Congressman Lane Evans Collection SMS 2016-10 Congressman Lane Evans Collection
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Congressman Lane Evans Collection SMS 2016-10 Congressman Lane Evans Collection Dates: 1982-2006 (inclusive) Approximately 231 cubic feet (234 boxes) and 12 linear feet (audiovisual materials housed on shelves in cold storage) Congressman Lane Evans and his staff sent materials from his office to a Federal Records Center for storage throughout his congressional career. Congressman Lane Evans donated these materials to WIU in 2007. Abstract The Congressman Lane Evans Collection consists of materials generated and received by the office of Congressman Lane Evans during his twelve terms in the United States House of Representatives representing the Seventeenth District of the state of Illinois. The following is a brief timeline of Congressman Lane Evans’s life, with emphasis on his congressional career. After each session of congress, issues of particular interest to Evans are listed. These are far from the only issues he addressed throughout his career, but listing them provides an idea of some of the topics well- documented throughout this collection, as well as the years in which Evans addressed these issues. August 4, 1951: Born in Rock Island 1969: Graduated from Alleman High School, Rock Island 1969: Joined the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed in Okinawa, Japan 1971: Received honorable discharge from Marine Corps 1974: Received a BA from Augustana College 1977: Graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. 1978-1983: Partner in the Community Legal Clinic in Rock Island o Legal counsel for local chapters of the NAACP and the ACLU 1980: Worked in the presidential campaign of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy 1982: Elected as Illinois 17th District’s Congressional Representative 1983-1984 (98th Congress): Member of Agriculture Committee and Committee on Veterans’ Affairs; founding member, Populist Caucus o Issues 98th Congress: farm economy, soybeans, ag embargoes, nuclear power plant moratorium, big on agriculture trade, anti-Reagan, Central America issues, PTSD 1984: Difficult reelection – worked hard to win over constituents 1985-1986 (99th Congress): Member of Agriculture and VA committees, chairman of the Vietnam Veterans in Congress, and co-chairman of the Congressional Populist Caucus o Issues 99th Congress: anti-Reagan, farmers, factory workers, unemployment, farm credit, GI jobs training, Central America, Vets PTSD (both on VA committee and through caucus), government contracts for businesses (constituent services), production control of crops 1986: Cosponsored conference held by the “National Liberal Coalition” 1987-1988 (100th Congress): Member of the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families, the Agriculture Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and chairman of Congressman Lane Evans Collection SMS 2016-10 the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. Co-chairman of the Vietnam-era Veterans in Congress and of the Congressional Populist Caucus o Issues 100th Congress: factory, farmers, jobs training, government contracts, small businesses, AG committee, PTSD, vets benefits 1988: Left Agriculture Committee for a seat on the Armed Services Committee 1989-1990 (101th Congress): Member of the Armed Services Committee, the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families; chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations; co-chairman of the Vietnam-Era Veterans in Congress and of the Congressional Populist Caucus o Issues 101st Congress: economy, job training, local business, PTSD, vets benefits, anti-Bush, Agent Orange, limit production of B-2 stealth bomber 1991-1992 (102nd Congress): Member of the Armed Services Committee, the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families; chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations; co-chairman of the Vietnam-Era Veterans in Congress and the Congressional Populist Caucus o Issues 102nd Congress: anti-Bush, economy, deficit, budget crisis, agent orange and the like, defense, anti-Iraq war, passed agent orange legislation 1992: IL Redistricting 1992: Bid for chair of Veterans’ Affairs committee failed 1993-1994 (103rd Congress): Member of the House National Security Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee; co-chairman of the Vietnam-Era Veterans in Congress o Issues 103rd Congress: gulf war syndrome – successful legislation, landmines 1994: Began investigating Gulf War Syndrome 1995-1996 (104th Congress): Member of the House National Security Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee; co-chairman of the Vietnam-Era Veterans in Congress o Issues 104th Congress: anti-NAFTA, GATT, landmines (moratorium) and lasers, children of agent orange vets (spina bifida – FY1997 – won), gulf