Correspondence,
briefing books, bills, reports, testimony transcripts, research files, news releases,
printed materials, audio-visual and electronic files, photographs and memorabilia
documenting the political and U.S. Congressional career of Louisiana Representative
(
House committee records are restricted for thirty years and Senate committee records are
restricted for twenty years from the date of creation. (See Rules XI and XXVI of the Rules
of the
Due to their condition, use of scrapbooks requires permission
of the Curator of Manuscripts, as does access to original VIP items in the vault.
Photocopies of the latter are available in the folders from which the originals were
removed. Patrons must complete the form "Use of the
A database with the full container list for the John B. Breaux Papers can be accessed at:
Material obtained from
This collection was processed between
If you wish to examine items in this manuscript group, please fill out a call slip specifying the materials you wish to see. Consult the Container List for location information needed on the call slip. Hard copies or digital scans may be made from microfilm. Please ask the staff member at the Service Desk in the Reading Room for assistance. Requests for reproductions copies produced by staff must be made by filling out and signing a Duplication Request Form or submitting a written, signed request via fax or post mail.
Physical rights are retained by the LSU Libraries. The Donor retains to himself all copyright and literary rights which he has in the unpublished materials. Upon his death, such rights shall pass to the University, except for rights covered under other agreements. Readers assume full responsibility for compliance with laws regarding copyright, literary property rights, and libel.
Permission to examine archival and manuscript materials does not constitute permission to publish. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed in writing to the Head, LLMVC, Special Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-3300. When permission to publish is granted, two copies of the publication will be requested for the LLMVC.
Proper acknowledgement of LLMVC
materials must be made in any resulting writing or publications. The correct form of
citation for this manuscript group is given in the
The following related collections are also available at LSU Special Collections:
When
Congressman Breaux served as Representative of
Upon the retirement of Senator
Senator Breaux was widely recognized as a centrist. In the Senate, he continued his
emphasis on wetland protection. In
In addition, Senator Breaux was also an advocate for health care and an architect of
social policy. He was the ranking Democrat on the
Senator Breaux was not only prominent in
In
In
More biographical information about John Breaux may be found in Box 282 in the folder Legis: Voting Records: 0105C/2s: Biographies and Box 412, Folders 18, 19, and 20.
The
The Political Files (
Social Files (
The
Search the database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php) to locate materials on specific topics or issues.
Includes a letter library list; facsimile transmissions; organizational charts; staff assignments; group names; and weekly, abstract, and tickler reports. The letter library list is organized by the alpha-numeric letter code given to it by Breaux's office filing system.
Folders are identified by letter code, description, path and name, type of letter, status, staff, and usage. The weekly, abstract and tickler reports include topic breakdowns, abstract reports sorted by topic and item, and frequency of items. The tickler reports are sorted by the staffer's initials they bear.
The staff assignments are chronological lists covering 1994-2004. The first folder for each year's assignments contains a description of the type of list and how it was used in the Senator's office. The first folder for each year of each type of report includes a description of the office's organization of the various reports.
Includes mass mailings--faxes, e-mails, and letters from constituents--seeking support for legislation or thanking him for his support. Types of material include letters to constituents, constituent opinion ballots, telephone opinion records, postcards, student voice polls, joint letters, citizen petitions to the Senate, voter pledges, newspaper clippings, letters from organizations and city and parish governments, hand written notes from staff, form letters, fact sheets, joint letters, newsletters, and letters from job applicants. Issues about which the Senator received the bulk of mail are abortion, Arctic drilling, President Clinton's impeachment, gun control, cloning, Medicare, medical insurance, and prescription drug benefits, and Social Security. Letters also relate constituents' opinions on, among other topics, the balanced budget amendment, campaign finance reform, Catholic education and school vouchers, clean air and energy and other environmental issues, credit unions, energy policy, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, estate tax, asbestos injury, judicial nominations, and stem cell and embryonic research. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). Organized chronologically by date then alphabetically by topic.
The microfilm index is arranged alphabetically according to the name of the writer. The date of the correspondence is given as well as the issue discussed. The document number for each item is listed; however, the reel number is missing.
