Congressional Papers of Ron Lewis Representative, U.S. House of Representatives, Second District of Kentucky (1994-2009) A.B. Colvin Baptist Collection & Archives Montgomery Library, Campbellsville University A.B. Colvin Baptist Collection and Archives Montgomery Library Campbellsville University Campbellsville, Kentucky 42718 LEWIS, RON Ron Lewis Papers Archives Collection No.: 09-0001 EXTENT There are 55 case boxes and 32 flat boxes in this collection, totaling 87 boxes. Also, in the art shelves, there are 8 framed items, 2 document storage tubes, and 6 poster/chart type items. SOURCE Office of Ron Lewis, Member of Congress, Second District, Kentucky, and his office staff ACCESS Unrestricted access REPRODUCTION No conditions have been placed on the reproduction of materials in the collection. COPYRIGHT Copyright restrictions according to the type of material. PREFERRED CITATION [Individual Item], Ron Lewis Papers, A.B. Colvin Baptist Collection and Archive, Montgomery Library, Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, Kentucky. PROCESSING Finding Aid prepared by Chelsea Hanna, 2011; Laura Thomas, 2011; Sean Dotson, 2012; Katie Terry, 2012-13 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Ron Lewis represented the Second Congressional District of Kentucky from 1994 to 2009. Born in McKell, Greenup County, Kentucky, on 14 September 1946. He earned a B.A. from the University of Kentucky in 1969 and an M.A. from Morehead State University in 1981. In 1972 he attended the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School until a kidney ailment forced an honorable discharge. Before entering the race for Congress, Lewis was pastor of the White Mills Baptist Church, White Mills, Hardin County, Kentucky, and owned and operated a bookstore in Cecilia, Hardin County. Upon the death of long-serving Second Congressional District Representative William H. Natcher (1953-1994), a special election was held in early 1994 to fill his unexpired term. Opposed by former Democratic State Senator Joe Prather of Vine Grove, Hardin County, Kentucky, Lewis ran as a Republican in the traditionally Democratic district. The Republican Party was able to promote Lewis’ campaign by tying his Democratic opponent to President William J. Clinton. Lewis was the first Republican to be elected from the district in 129 years. Lewis’s election marked the beginning of a Republican retake of both houses of Congress. While serving in Congress, Lewis was a member of many committees. He served on the Agriculture Committee (1994-1998), the National Security Committee (1994-1998), the Ways and Means Committee (1999-2008), and Government Reform Committee (2001-2002). Between 1997 and 2006, Lewis was a member of two committees, the Republican Policy Committee and the House Policy Committee, which shaped Republican policy in the House on many issues. Ron Lewis was also a member of organizations such as the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste and the National Federation of Independent Business as well the Chamber of Commerce in Elizabethtown. Lewis retired in 2009 after serving a little more than seven terms. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE This collection consists of materials relating to Ron Lewis’s service in the U.S. House of Representatives. The collection includes memos/notes, memorandums, bills, research relating to the support/opposition of issues, correspondence among coworkers, constituents, and friends, articles relating to Lewis, audio recordings of radio broadcasts, books, plaques and awards, and other items. ARRANGEMENT NOTE The arrangement is imposed, according to suggestions in Managing Congressional Collections, by Cynthia Pease Miller (2008). The collection is arranged into five series: Personal and Political Papers, Legislative Records, Press and Media Collection, Administrative Files, and Ephemera. Each series is further divided into sub-series, reflecting either subject, type of material, activity, or function. FINDING AID NOTE Published hard copy and electronic LOCATION OF ORIGINALS The bulk of the materials in the collection are copies of originals. Some correspondence is in the manuscript category. The originals that exist are located in the institutions that produced them, such as the National Archives and Records Administration for congressional items and newspaper companies. OWNERSHIP AND CUSTODIAL Records in this collection were held by Congressman HISTORY Ron Lewis and his office and were transferred to the A.B Calvin Baptist Collection and Archives in 2009 Series 1 Personal and Political Papers: This series includes material such as biographical information, campaign files (CaF), travel (trips), speeches, Congressional membership organizations—Republican Policy and House Committees (CMO), memorabilia and plaques and