conviction that the Congress should recognize the plight of unemployed Vietnam veterans and provide assistance to them” and Dole Sponsored Legislation (S. 3841) relating to U.S. Servicemen who have missing person status. 
Of particular interest are files relating to The Americans with Disabilities Act. This legislation was Senator Dole’s seminal piece of Civil Rights Legislation, “Mr. President, I speak today about 42 million citizens of our Nation who are physically, mentally, or emotionally handicapped.” The Americans with Disabilities Act, in conjunction with supporting materials related to disability represent the bulk of this sub-series. The folders also contain substantial collections of material relating to the elderly, environmental protection, and the savings and loan crisis. Subject Files are arranged both chronologically and alphabetically.  The folders that are arranged alphabetically are grouped by subject heading and filed chronologically within their specific subject heading. 

Voting/Attendance Files
Voting/Attendance Records list and summarize Senator Dole’s votes for the 91st Congress, 1st session through the 102nd Congress, 2nd session (1969-1992).  In most cases this information was compiled by the Republican National Committee in order to summarize the senator’s voting record on certain issues.  These summaries illustrate Senator Dole’s voting record on all issues, not just those with which he is most identified.  This series does not contain entire bill histories, but does provide brief summaries of bills, reports on actions taken (whether the bill was tabled, referred to committee, etc.), and a record of the yeas and nays.  These files are organized chronologically.

Series Four: Personal/Political

Correspondence, memoranda, and reference and research materials (263.5 boxes) documenting the non-legislative functions of the Senator’s office, 1969-1996. Arranged in twelve subseries— Appointment Logs, Campaign Files, Caucus/Political Party Records, Guest Books, Invitations, Job Recommendations/Patronage, Memos/Telephone Conversations/E-mails, Personal Finances, Save Files, Senator’s Correspondence, Subject Files, and Trip Files—the records describe Senator Dole’s social activities (99 boxes), non-legislative correspondence with friends, colleagues, and constituents (2 boxes), business-related visits to Kansas and abroad (13 boxes), Senate re-election campaigns (29 boxes), and recommendations on behalf of constituents (12 boxes).  Materials in Subject Files (19 boxes) cover a range of topics of interest to the Senator, while those found in Save Files (6 boxes) are mementos from events retained by the Senator as well as Dole family genealogical records.  Senator Dole’s personal expenditures are catalogued in Personal Finances (24.5 boxes).

Appointment Logs
Appointment logs consist of Dole’s daily schedules from 1968 – 1985.  Also included are files detailing the various visitors to the Senator’s office.  These files are arranged chronologically.

Campaign Files
Campaign files cover Dole’s senatorial election and re-election campaigns (1968-1988), his 1976 vice-presidential campaign with Gerald Ford, and his bid for the 1980 and 1988 Republican presidential nominations.  These files are divided into thirteen sub-subseries—Advertising, Clippings, Committee Records, Correspondence, Events, Financial Records, Name Lists, Opposition Research, Press Files, Reference Materials, State Reports, Subject Files, and Voting/Position Papers. Advertising contains material related to public relations, such as campaign advertisement information, pamphlets, and flyers as well as radio advertisements. Clippings are a collection of newspaper coverage of Dole’s senatorial and presidential campaigns. Committee Records are the internal files of Dole’s campaign committees and public relations firm; many files are related to campaign strategy. Correspondence includes all campaign-related correspondence, including congratulatory telegrams, pledges of support, and form letter responses. Events files cover Dole’s campaign season public appearances and speeches, including debates, particularly those during the 1980 presidential campaign. Financial Records include state committee budgets for the 1980 and 1988 Presidential campaigns, campaign contribution records, and mandatory reports to the Federal Election Commission.  Due to the sensitivity of the information, these records are restricted. 

Name Lists include lists of volunteers for the national campaigns, lists of donors and possible donors, and three card-catalogs of political and media contacts.Opposition Research contains information about Dole’s political opponents to be used in campaign advertisements and debates.  Included are research materials concerning Jimmy Carter from the 1976 Presidential campaign; Dole’s opponents in the 1980 Presidential campaign, both Republican (John Anderson, Howard Baker, George H. W. Bush, John Connally, and Phillip Crane) and Democrat (Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Jerry Brown).  Figuring most prominently in this series are materials dealing with Dole’s 1974 re-election campaign against Congressman Bill Roy.  Also included here are a number of materials concerning David Duke’s campaign for United States Senate in 1990.Press Files details the Senator’s campaign-related media relations, including press releases and newsletters.  Most records are concerned with the 1976 and 1980 Presidential campaigns.
Reference Materials contain background material for speeches, debate briefing books, talking points, and strategy memos.
State Reports contain activity summaries of the various state-level election campaigns during the 1980 Presidential campaign.
Subject Files cover significant issues relevant to Dole’s campaigns, including disability rights, AIDS, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, ethanol, and the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Voting/Position Papers cover Senator Dole’s voting history on a wide range of issues such as crime, education, and welfare, as well as talking points.  (These materials were compiled for the campaign season, and are not as exhaustive as the Voting/Attendance Records in the Legislative Relations series.)