The Senator's office also created microfilm backups for the issue mail. The John B. Breaux Papers contains 269 rolls of microfilmed issue mail from 1994-1995. Note: In numbering the microfilm containers, the Senate staff skipped the number 193, but the span of document numbers on rolls 192 and 194 is unbroken, thus there is no missing roll.
The CMS is the directory of form letters used in Senator Breaux's office. The CMS files are organized into two parts: items and resequenced items. The items section is arranged by Congress and item number, with the resequenced items of that Congress immediately following. The first folder of the Items Library contains an explanation of the arrangement used by the Senator's office. The first folder of the resequenced items includes a list of such items and memos describing how such resequencing was to be done.
(RESTRICTION: Access to original VIP items in the vault requires permission of the Curator of Manuscripts. Photocopies are available) Correspondence to and from Senator Breaux not necessarily connected to any particular issue and includes letters from constituents and colleagues on various political issues and also personal mail from colleagues. Eighty-three VIP items (mostly letters from celebrities, foreign dignitaries, etc.) regarding legislative issues and Senator Breaux's views have been placed in the vault, with photocopies left in their place. These include letters from Kathleen Blanco (1), George H.W. Bush (2), Oksana Baiul (1), Dick Cheney (1), Hillary Clinton (2), Bill Clinton (30), Bob Dole (1), Elizabeth Dole (1), Edwin W. Edwards (3), Mike Foster (12), John Glenn (1), Al Gore (3), Mike Huckabee (1), Edward Kennedy (2), Russell B. Long (1), John McCain (1), John McKeithen (1), Colin Powell (1), Paul O'Neill (1), Ronald Reagan (2), Ann Rice (1), Donald Rumsfeld (6), Chuck Schumer (1, with Hillary Clinton), Tommy Thompson (1); co-signed letters than include signatures of Dick Cheney and Edward Kennedy; autographed copies of George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address and selected remarks from Bill Clinton. Also found are constituent letters (including Eagle Scouts), anniversary greetings, birthday and wishes, retirement congratulations, and "Dear Colleague" letters. Many of those files include Senator Breaux's reply.
Materials retain the arrangement of Senator Breaux's office with letters filed alphabetically by last name of the author and chronologically by year, with a separate run filed chronologically and alphabetically by topic.
The Research Files comprises information about various topics of interest to Senator Breaux and his staff. Some of these materials were used by staff members to answer constituent questions about federal employment or other issues. Research Files are arranged alphabetically by subject. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php).
(RESTRICTED for 15 years from January 1 of the year of their creation) The Miscellaneous Appointment Files contain information about the candidates nominated for judgeships, U. S. Attorneys and U. S. Marshals. The senator's office divided the files into two sections: confirmed and not confirmed. This division was retained in the collection's arrangement. The files include letters of support and opposition, correspondence from nominees, newspaper/magazine clippings, newsletters, e-mails, facsimiles, background information on the nominees, memos, thank you notes and letters, photographs and electronically stored letters. Folders were arranged first by their outcome (whether or not the candidate was confirmed) and then alphabetically by the last name of the nominee or, in some cases, by the topic.
The administrative assistant serves as a senator's chief of staff. Senator Breaux's administrative assistants were Wallace Henderson, Tommy Hudson, and Fred Hatfield. The bulk of the files are those of Fred Hatfield. The materials include: memoranda, facsimile transmissions, letters of recommendation and endorsement, appropriations summaries, joint letters, news releases, summaries of proposed bills, invitations, event schedules and itineraries, calendars, news articles, fact sheets, editorials, grant applications, drafts of bills, nominations, brochures, memorabilia, committee statements, proposals, certificates, inaugural programs, election results, political fliers, presentations, drafts of agency reports, announcements, and acceptance speeches. Arranged alphabetically by the name of the assistant, then chronologically, then alphabetically by topic.
Legislative Directors monitor the legislative schedule and make recommendations for particular issues. The Legislative Directors of Senator Breaux's office from 1990 – 2000 were Marcia Jones, Darla Romfo, and Sarah Walter (née Lyons). Included in their files are newspaper articles, copies of Senate bills, research on issues, letters to and from colleagues, reports from committees and agencies, committee notes, messages to and from other staff members, Congressional records, testimony from committee hearings, press releases, background documents, proposals and amendments from colleagues, and files on the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.
