Maura Patricia (Pat) Kelly Committee Staff, U.S. House of Representatives House Committee on Un-American Activities (1957–1967) House Committee on Rules (1977–1979) Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives Representative Edna Kelly (1967–1969) Representative Martha Griffiths (1969–1975) Representative Matthew McHugh (1975–1977) Editor, Daily Digest, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives (1979–2011) Oral History Interview Final Edited Transcript July 21, 2008 September 4, 2008 December 16, 2008 May 29, 2009 October 26, 2009 Office of the Historian U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. I think that’s the most important thing: to get to know people, and to get to know them on a personal basis. And just not mouth somebody else’s ideas or words that you hear about. Get your ideas out of your own head because we all have them, basically; we don’t share them, necessarily. But I think that’s a pretty good thing. But you have to have that desire to come here and work, and not be coming here to have people see you on the floor, or see you in a committee, or see you there, and then hope that you have some idea of what’s going on, that’s not it. We’re not television stars by any means, especially when they take the camera away…anyway, you have to have a deep desire for it. And I, apparently, must have had it after seeing what had gone on in my life and to have hoped I could make a difference. But at least be in the process of trying to help others. I think that’s the bottom line, always to do that. Maura Patricia (Pat) Kelly October 26, 2009 Table of Contents Interview Abstract i Interviewee Biography i Editing Practices iii Citation Information iii Interviewer Biography iv Interview One 1 Interview Two 38 Interview Three 76 Interview Four 100 Interview Five 135 Notes 168 Abstract In 1957, Maura Patricia (Pat) Kelly, a recent graduate of Marymount College in New York, reported to Capitol Hill for her new job. But while the start of Pat Kelly’s House career followed a storyline familiar to many Hill staffers, she was no ordinary newcomer. For many years, politics were the Kelly family business in Brooklyn, New York. Her grandfather and father had held prominent political appointments, and her mother, Edna Kelly, had won election to the U.S. House in 1949. Pat Kelly was eager to participate in the political process; as she once put it, “I just felt the urge to do something.” That impulse led to a House career that spanned 54-years, beginning as a researcher for the House Un-American Activities Committee, and continuing as a legislative assistant in her mother’s congressional office and, later, that of Martha Griffiths of Michigan. More than half of Kelly’s time in the House was spent in the Clerk of the House’s Office of Legislative Operations, where she became the longtime editor of the House Daily Digest from 1979 to her retirement in 2011. In her series of interviews, Kelly discusses her mother’s early political career, first election to the House, and subsequent work on the Foreign Affairs Committee and on behalf of legislation related to women’s rights. Kelly’s recollections of the Congressional Staff Club, and her personal memories of leading women Representatives, such as Martha Griffiths and Leonor Sullivan of Missouri, and the effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, offer unique perspectives on the institution. Biography Maura Patricia (Pat) Kelly was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 5, 1934, daughter of Edward L. and Edna Flannery Kelly; she had one brother, William. Her family had long been active in Brooklyn politics. Her paternal grandfather, William Kelly, served as Postmaster of Brooklyn during the Woodrow Wilson administration and, later, as the Clerk of Kings County. Edward Kelly became a lawyer, served as a City Court Justice of New York City, and was active in Brooklyn Democratic politics as head of the Madison Democratic Club. Edna Kelly also was politically active and helped revive the women’s organization of the Madison Democratic Club, and would later work as a legislative researcher of the New York Assembly. Pat Kelly was educated in parochial schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan. She attended Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, from 1951 to 1955, earning a bachelor of arts degree in political science and history. After Edward’s death in a car accident in 1942, Edna Kelly became increasingly active in Brooklyn and New York state politics as a protégé of Irwin Steingut, the local political boss and minority leader in the New York Assembly. When New York Representative Andrew L. Somers died during the 81st Congress in 1949, Kings County leaders chose Edna Kelly as the Democratic nominee to run for the vacant seat. Kelly won the special election, beginning a 20-year career in which she http://history.house.gov/Oral-History/ i became a leading member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a firm advocate for advancing women’s rights. Pat Kelly arrived to work as a staffer on Capitol Hill in 1957, later recalling, “I just felt the urge to do something.” For a decade she was employed as a research analyst for the House Committee on Un-American Activities. She then worked as a legislative assistant in three Member offices: for her mother, during her final term from 1967 to 1969; for Michigan Representative Martha Griffiths, 1969 to 1975; and for freshman Representative Matthew McHugh of New York, 1975 to 1977. She then served as a legislative assistant for the House Committee on Rules, before joining the Clerk’s Office in 1979. For the next 32 years, Kelly edited the House Daily Digest in the Congressional Record— making her responsible for compiling information on committee meetings, subject matter, witnesses, and actions on legislation. Pat Kelly was long active in the Congressional Staff Club during its heyday from the 1950s through 1970s. She served as an officer of the club, eventually becoming its president in 1976. For her work on behalf of the large and active staff community, Roll Call newspaper gave her its 1976 Staffer of the Year Award. On March 1, 2011, when Pat Kelly retired with 54 years of service, House leaders celebrated her career on the floor and praised her for her devotion to the institution. Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, reflecting on Kelly’s role as longtime editor of the Daily Digest, “its clear Pat has not merely recorded the House history—she’s been a rich part of it, too.” Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California described Kelly as “a committed public servant, a woman of this House, a key thread in the fabric of the congressional staff.” In retirement, Kelly resides in Alexandria, Virginia. http://history.house.gov/Oral-History/ ii Editing Practices In preparing interview transcripts for publication, the editors sought to balance several priorities: • As a primary rule, the editors aimed for fidelity to the spoken word and the conversational style in accord with generally accepted oral history practices. • The editors made minor editorial changes to the transcripts in instances where they believed such changes would make interviews more accessible to readers. For instance, excessive false starts and filler words were removed when they did not materially affect the meaning of the ideas expressed by the interviewee. • In accord with standard oral history practices, interviewees were allowed to review their transcripts, although they were encouraged to avoid making substantial editorial revisions and deletions that would change the conversational style of the transcripts or the ideas expressed therein. • The editors welcomed additional notes, comments, or written observations that the interviewees wished to insert into the record and noted any substantial changes or redactions to the transcript. • Copy-editing of the transcripts was based on the standards set forth in The Chicago Manual of Style. The first reference to a Member of Congress (House or Senate) is underlined in the oral history transcript. For more information about individuals who served in the House or Senate, please refer to the online Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, http://bioguide.congress.gov and the “People Search” section of the History, Art & Archives website, http://history.house.gov. For more information about the U.S. House of Representatives oral history program contact the Office of House Historian at (202) 226-1300, or via email at [email protected]. Citation Information When citing this oral history interview, please use the format below: “Maura Patricia (Pat) Kelly Oral History Interview,” Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, May 25, 2012. http://history.house.gov/Oral-History/ iii Interviewer Biography Matt Wasniewski is the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he has held since 2010. He has worked in the House as a historical editor and manager since 2002. Matt served as the editor-in-chief of Women in Congress, 1917–2006 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2006), Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007 (GPO, 2008), and the Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822–2012 (GPO, forthcoming 2013). He helped to create the House’s first oral history program, focusing on collecting the institutional memory of current and former Members, longtime staff, and support personnel. He earned his Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2004. His prior work experience includes several years as the associate historian and communications director at the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, and, in the early 1990s, as the sports editor for a northern Virginia newspaper.