war syndrome, anti-defense spending, anti-Republican takeover (welfare, medicare, assault weapons ban, government regulations), abortion, minimum wage 1995: Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease 1995: Republicans take over Congress, rename 5 House Committees – Evans’ office begins filing research materials by subject rather than by committee 1996: Backed unsuccessful attempt to freeze defense spending 1997-1998 (105th Congress): Ranking minority member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and served on the National Security Committee; co-chair of the House Ethanol Caucus o Issues 105th Congress: pro-labor, land mines, Ranking VA Democrat, medical VA, gulf war syndrome (legislation introduced with Wellstone), partial birth abortions, minimum wage, anti-anti-“salting,” Amtrak workers, VA benefits, VA smokers’ benefits (for), veterans burial in Arlington – tighter, Export-Import Bank Reauthorization amendment, anti-child/prison labor, landmines, ethanol tax credit, national policy on hog farm pollution 1998: Publically announces Parkinson’s diagnosis 1999-2000 (106th Congress): Ranking minority member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and served on the National Security Committee; co-chair of the House Ethanol Caucus Congressman Lane Evans Collection SMS 2016-10 o Issues 106th Congress: environment, unions, veterans benefits, social security, constituents, nursing homes for veterans, veterans health care, veteran owned businesses (Small Business Administration), landmines 2001: 17th District redistricted again (reapportionment) 2001-2002 (107th Congress): Ranking minority member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee; He also served on the National Security Committee and the Armed Services Committee, and was co-chair of the House Ethanol Caucus o Issues 107th Congress: defense spending, assault weapons, stem cell research, homeless veterans, job placement for veterans, health outreach for veterans, Asian “comfort women” apology from Japan 2003-2004 (108th Congress): Ranking minority member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and served on the Armed Services Committee; House chairperson of the Vietnam Era Veterans in Congress; co-chair of the Alcohol Fuels Caucus, the Congressional Working Group on Parkinsons’ Disease, the International Workers Rights Caucus and the Mississippi River Caucus o Issues 108th Congress: stem cell research, homelessness, job placement 2004: FEC suit filed in federal court charging the 17th District Victory Fund and the Rock Island Democratic Central Committee with misappropriation of funds from unions 2004: Endorsed Barak Obama in Senate primary 2005-2006 (109th Congress): Co-chair of the Alcohol Fuels Caucus, the Congressional Working Group on Parkinson's Disease, the International Workers Rights Caucus and the Mississippi River Caucus; Committee assignments: Committees on Veterans’ Affairs (ranking member) and Armed Services, Subcommittees on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Economic Opportunity, Readiness, Tactical Air and Land Forces o Issues 109th Congress: veterans benefits November 5, 2014: Passed away in East Moline, Illinois The Congressman Lane Evans Collection is arranged in eleven series. Some of these series are based on the original arrangement of the materials by Evans and his staff. Other small series were formed for the preservation of materials in the collection, such as photographs and audiovisual materials. With 173 boxes, the Legislative Files is by far the largest series in this collection. This series is broken down into subseries based on congress and then further divided topically. This arrangement provides consistency across the series and does not reflect the arrangement used by Evans and his staff, although the original arrangement of materials within folders was maintained whenever possible. Prior to 1993, Evans’s legislative files consisted of constituent correspondence and legislative research files which were kept together, arranged by congress and then committee. Starting in 1993, the legislative files were kept by subject rather than committee, and they were often kept by the legislative assistant responsible for a particular subject area. This is also when constituent correspondence more regularly was filed separately from the legislative files. Later in his career, Evans’s activities in the state of Illinois, such as grants and projects, often intertwined with his committee and legislative work. His work for veterans, for example, included projects, grants, and correspondence with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on behalf of local veterans and veterans’ organizations, as well as work on behalf of veterans nationwide in his role as ranking minority member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In addition, much of the legislation