The Medicare Commission files were the work of Darla Romfo and then-legislative assistant Sarah. They contain papers by members of the Commission, information from the Commission meetings, faxes and proposals from members of the Commission, briefings, analysis, and testimony before the Commission. The majority of the Medicare Commission files is found in the Commissions series of the John B. Breaux Papers, but these materials carry a twenty year restriction. Due the difficulty of sorting commission-related material from other Legislative Directors material, any Medicare commission information found in the Legislative Directors' Files may be considered unrestricted.
Additional materials may be found on energy and related topics, healthcare, taxes, retirement policy, social security, and initiatives of President Bill Clinton, as well as other topics. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). Arranged alphabetically by the name of the director, then chronologically, then alphabetically by topic.
Legislative Assistants (LAs) were responsible for monitoring any developments in current and proposed legislation of interest to the senator, and they often specialized in a particular policy area. Generally, these files contain letters from constituents or lobbyists, notes on Congressional proceedings, research, copies of bills, and other materials relating specifically to legislation. Topics include, among others, health care, trade, environmental issues, agriculture, taxation, transportation, communication, science and technology, and Indian affairs. Additional materials about several of these issues can be found in the Special Issues sub-sub series. This sub-series has three subdivisions: the first section contains information about the legislative staff in general; the second section contains the files of Projects Director Johnny Broussard, who supervised the legislative staff; the final subdivision includes the files of all Legislative Assistants.
The General Legislative Assistant Files contain a list of Legislative Assistants, Legislative Reports and New Projects. The folder that contains the list of Legislative Assistants, as well as a list of 1987 office personnel, is found in Box 72, Folder 19. There may also be found Legislative Reports, which were checklists upon which the legislative assistants recorded any developments on their individual assignments.
Johnny Broussard served as Senator Breaux's Project Director. His primary duties were to assist individuals, companies and organizations making funding requests, supervise the completion of special projects, and mediate between constituents and government agencies. He also attended meetings with constituents in Breaux's Washington office. Because Broussard also supervised the legislative staff, his input may be noticed on many cases found in the files of all of the Legislative Assistants and Legislative Correspondents.
His files include grants, handwritten notes for telephone calls and meetings, correspondence, resolutions, maps, photographs, bills, journal articles, government agency reports, fact sheets, information from online sources, memos, news releases, facsimiles, joint letters, newspaper articles, tickler sheets, e-mail messages, drafts of bills, published materials, and newsletters. These materials relate to the following topics: crop and disaster assistance, projects for parishes and municipalities, appropriations, agriculture, the Breaux Act, the environment, coastal restoration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, layoffs in Louisiana, highway bills and interstates in Louisiana, flood control, fishing and seafood industries, waterway navigation, and Louisiana universities and public officials. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). The files are organized alphabetically by topic.
Legislative Assistants (LAs) were responsible for monitoring any developments in current and proposed legislation of interest to the senator, and they often specialized in a particular policy area. The Legislative Assistants in Senator Breaux's office were as follows: Adams; Arceneaux, Michael; Ashby, Mark; Bacque, Emily; Bentzel, Carl; Burnett, Laird; Callahan, Gerri (Fitzgerald); Croom, Miles; Dabadie, Ashley (Ray); Dalpiaz, Elaine; Davis; Delaney, Glenn; Deveau, Paul; Easton, Michelle (Prejean); Eckert, Paul; Ennis, Erin; Flynn, John; Forman, David; Gallagher, John; Hawes, Rebecca; Jennings, Paige; Johnson, Charisse (Kaplan); LaRock, Joan; Lawrence, Adam; Leger, Stephanie; Mayer; McCarthy, Troy; McRee, Diane; Moore, Mallory; Moore, Tommy; Owens, Susie; Parks, Mike; Rice, Cynthia; Schryver, David; Signori, Pamela (Patison); Smith, Timothy; Spiller, Lindsay; Traigle, Sara; Vermilye, Andy; Wall, Ashley; Walter, Sarah (Lyons); and Winter.
