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Heinz Senate Papers: Scope and Contents Note

The senatorial papers of H. John Heinz III document his tenure as a Republican United States Senator representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1991. The collection comprises 670.6 linear feet of those files maintained by Heinz and his staff in Washington, D.C. and in three of his state offices. The papers have been divided into 31 series organized under five record subgroups: Legislative Records, Personal/Political Records, Press Relations/Media Activity Records, Constituent Service Records and Office Administration Records. The subgroups reflect the functions of the Senator Heinz' work and include series typical of a congressional collection. A description and folder title inventory exists for subject access to each subgroup, series, subseries, etc.

The Legislative Records subgroup (354.9 lin. ft.) contains the bulk of the collection and is generally comprised of correspondence, memoranda, drafts of legislation, statements and speeches, secondary material collected for reference, and official printed material such as voting records, committee prints and hearings. The subgroup documents Senator Heinz' work on several Senate committees, the work of his Legislative Assistants (LA's) and Legislative Directors (LD's), his voting/attendance records and his legislative activities, including his sponsored and cosponsored bills and amendments. Since committee files constitute official government records and are transferred to the National Archives for permanent retention, the Committee Files series only represents the background and investigative work of the Senator and his committee staff members and legislative assistants. The Legislative Assistants' Files only reflect the work of those LA's whose files were originally maintained as a distinct entity and not integrated into the general legislative subject files of the office. The work of the remaining office staff and legislative assistants is represented in the Legislative Subject Files.

The Personal/Political Records subgroup (142.5 lin. ft.) includes series of files that document the personal and political activities of Senator Heinz and supplement information about his Senate career found in the other subgroups. The subgroup contains material from Heinz' three successful campaigns, VIP correspondence, personal working files, monthly activity reports, schedules and appearance files, State Department files and material documenting his party leadership involvement, notably his chairmanship of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and membership and participation with several Congressional (bi-partisan) and public service organizations.

The Press Relations/Media Activity Records subgroup (36 lin. ft.) contains editorials, media watches, comprehensive newspaper clippings, press packets, press releases and files compiled by Senator Heinz' press secretaries and assistants. The Press Secretary series includes editorials and articles written by Senator Heinz, his television appearances, transcripts of interviews, speeches, and articles about the death of John Heinz and his impact on the nation.

The Constituent Service Records subgroup (132.5 lin. ft.) documents Senator Heinz' efforts to promote the views, goals and agendas of his constituency by providing constituent assistance, information and state services. Heinz' representational duties included communicating with his constituency, receiving people's opinions through issue mail and keeping constituents informed about issues that affected their interests. He devoted substantial time and resources to the provision of constituent services, as demonstrated by the existence of state offices in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Erie and Scranton. These offices handled constituent requests, responded to their opinions, provided information, processed casework, assisted groups with their efforts to secure federal grants and with other projects, and handled service academy appointments. The Administrative Assistants and Executive Assistants in the Heinz office provided structure and management to the constituent service activities. Their papers document the role of the staff, their interrelationships and their role in accomplishing Senator Heinz' legislative goals. The Grants/Projects series documents Heinz' efforts to channel federal money to Pennsylvania cities, towns, small businesses, private research groups and nonprofit, social service or community action organizations who needed assistance in pursuing federal funds for water and sewer projects, highways, dams, buildings, planning, research and development, small business loans and so forth. Due to their inherent private nature, portions of the Casework series and Service Academy Files are closed to researchers.

The Office Administration Records subgroup (4.7 lin. ft.) documents the work of the office managers, office operations and procedures, and personnel. It comprises efforts by Senator Heinz to send personal messages to his constituents, such as birthday, anniversary and congratulatory wishes, thank you letters, recommendations, condolences, etc. He was also the recipient of many thank you letters.

The collection also contains audio-visual material, memorabilia and photographs (please refer to the Guide to the Special Materials in the Heinz Congressional Papers).

Senator Heinz made significant contributions in the areas of health care, retirement, international finance and trade, and the environment. Aside from the study of legislation, public policy debates, and the relationship between Senator Heinz and his constituents, the Heinz Senate Papers document the history of the times in which he served. Spanning nearly two decades and three presidents, the papers offer an extraordinary perspective on the major social, economic, and cultural changes experienced by the American people.