Caucus/Political Party Records
These files include information about Republican senators from all fifty states, as well as other Senate races of interest to the national GOP.  The materials span the period 1974 – 1995, bulk 1976.  Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Guest Books
The guest books are lists of visitors, both official and unofficial to Senator Dole’s office in the Hart Building, roughly covering the years 1975 – 1984 and 1990 – 1995.  Also included are guest books from events in honor of Bob Dole, such as receptions at the First National Bank of Shawnee, KS and Hallmark Inn of Olathe, KS.  These files are arranged chronologically.

Invitations
Includes invitations to various social functions, charity dinners, and fundraising events to which Senator Dole was invited.  The records span the period 1969-1996, bulk 1975-1989, and include events in Washington, D.C., Kansas, and in other U.S. cities.  Where possible, the invitations were identified as accepted or declined.

Job Recommendations/Patronage
This sub-series is housed in twelve boxes.  These folders contain the correspondence between Senator Dole’s office and departmental officials.  As part of Senator Dole’s duties, he recommended candidates for various positions within governmental departments.  These folders contain the correspondence between Senator Dole and departments including the Department of Education, Department of Labor, General Service Administration, and White House appointments.  The folders span from 1965-1995, bulk 1981. This sub-series is arranged in chronological order and alphabetical where there are several folders dating from the same year.

Memos, Telephone Conversations, and E-mails
This sub-series is housed in two boxes and ranges in date from 1976-1995.  The folders contain memos written to Senator Dole from staff members working in the Washington D.C. office.  Topics include disability issues, legislation, requests for appearances and endorsements, fundraisers, speaking engagements, and travel requests. This sub-series is arranged chronologically by folder from 1976-1995.

Personal Finances
Personal Finances are records of the Senator’s personal expenses from 1969 to 1996, including payments on his first home in the Washington, D.C. area, fuel and car maintenance costs, food and clothing bills, tax filing forms, check stubs, and office staff payroll.  These files are restricted indefinitely.

Save Files
This sub-series is housed in six boxes, ranges from 1952-2002, the bulk of material dates in the 1970’s.  This sub-series contains a wide range of collected artifacts, memorabilia, and campaign ephemera.  Also, this sub-series includes extensive Dole family genealogical research dating back to the 19th century.  These folders contain programs ranging from Republican Fundraisers, political appearances, church dedications, industry conferences, and White House Dinners.  Commonly, the events hosted Senator Dole as the Honored Attendee or Key Note Speaker. This sub-series is organized alphabetically by subject headings e.g. campaign, clippings, genealogy.  The folders are arranged chronologically within the subject headings.

Senator’s Correspondence
This sub-series is housed in 44 boxes and contains materials spanning the length of Senator Dole’s career in office, 1969-1994.  This series includes a wide range of courtesy correspondence, personal correspondence, invitations, and requests for pictures and appearances.  These folders contain thank you letters, schedules, campaign congratulations; get well cards, holiday cards, and correspondence between the Senator’s office and other branches of government.  Topics include schools, Kansas businesses, and agriculture.

Subject Files
Subject Files are materials related to issues of interest to Senator Dole and his staff, 1969 – 1996, bulk 1975 – 1990.  Types of materials include memos, reports, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and government publications.  Major topics include banking and finance, campaign finance reform, cities (materials related to cities in Kansas and local projects), coal, family and medical leave, foreign investment in the United States, international debt, the Republican National Committee, the savings and loan crisis, Striker replacement, tax proposals, unemployment insurance, and Independent Council Lawrence Walsh’s investigation into the Iran-Contra affair.

Trip Files
Trip Files cover the official travel of Senator Dole from 1969-1994.  These records are divided into Briefing Books and Travel Schedules.  Briefing books contain information about the proceedings of meetings such as the 1976 Interparliamentary Union Meeting in Mexico City to which Dole was a delegate, as well as his 1977 trip to Austria, Yugoslavia, and Israel.  Also included are briefing books from the 1984 Republican National Convention and various official visits to speak with Kansans about issues of concern to the state. Travel Schedules primarily cover trip itineraries, providing information such as ays and times of meetings, methods of travel, and who would be accompanying the Senator.  These records are somewhat less detailed than briefing books, and cover both domestic and international trips.

Series Five: Press Related Materials (processing complete)

A detailed inventory of this sub-series is available.

Clippings, manuscripts, press releases, correspondence and newsletters (62 boxes) document those functions of the Dole offices related to the media, 1961-1996. Arranged in 9 subseries- Columns, Journal Articles, Media Activities Plan, Newsletters, Op-Eds, Press Releases, Speeches, Subject Files, and TV/Radio Files- the records illuminate the communications of Senator Dole with constituents through newsletters (3 boxes), newspaper columns (1 box), and press releases (23 boxes). Records contained in Subject Files (23 boxes) concern subjects of interest to the Senator and his offices from 1964-1996, and also cover interactions between Dole's press secretaries and members of the media.