Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs, Office of Public Liaison, and, Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

This collection contains materials relating to Virginia Knauer's work as Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs under the Nixon and Ford administrations. The materials document consumer programs, budget development, and implementation of the President's Consumer Representation Plan, as well as related speeches, press releases and publications.

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    Virginia H. Knauer joined the Nixon administration staff in April 1969 as Chairman of the President’s Committee on Consumer Interests (PCCI) and Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs. President Nixon named Knauer Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) when it replaced PCCI in 1971. Knauer remained head of the OCA after it was absorbed by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) in 1973. After President Nixon’s resignation, President Ford retained Knauer as Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs within the new Office of Public Liaison (OPL) under William J. Baroody, Jr., Assistant to the President for Public Liaison.

    The Office of Consumer Affairs coordinated the consumer activities of the Federal government in cooperation with state agencies, industry representatives, and consumer organizations. It also promoted consumer education and recommended legislation based on consumer interests. As head of this office, Knauer oversaw administrative matters, appropriations, and various consumer related programs such as the Consumer Information Center. As Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs, Knauer developed consumer policy and communicated with consumers on behalf of the Administration.

    The materials in this collection are unlike those from other units of OPL because they primarily relate to Knauer’s work as head of the OCA outside of the OPL. The collection includes substantial material on the conception and development of the President’s Consumer Representation Plans as well as a series of budget materials relating to Congressional appropriations for the OCA. This collection also contains records pertaining to the OCA’s deputy director position, held by John S. Byington, from 1974-1976.

    Knauer was a member of the Energy Resources Council and her interest in the energy industry is well represented in this collection. Materials documenting the OCA’s consumer energy conservation initiative can be found in the “General File” series and the “Speeches” series contains several speeches on the topic of energy and fuel conservation.

    Files related to the Consumer Advisory Council are also part of the Knauer Files. This Council was created to provide the Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs with advice and recommendations from consumer experts in a variety of areas.

    Knauer served as a U.S. representative on the Consumer Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). She was also Vice Chairman for the Committee. Records pertaining to her work with the OECD are included in the “Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)” series.

    Related Materials (February 2014)
    Related materials include the files of Dawn Bennett-Alexander, (Domestic Council) and Wayne Valis (Office of Public Liaison).

    Extent

    34.1 linear feet (approximately 62,200 pages)

    Record Type
    Textual
    Donor

    Gerald R. Ford (1977-NLF-22)

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    Access

    Open. Some items may be temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

    Processed by

    Hannah Brookhart, Jeremy Schmidt, Mark Armstrong, and Eryn Killian, February 2014
     

    Biography

    Virginia H. Knauer

    March 28, 1915 - Born in Philadelphia, PA

    1937 - B.A. in Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Some graduate work completed in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy.

    1960-1968 - Councilman-at-Large, Philadelphia City Council

    1968 - Director, Pennsylvania's Bureau of Consumer Protection

    1969-1977 - Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs, and Chairman of the President's Committee on Consumer Interests, later this committee was replaced by the Office of Consumer Affairs, Department of Health, Education and Welfare and Knauer served as its director.

    1977 - Founder, Virginia Knauer & Associates

    1981-1983 - Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs, White House Office of Public Liaison

    1981- 1989 - Director, Office of Consumer Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services

    1983-1989 - Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services

    1988-? - Consultant, Haney & Knauer, Washington

    October 16, 2011 - Died at age 96