The Assistants files contain documents related to legislation about the Iraq War, welfare reform, waterways and fisheries, the Wallop-Breaux Amendment, veterans affairs, telecommunication, taxes, the space program, seafood industry, oil and gas, racial profiling, shipbuilding, Medicaid and Medicare, NAFTA, the World Trade Organization, and other trade issues, military construction, transportation, budget, campaign finance and election reform, climate change, defense appropriations and systems, the Coast Guard, military bases in Louisiana, budgets, homeland security, the LSU Medical Center, Marine Shale Processors, and Indian affairs, especially pertaining to the Jena Band of the Choctaw Indians, taxes, and appropriations, especially as they related to Louisiana projects.
Additional materials about several of these issues can be found in the Special Issues sub-subseries. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). Legislative Assistant Files are organized by the name of the staffer, then by issue or the name of the constituent.
The Legislative Correspondents worked with the Legislative Assistants, primarily communicating with constituents, with only limited monitoring of legislative developments in Congress. Many staff members started as Legislative Correspondents and were later promoted to Legislative Assistants or given broader duties similar to those of an Assistant while technically remaining a Correspondent. The appendix to the John B. Breaux Papers finding aid contains information about these legislative assignments.
The Legislative Correspondents in Senator Breaux's office
were as follows
This group primarily contains correspondence with constituents related to the topics listed under the Legislative Assistants Files above. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). These folders were organized by the Correspondent's name then by the name of the Assistant under whom the Correspondent was working and finally by the issue in question or the name of the constituent who originated the correspondence.
This includes drafts of bills, pages from the Congressional Record, correspondence, legislative activities reports containing cross references to bills sponsored and co-sponsored by Senator Breaux, facsimile transmissions, newspaper articles, press releases, legal publications, letters from colleagues requesting support or co-sponsorship of bills, invitations for co-sponsorship from Senator Breaux, joint letters, memos to the Democratic cloakroom requesting to add senators as co-sponsors, press releases, briefing reports, legislative bulletins and voting records published by the Democratic Policy Committee, Congressional Research Service reports, and status reports on pending legislation. The materials are organized chronologically by Congress and numerically by bill number. The term "Draft" on the folder indicates that no bill number was found.
The bulk of the materials relate to the following legislation: the Breaux Act, Medicare 2001, the Patients' Bill of Rights, and Ozone and Particulate Matter Research. Legislative activities reports with cross references to bills sponsored and co-sponsored by Senator Breaux may be found at the end of this series in Box 228, Folders 55-57. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php).
These files contain materials very similar to those found in the Administrative Assistants', Legislative Directors', Legislative Assistants' and Legislative Correspondents' Files, but which could not be identified with any specific staff member. Included herein are letters and notes from colleagues in the House and Senate seeking support or thanking Breaux for support of certain bills, resolutions, and amendments; legislative bulletins and special reports prepared by the Democratic Policy Committee; appropriations requests; reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service, press releases, committee hearings, briefing books on legislative issues, constituent fact sheets, and handwritten notes from Senator Breaux and other staff members.
Topics and committees included here are agriculture,
appropriations, defense, banking, budget, education, environment, finances, food and drugs,
foreign aid, foreign affairs, foreign relations, health, housing, immigration, tax reform,
interior, judicial, labor, Medicare, Medicaid, natural resources, oil and gas, public works,
telecommunications, flood control, trade, transportation, the United Nations, veterans, ways
and means, and the World Trade Organization. A complete listing is available in the
container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). Files are arranged chronologically by year and then
alphabetically within years by topic or committee.
These materials document changes in rules established by different agencies or departments. Types of materials include correspondence, memos, faxes, handwritten notes, booklets, testimonies, background information, news articles, executive orders, proposed rules, issue briefs, newsletters, brochures, court judgments, tickler sheets, "Dear Colleague" letters, PowerPoint presentations, summaries of proposals, briefing papers, suggested amendments, reports, public laws, Congressional Record articles, tables, Federal Register articles, and fact sheets. The files are arranged alphabetically by agency or department and then alphabetically by topic.
There are nine briefing books covering an assortment of topics, including the American College of Surgeons, chemical weapons, the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center, health information security, Medicare, space launch cost reduction, transportation, responsible fatherhood, and water pollution. Arranged alphabetically by topic.
