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One of the Finest Leaders in the House of Representatives

2/21/2017

 
By Ray Smock
​

Robert H. Michel of Illinois who died this week at the age of 93 was the Republican Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1995 and served a total of 38 years in the House, retiring in 1995. Bob’s entire career in the House was as a member of the minority party during the long ascendancy of the Democrats that lasted forty years.  It was bittersweet for him to announce his retirement in 1994, when the election that year resulted in the Republicans gaining control of the House. By then, however, Newt Gingrich was on the rise and he and the new Republicans that rode to victory that year had a completely different style of militant leadership. Those of us who witnessed the “Gingrich Revolution” could not help but think that Bob Michel would have a difficult time with the new style of leadership had he remained in the House. 
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Congressman Robert H. Michel

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The Passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967

2/14/2017

 
​​Fifty years ago, Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The bill came as a result of a study conducted by the Carnegie Corporation of New York which urged the creation of public broadcasting to combat the growing influence of commercial broadcasters on America’s airwaves. At the urging of President Johnson, the Senate took up the motion in late spring and quickly moved it through the Senate Commerce Committee, sending it to the House in May of 1967. However, it was in the House of Representatives that the bill became embattled in protracted and contentious hearings.
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A photograph of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, taken in January 1967 for a feature story on the committee in the "Capitol Hill" magazine.

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Three Very Short Introductions to Very Big Subjects

2/7/2017

 
By Ray Smock

Oxford University Press publishes an exciting series of books under the general heading of “A Very Short Introduction.”  Top scholars in remarkably wide ranging fields of inquiry synthesize big topics with plenty of wallop per page.  Three in the series are right in the wheelhouse of the Byrd Center’s mission and I am pleased to recommend them to you.
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Our Mission:

The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
Copyright © Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Careers
    • Parking and Directions
    • News Archives
  • Education
    • Educational Resources
    • Internship Program
    • People Powered
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Faulkner CAO Papers
    • Digital Collections
    • Byrd's-Eye View
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
    • Oral History Project
    • Share Your Story!
    • Blog
  • Events
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events >
      • Kate Masur 10/8
      • Nancy Spannaus 11/20
      • Tom Barkin 10/24
      • Constitution Day 2024 9/18
      • Mountain Music at the Mill 8/24
      • The Fiddlin' Bobby Byrd, Mountain Musician with Adam Booth 5/9
      • Beto O'Rourke 3/3&4
      • An Evening of WV Stories with Adam Booth 2/22
      • Niagara Movement Film 2/8
      • Voices of the Community Series 2023
      • Summer Fundraiser 2023
      • Constitution Day 2023
      • The Arc of Power
      • Forum on Pollution
      • Formidable - author event
      • Constitution Day 2022
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
  • Reservations
  • Login
  • WV Civics Coalition