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Meeting notes, 1997

 File — Box: 16, Folder: 20

Scope and Content

From the Collection: Steve Schiff's Papers consist of documents from his service as a US Congressman, from 1989 to 1998. The great majority of the contents come from this decade, although there are occasional items from the 1980s and late 1970s. The collection contains the following: Drafts of bills from the various stages of the legislative process. Correspondences with fellow Members of Congress, executive agencies, state and municipal entities and officials, interest groups, and constituents. Memoranda and reports germane to the Congressman's roles as lawmaker, overseer of the executive branch, representative of the State of New Mexico, and member of the Republican Party caucus. Press releases, letters to the editor, and other media tactics. News clippings. Audio cassettes and video tapes of media and community appearances. Photographs.

The collection is divided into five series: Personal, Issues, Legislation, Committee Work, and Communication.

Personal includes biographical information on Schiff and information about his staff.

Issues consists of particular matters that occupied the Congressman's office that did not necessarily take the form of specific legislation. These are divided into subseries: Local for issues directly pertaining to the First Congressional District of New Mexico and the wider state as a whole; National for more broadly applicable issues; and International which involves foreign policy. Occasionally, a folder will contain articles of legislation, but in these cases the legislation came about after substantive interest into the subject had already accumulated. Prominent issues include Petroglyph National Monument (PNM) and the efforts to save Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) from the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) as well as Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs and the "Roswell Incident."

Legislation contains drafts of bills, amendments, rules, etc. from the legislative process. It also contains memoranda, correspondences, newspaper articles, and reports about the legislation. This series is divided into Local and National subseries. When the primary focus is around a specific bill, and not the more generally-related issue, then it falls under Legislation. A major example of national legislation is Schiff's work on health care fraud.

Committee Work contains legislation, material from hearings, correspondences, reports, and news clippings that expressly bear on matters undertaken by the various committees and subcommittees upon which sat Representative Schiff. Corresponding to Schiff's committee assignments, the subseries are Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (commonly known as the Ethics Committee), Government Reform & Oversight, Judiciary, and Science. Specific legislation appears in this series only if it derived from or passed significantly through one of these committees. Noteworthy investigations include Newt Gingrich and healthcare fraud.

Communication is composed of both political- and policy-related documents and audio/video materials. The subseries are as follows: Correspondence; Election, which includes Schiff's campaign materials and opposition research on rivals, real and potential; Media, containing both general strategy outlines for media relations and tactical executions such as television shows and letters to the editor; Outreach, which entails plans for and records of meetings with constituents; Questionnaires, the surveys from interest groups in which Schiff states his positions on various issues; News clippings; and Press Releases.

Dates

  • 1997

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English with some Spanish

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research, however, researchers must give advance notice for access to audio tapes in box 19A-19D so that use copies can me made.

Extent

From the Collection: 19 boxes (19 cu. ft.)

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451