The Senate Centrist Coalition was created by Senator Breaux and Senator John Chafee (R-RI) in 1995 to encourage bipartisan cooperation in the federal government. Breaux served as co-chair until his retirement in 2004. The files contain staffers' notes, drafts of bills/amendments, correspondence, newsletters, a list of members, news articles, joint letters, tables, memos, news releases, emails, graphs, briefing books, drafts of speeches, meeting agendas, faxes, and meeting notes. Topics addressed include budgets, taxes, welfare, and Medicare and Medicaid. Arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by topic.
Senator Breaux was a member of the Senate New Democrat Coalition, which was founded in 1997 to help promote centrist positions within the Democratic Caucus. The John B. Breaux Papers contains five folders of New Democrats materials which include agendas, Senator Breaux's briefing book for S.2254, newsletters, emails, handwritten notes, "Dear Colleague" letters, news articles, drafts of studies, and faxes.
Files related to "special issues" as designated by Breaux's staff. Additional materials on these issues is also found in the Project Director, Legislative Assistants, Legislative Correspondents, and Legislative Files. Unless otherwise noted, these materials are organized by topic.
Details the efforts of Senator Breaux to prevent the closure of England Air Force Base in Alexandria, LA, and the subsequent proceedings relating to its disposition after closure and its transference to civilian control under the England Authority. Included here are staff memos and notes, bills and amendments concerning base realignment and closures, England Air Force Base closure files, correspondence from constituents, research materials, correspondence to the President and Secretary of Defense, information from departments, and news articles.
This section contains materials dealing with plans and appropriations intended for wetland protection and restoration in Louisiana. Correspondence from state legislators, news articles, bills and amendments, House of Representative Files that carried over to the Senate Files, newsletters and correspondence from state and federal agencies and departments, project information and analysis, reports from interest groups and government agencies, information about the Clean Water Act, studies, committee reports, photos, and "Dear Colleague" letters.
This section contains a variety of issues from various countries. Some issues covered include environmental policy, tariffs, human rights, foreign aid, immigration policy, international sanctions against Iran, G8 and World Bank meetings, U.S. policy statements in regards to various countries, Irish Republican Army and Middle East peace talks, Kosovo, NATO enlargement, Israel/Palestine, Chechnya, and nuclear non-proliferation. Materials included are "Dear Colleague" letters, news articles, staff memos, correspondence from foreign dignitaries or other members of government, country briefs, bills and amendments, commission reports, analysis from outside groups, hearings before commissions and committees.
Covers trade issues of state and national importance, including Japanese rice imports, Chinese crawfish exports, European fur trapping, gasoline imports, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks, U.S. aid to Ukraine, and rice sales to the U.S.S.R. Materials include memos, letter, reports, news clippings, and briefing books.
There is only one folder of material pertaining to Bill Clinton's impeachment hearing. It contains notes from the trial, memos, letters, and a draft resolution of censure.
Information pertaining to efforts to reform the Medicare the system, competitive bidding practices, prescription drug policy, long-term care, physical therapy, and preferred provider organizations. Included are memos, reports, GAO studies, and research material. These files are arranged alphabetically by topic.
This section is primarily material about NAFTA and its effect on Louisiana industries such as sugar and shrimping, but also discusses environmental policy, transportation, and worker re-training. Included are bills and amendments, statistics, Senate and House votes on NAFTA, news articles, staff memos and notes, and correspondence.
Material related to the decision against Philip Morris, Inc. Contains briefing books, memos, research on Phillip Morris and R.J.R. Nabisco, and pages from the Congressional Record.
The voting records indicate how Senator Breaux voted on each bill that came before the Senate during his time as Senator. Included are memoranda, voting records, Congressional scorecards, alphabetical indexes to votes, indexes to party line votes, indexes to votes by bill number, voting reports from interest groups, interest group ratings, legislative activities guides and reports, roll call votes, roll call subject indexes, voting records of legislators by issue, pages of the Congressional Record, Democratic Policy Committee issue record votes, attendance records, issue briefs, bills and amendments sponsored, session member lists, and recess/session reports.
The first folder of this sub-sub-series is a guide entitled
Joint letters are letters in support of legislation or some issue of importance signed by several senators. These are filed in chronological order.
