Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 8 (VIII), 4/8/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 8 (VIII), 4/8/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

88

Description:

Assessing the work of congressional liaison staff from various departments; the importance of department and agency heads in promoting the president's programs; the importance of congressional liaison work; Nicholas Katzenbach of the Justice Department, Wilbur Cohen of HEW, and Henry "Joe" Fowler of the Treasury as examples of the best congressional liaison workers; respect for elected officials who must be careful not to upset their constituents; willingness to compromise in the Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) Administration for the sake of getting something accomplished; LBJ's involvement in resolving disputes between departments; O'Brien's meetings with departmental congressional liaison staff; how these liaison positions were filled; the involvement of congressional liaison staff in LBJ's 1964 presidential campaign; the 1960 JFK-Nixon debates; presidential debates since 1960, such as the Reagan-Mondale debates of 1984; campaign finance issues; the rise of political action committees (PACs) and lobbying in the 1980s; encouraging Democratic civil-rights-supporting members of Congress to organize and become more actively involved in the passage of related legislation; the civil rights views of southern members of Congress; Everett Dirksen's and Mike Mansfield's efforts to stall the cotton-wheat bill; the relationships between different pieces of legislation and how to time legislative activity to the advantage of the administration; Carl Hayden and the Central Arizona Project tied to his vote on cloture in the 1964 civil rights bill; the use of quid pro quo-type arrangements among members of Congress and White House staff; Charles Halleck's and William McCulloch's support for civil rights legislation; controversial portions of the proposed civil rights bill; proposed amendments to the civil rights bill; Emanuel Celler's involvement in the civil rights bill; criticism from liberal Democrats that the civil rights bill did not accomplish enough; O'Brien's awareness of what could be accomplished legislatively and how that might differ from what was desired; how civil rights debate and vote in the House varied from the Senate; LBJ's opinion of McCulloch and Celler; growing public support for the civil rights bill as it passed the House and moved to the Senate; prolonged debate and filibuster in the Senate; the filing of a cloture petition; reaction from LBJ and around the Hill to the bill's Senate passage; Richard Russell as leader of the southern forces; Russell's professionalism and the source of his opposition to civil rights; senators who did not vote; the civil rights bill-signing ceremony and bill-signing pens; the transportation bill and issues of scheduling; how George Mahon replacing Clarence Cannon on the Appropriations Committee affected 1964 foreign aid; Bryce Harlow; southern Democrats' assistance with recommittal, but not final passage of certain bills; LBJ's view of the War on Poverty compared to JFK's commitment to alleviating poverty, which was influenced by JFK's visits to West Virginia and Appalachia; LBJ as a supporter of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and his deep commitment to helping people; Sargent Shriver's early leadership in the War on Poverty; Phil Landrum as a leader in supporting War on Poverty legislation; the poverty bill's referral to Adam Clayton Powell's Education and Labor Committee; testimony before Congress from Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and businessmen regarding the poverty bill; Job Corps; whether or not Congress understood Community Action Programs; criticism of Adam Yarmolinsky's role in the poverty bill and whether he would become Shriver's deputy if the bill passed; Senator Pat McNamara as sponsor of the bill.

Contributor:

O'Brien, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Francis), 1917-1990

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Lawrence F. O'Brien

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details