WHITE HOUSE CONGRESSIONAL MAIL FILES, 1974-77

The Congressional Relations Office received and responded to dozens of letters addressed to the President from members of Congress each day. To control this mail and allow for easy reference, the Congressional Relations staff created a single centralized file of logs of incoming mail and copies of their outgoing letters. Copies of congressional letters drafted by other White House offices were often added to the file.

Although the Congressional Relations Office occasionally wrote letters of substance to members of Congress or drafted such letters for the President's signature, the bulk of the letters in this collection are routine in nature. Many are simple acknowledgements that a letter had been received and referred to another White House office or agency for a reply. Other letters responded to routine requests for information or assistance, acknowledged personnel recommendations, transmitted pens used in bill signing ceremonies, or thanked members of Congress for their votes in support of the President.

Although this collection contains logs of incoming congressional mail, it includes few copies of the letters themselves. Researchers will usually find it more fruitful to consult the White House Central Files, which includes copies of incoming and outgoing congressional mail and some of the mail logs. To ensure seeing all correspondence between the White House and a particular member of Congress however, one should consult both collections.

Related Materials (June 1984)
The files of William Timmons, Max Friedersdorf, and others of the Congressional Relations Office are closely related.