Representative Feighan did not initially endorse H.R.2580 and was close to organizations such as the American Legion and the American Coalition of Patriotic Societies that resisted immigration reform. Feighan opposed several provisions of H.R. 2580…

This letter to Muskie from R. C. Brown, the Director of Research at Caterpillar Tractor Company in Peoria, Illinois, indicated that the air quality control provisions of S. 306 affected an array of economic interests. As the nation’s leading…

Shortly after introducing S. 306, Robert F. Wagner, Mayor of New York, wrote Senator Muskie to express his support for S. 306. The mayor noted that New York City’s efforts to improve air quality were frequently undercut by surrounding municipalities…

When H.R. 6675 reached the floor, it was the first time that a Social Security-based health plan had been debated in the House of Representatives. Republicans continued to fight for a fully voluntary health plan and opposed the universal, Social…

The number of sponsors indicated that voting rights legislation was likely to pass on the floor, if an acceptable bill could be reported from the committee. Minutes after the bill was introduced, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-MT), and…

Two days after the resolution passed, for the first time the House passed by a voice vote legislation providing federal support for the arts and humanities. The clearest indication of the level of support for H.R. 9460, however, came prior to the…

Between 1961 and 1964, Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson annually proposed that Congress pass legislation creating a cabinet-level housing department. On March 28, 1965, this typed copy of the administration- backed bill creating a…

In the spring of 1964, President Johnson sent a request to Congress to authorize special aid to the economically depressed Appalachian region, and on September 25, 1964, the Senate passed an Appalachia bill that closely followed the president’s…

On January 7, 1965, Senator Edmund S. Muskie (D-ME), chair of the Special Air and Water Pollution Subcommittee of the Senate Public Works Committee, introduced S. 306 with 20 cosponsors. The bill was based on findings of a 1964 report of Muskie’s…

In his State of the Union address, President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a National Foundation on the Arts, but he didn’t mention a similar foundation for the humanities. S. 1483 was an administration bill introduced by Senator Claiborne Pell…