Department and Independent Agency Files—which were originally called Project Files in the Senator's office—consist of requests from Louisiana constituents for Senator Breaux's assistance in their interactions with federal departments and agencies. Each case includes a tickler sheet which summarizes the constituent's information, issue, and actions taken by the Senator's office. Because of the volume of materials in this section, these files were heavily reviewed during processing and only those cases closest to Senator Breaux's interests were retained for the collection. These include wetlands, healthcare, welfare, aging, transportation, Social Security, taxation, telecommunications, consumer protection, wildlife and fisheries, tourism, hurricane protection and recovery, Merchant Marine, agriculture (especially sugar and rice), hazardous waste, and commerce. Agencies represented include the Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Veterans Affairs, and the Departments of Defense, Housing and Human Services, and the Interior. A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php).
Types of materials include letters, news clippings, photographs, brochures, maps, reports, statistics, proposals, ledger sheets, petitions, patent applications, appraisals, diagrams, consumer test reports, annual reports, grant requests, resolutions and printed materials. Arranged chronologically by year, alphabetically within each year by department or agency, and finally alphabetically by the name of the constituent or group requesting assistance. Note: The 1992 Department and Independent Agency Files were not received by the library.
This series contains issues regarding state matters. The materials are very similar to the Department and Independent Agencies Files, with the difference being that all cases contained here were referred to agencies and departments of the State of Louisiana for resolution.
A complete listing is available in the container list/folder database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php). The series includes correspondence to and from constituents, correspondence to and from state agencies on behalf of constituents, staff notes, bills and amendments, news articles, publications, proposals for grants and projects, appropriations requests, and testimony for hearings and committee meetings. Arranged alphabetically by agency, topic, and constituent name.
The General Press files include publically circulated materials generated by the Senator's office. Such materials include the Senator's remarks on a variety of issues, his statements from the floor of the Senate, articles and newsletters written by the Senator, transcripts of Senator Breaux's speeches, talking points for various issues distributed to the Congressional staff, newspaper clippings and magazine articles concerning the Senator's activities or issues of interest to him, transcripts of Senator Breaux's television appearances and press conferences, and trip files detailing his visits to Louisiana.
Types of press material described are: interviews, issues, magazine articles, miscellaneous materials, news articles, releases, remarks, scripts, speeches, statements, television news clips, and trip files. The miscellaneous materials include press releases from other members of Congress, memoranda from staff members to Senator Breaux, and background information on issues. The Press Files are arranged first chronologically, then alphabetically by the type of press material, and finally alphabetically by topic.
Included here are four brief biographies of Senator Breaux. One was written while John Breaux was still in the House of Representatives. Another details his entire political career, while the third is a brief statement of Senator Breaux's accomplishments prepared for a tennis tournament in which the Senator participated. The fourth relates Breaux's activities in relation to the University of Southwestern Louisiana and the proposal for the John B. Breaux, Sr., Endowed Chair in Political Science.
This brief sub-sub-series contains hardcopies of the Senator's website (now unavailable online), as well as memos and other information dealing with a planned redesign of the site.
Includes audio and video media in several formats, specifically: VHS, Betamax, 9-mm audio reel-to-reel, cassettes, compact discs, DVD, and computer diskettes. The VHS, Betamax, and reel-to-reel materials contain Senator Breaux's campaign ads for television and recordings of his public and television appearances, while the cassettes record Senator Breaux's radio campaign advertisements.
The compact discs, DVDs, and computer diskettes included here contain data files, video, and/or audio files. They are largely commercially produced materials sent to Senator Breaux's office in support of appropriations or legislative requests from various organizations or corporations. The computer diskettes also contain data files created by the staff members for their own use.
The photographs sub-sub-series spans John Breaux's career as both a Senator and a Representative. Inclusive dates are roughly 1970-2004. Contained herein are a variety of photographs, negatives, slides, contact sheets, and digital photographs on compact disc. Subjects include events, campaign stops, family photographs, trips to Louisiana and abroad, photographs of John Breaux with world leaders, well-known individuals, and constituents visiting his Washington D.C. office, posed and candid staff photographs, and John Breaux's official portraits.