awards (MPA), memorandums, invitations, photographs, oaths of office (Oaths), and audiovisual materials related to campaigns (AV). Boxes 1-18 Series 2 Legislative Records: This series includes bills introduced and/or co- sponsored by Ron Lewis (Bills), committee files and briefing books (CF), subject files relating to legislative issues (SF), and speeches prepared for the floor (Speeches). Abbreviations in the sub- categories include agriculture (Ag), National Security (NS), Ways and Means (WM), Government Reform (GR), Republican Policy (RP), and House Policy (HP). Boxes 19-50 Series 3 Press and Media Collection: Includes newspaper articles (clippings), Op-ed and other writings (Op-ed), speeches, and radio and TV recordings and transcripts. An additional abbreviation is public service announcements (PSA). Boxes 51-74 Series 4 Administrative Files: Includes office guest books, schedules and activities/accomplishment reports and case file procedure (Schedules), Legislative Goals Memorandums (LGM), office operations, memorandums (memorandums), Project Files (PF), District Visits and Arrangements (DV), Staff Assignments and Information (Staff), correspondence manual, correspondence—outgoing and incoming— (CORR), Constituent Correspondence (CC), and “Dear Colleague” Letters from Lewis. Boxes 75-87 Series 5 Ephemera: Oversized items that do not fit into case boxes or flat boxes have been categorized separately. This category includes photographs; presentation items, such as flip chart note pages, posters, and a presentation check; and other framed items, such as a map of Kentucky. These items are located on the art shelves in the Archive room. Personal and Political Papers Box No. File No. Description Inclusive Dates 1 1 Biography for US Rep. Ron Lewis c.1994 – 1998 2 CaF: Supporters by County 1994 3 CaF: Special Election 1994 4 CaF: PR/Voter Research Venders 1994 5 CaF: Lewis Election 1994 6 CaF: Nat. Rep. Congressional 1994 Committee Production Services 7 CaF: Summary and Analysis of Special 1994 and General Elections 8 CaF: Correspondence 1994 9 CaF: Contract with America c. 1994 10 CaF: Tax Reform Pledges 1994 11 CAF: School Prayer 1994 12 CaF: “United We Stand America of KY” 1994-1995 13 CaF: Fliers 1994 14 CaF: NRA Campaign Brochure 1996 15 CaF: Information Gathering Campaign c. 1994-1996 16 CaF: Bush/Cheney Campaign 2003, 2006 17 CaF: Lewis Election Correspondence 1997-2006 18 CaF: Fred Thompson for President, KY c. 2008 House GOP Endorsement 19 CaF: Lincoln Days Dinner Programs 1995-1997 20 CaF: Analysis of the ’94 Congressional 1998 Elections in Western KY 21 CaF: Re-Elect Ron Lewis to Congress November 6, 2006 22 CaF: Special and General Election 1994 Correspondence 23 CaF: Campaign Speech c. 2000 24 CaF: Campaign Letterhead c. 1994 25 CaF: Forgy for Governor Bumper N/D Stickers 26 CaF: “Ron Lewis for Congress” Banner c. 1996 27 CaF: Bumper Stickers c. 1996 28 CaF: Campaign Stickers c. 1996 29 CaF: Lewis Election Data 1995 30 CaF: Conference Paper 1994 1996 Congressional Campaign By Robert J. Glenn 31 CaF: Correspondence, Invitations; 1998, 2001 Surveys; Commercial Transcript; Fundraiser 32 Trips: Martin Lee and The Democratic 1994-1996 Party 33 Trips: China 1996 34 Trips: China- Export Processing Zone 1996 53 Trips: China-American Embassy Key 1996 Officers 36 Trips: Shanghai China- American 1996 Consulate 37 Trips: Hong Kong- Briefing materials, December 20, pt. 1 1996 2 38 Trips: Hong Kong- Briefing materials, December 20, pt. 2 1996 39 Trips: American Chamber of 1996 Commerce-Beijing, China 40 Trips: China- Trade 1996-1997 41 Trips: China- Trade 1996- 1997 42 Trips: Hong Kong- Codel Kolbe, pt. 1 January 8-18, 1997 43 Trips: Hong Kong- Codel Kolbe, pt. 2 January 8-18, 1997 44 Trips: Hong Kong- Codel Kolbe January 8-18, Itinerary 1997 45 Trips: Hong Kong- Codel Kolbe January 12-18 Itinerary 1997 46 Trips: National Security Trip to February 1998 Middle-East 47 Trips: Codel Hastert; Speaker’s Drug 1998 Taskforce; Texas/Mexico Information Packet 48 Trips: US Army Central Command, February 19, Kuwait Information Packet 1999 49 Trips: Kuwait, Photos with Commanders February 1999 50 Trips: Russia, Correspondence May 4-5, 1999 51 Trips: Madrid, Spain- Briefing Book April 2002 52 Trips: Madrid, Spain- pt. 1 April 18-22, 2002 53 Trips: Madrid, Spain- pt. 2 April 18-22, 2002 3 54 Trips: Japan, China, Thailand, Sri February 17-27, Lanka, Hong Kong, Briefing Packet pt. 1 2005 55 Trips: Japan, China, Thailand, Sri February 17-27, Lanka, Hong Kong, Briefing Packet pt. 2 2005 56 Trips: China- The Better Hong Kong April 2006 Foundation Information Packet 57 Speeches: Fort Knox and Louisville 1994 Naval Ordinance Closings 58 Speeches: Colombia/HCA August 22, 1996 59 Speeches: International Trade 2003 Committee Hearing/ Steel Consuming Industry 60 CMO: House Republican Conference;