Individuals in the photographs are identified only insomuch as could be ascertained from the folders they arrived in, excepting cases of well-known individuals such as Presidents of the United States, easily recognizable foreign dignitaries, certain Members of Congress or administration figures, members of the Louisiana delegation, and Louisiana state officials. See the database/file list for more detail.
Largely kept in the order in which they were received, which was roughly chronological. Undated materials are arranged alphabetically by topic and placed at the end of the decade in which they seem to have been created.
During his Senate career, Senator Breaux was
a member of five committees: the Special Committee on Aging (
Materials contained within the Committee Files include memoranda, emails, and other various means of correspondence between committee members, reports to the committee, minutes of meetings, testimonies before the committee and/or subcommittee, and research materials compiled by Senator Breaux's staff in reference to committee work.
The Other Committees sub-series contains the materials for committees upon which Breaux did not sit, but whose work was pertinent to his interests. These include House and Senate Committees, Joint Committees, and Committees that Breaux followed after he was no longer a member including the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (RESTRICTED for 20 years from date of creation)
In addition to his work with Congressional committees, Senator Breaux was also appointed the chair of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare and co-chaired the National Commission on Retirement Policy, both of which produced Social Security reform legislation.
These materials include meeting agendas, minutes, memoranda, lists and brief biographies of commission participants, testimonies before the commission, research materials pertaining to commission work, reports, proposals, and the notes of legislative staff assigned to commission work (notably Darla Romfo and Sarah Walter, in whose Legislative Director and Legislative Assistant Files some commission materials may be located).
Rules regarding the availability of commission materials are not well-defined, but the processing staff decided that the Commission Files should follow the same rules governing the Senate Committee Files, except in cases where the documents in question had already been publicly released (such as the final reports of the commissions). Like the Committee Files, the Commission Files are unrestricted annually at the beginning of the twentieth calendar year from the date of creation. (RESTRICTED for 20 years from date of creation)
The Campaign Files are divided into House and Senate campaign materials. There is very little of such material in the John B. Breaux Papers. Files include research on opponents, campaign planning materials, statistical data about Louisiana voting patterns, and some campaign memorabilia such as bumper stickers flyers, and pamphlets. Organized by House and Senate, and therein alphabetically by topic or genre.
As one of the founders of the Democratic Leadership Council, Senator Breaux was involved in many of its activities, including conferences, fundraising, and election year strategic planning for centrist Democrats. Materials include letters, reports, speeches, memos, meeting schedules, and information from the Public Policy Institute. Also included are DLC published materials, Mandate for Change, "Middle Class Squeeze," and Politics of Evasion. Arranged alphabetically by topic.
Senator Breaux was very active in national Democratic politics. These files detail his involvement in party caucuses and political strategy. Materials include correspondence, memos, briefing books, and reports and are arranged alphabetically by topic.
The annual Washington D.C. Mardi Gras ball is a prestigious event not only for Louisianians but also for political figures nationwide. The ball is organized and hosted by the Louisiana delegation and the Mystick Krewe of Louisianians, an organization of prominent Louisiana citizens usually led by current or retired politicians. The John B. Breaux Papers contains some of the materials, including invitations and letters, related to the organizing of several of the balls during Senator Breaux's tenure in office. Also included are materials from the balls themselves, such as programs, booklets with photographs of the Royal Court (the King and Queen, princesses, and festival queens from Louisiana), and a history of the balls entitled, Golden Memories: A History of the First Fifty Washington Mardi Gras Balls. These materials are arranged alphabetically by topic.
The Memorabilia Series consists mainly of awards given to Senator Breaux throughout his career in public service. These awards include plaques, trophies, certificates, statuettes, and other commemorative objects in addition to Presidential signing pens from Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
The U.S. House of Representatives Sub-Group contains many of the same types of materials on similar topics found in the U.S. Senate Sub-Group. The order in which the records were received has been maintained, so, for the most part, they are not organized into series and sub-series. Searchable description and indexing of each box is available in the container list/database (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/db/breaux.php).
Materials relating to these people, places, and things can be found in Subgroups I-III. Due to restrictions, items in Subgroup IV. House of Representatives are not indexed here.