Friedersdorf, Max

Congressional Relations Office

MAX L. FRIEDERSDORF

Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs:

Files, 1974‑77

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Material compiled by Friedersdorf from August 1974 until January 1977. The files document Friedersdorf's duties from August until December 1974 as deputy assistant for legislative affairs responsible for liaison with the House of Representatives. The files also illustrate Friedersdorf's enlarged duties as head of the Congressional Relations Office from January 1975 until the end of the administration during which time he was responsible for all liaison between members of Congress and the White House.

QUANTITY

6.4 linear feet (ca. 12,800 pages)

DONOR

Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-56)

ACCESS

Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT

Gerald R. Ford has donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Leesa Tobin, July 1985

[s:\bin\findaid\friedersdorf, max - files.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Max L. Friedersdorf

July 7 Born in Grammar, Indiana

1952 BA, Franklin College

1952‑55 City editor, Franklin Evening Star

1955‑60 Reporter, Louisville Times, Indianapolis News, and the Chicago Daily News

1961‑70 Administrative Assistant, Congressman Richard Roudebush

1970‑71 Associate Director for Congressional Relations, Office of Economic Opportunity

1971‑73 Special Assistant for Congressional Relations, White House

1973‑74 Deputy Assistant to the President for the House of Representatives

1975‑77 Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

1977‑79 Staff director, Senate Republican Policy Committee

1979‑80 Chairman, Federal Election Commission

1981 Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

1982‑83 U.S. Counsel General to Bermuda

1983‑84 Vice President, Pepsico, Inc.

1985- Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

INTRODUCTION

When Gerald R. Ford became president in August 1974, Max L. Friedersdorf was serving as deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs. His special responsibility was coordination of White House liaison with the House of Representatives. He worked directly under William E. Timmons, the head of the Congressional Relations Office. In January 1975 Friedersdorf became the assistant to the president for legislative affairs and head of the office. He had overall responsibility for liaison between the president and Congress. The staff he directed included deputy assistants for the House and Senate and several special assistants under them.

Most of this collection deals with Friedersdorf's activities after becoming head of the overall congressional relations operation in January 1975. There are only a few folders in the chronological file concerning his activities as liaison with House members for the first five months of the administration. (The files of Vernon Loen and Charles Leppert include materials created by Friedersdorf in his role as liaison with the House.)

Friedersdorf and his staff were involved in virtually all aspects of presidential relations with members of Congress. Tasks were often routine such as clearing personnel appointments, monitoring congressional invitations to White House social events and notifying congressional offices of various White House actions. More importantly however, the office was responsible for arranging meetings and telephone calls between the President and members of Congress, informing the president and his staff of congressional views and the status of legislation and lobbying for the administration's point of view on proposed legislation.

This collection documents Friedersdorf's involvement in these activities. While much of the lobbying of members of Congress on specific legislation was carried out orally and documentation is sketchy, there are materials compiled and occasional notes taken by Friedersdorf during meetings with members and the president which indicate how the office worked. Significant materials also appear on many major domestic and foreign policy issues such as the president's energy program and the end of U.S. involvement in Indochina.

Related Materials (July 1985):

Material on the responsibilities and activities of the Congressional Relations Office is located in the files of Friedersdorf's office colleagues, especially William Timmons and Vernon Loen. The files of individual White House staff will contain information on specific pieces of legislation in their respective policy areas. In White House Central Files, categories LE (Legislation) and FG 30 through FG 37 (Congress) provide some overview of White House relations with Congress.

Series Descriptions

1‑3 Memo Chronological File, 1974‑77. (1.0 linear feet)

Copies of memoranda from Friedersdorf to White House staff and the president. Memos for the period before January 1975 were primarily prepared for William Timmons, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, and concern requests from members of the House relayed through Friedersdorf. After January 1975 the focus is much broader. Memos were prepared by Friedersdorf in his role as director of the White House congressional relations operation.

Arranged chronologically.

3‑10 Administrative Subject File, 1975‑77. (2.8 linear feet)

Schedule proposals, briefing papers, memoranda, correspondence, talking points, agendas, and recommended phone call forms. Materials concern presidential meetings with members of Congress, bipartisan and Republican leadership; presidential trips; White House social invitations; the 1975 State of the Union; presidential vetoes and general information on the 94th Congress. Also included here are correspondence, applications and clearance forms on congressional-sponsored candidates for appointments to government jobs and requests from the public for jobs in government.

Arranged alphabetically by subject and thereunder either chronologically or alphabetically.

10‑16 Legislative Subject File, 1975‑77. (2.4 linear feet)

Memoranda, background material, draft legislation, and status reports and testimony transcripts concerning legislative issues in Congress. Prominent subjects include the CIA investigations, the proposed consumer protection agency, energy, Indochina refugees, regulatory reform, surface mining, and the Mayaguez seizure.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Container List

1 Memo Chronological File

8/75 - 10/16/75

2 Memo Chronological File

10/17/75 - 9/76

3 Memo Chronological File

10/76 - 1/77 (1)-(5)

Administrative Subject File

Appropriations Committee ‑ Labor and Health Subcommittee

Bill Signing Ceremonies (1)-(2)

Bipartisan Leadership Meetings (1)-(4)

Campaign (1)-(5)

4 Administrative Subject File

China Trips ‑ Members of Congress

Congressional ‑ Government Relations

Defense Strategy Group

Domestic Council Study ‑ Federal Social Problems

Environmental Coalition

Ford, Betty

Freedom of Information Requests

Legislative Interdepartmental Group

Legislative Opportunity Districts

94th Congress ‑ Key Votes

94th Congress ‑ Committee Assignment and New Members

94th Congress ‑ Pending Legislation

94th Congress ‑ Working Philosophy of the Congressional Relations Office

Personnel A ‑ E

5 Administrative Subject File

Personnel F ‑ Z

6 Administrative Subject File

Presidential Meetings with House Members, Jan. 1975 - Jan. 1977

7 Administrative Subject File

Presidential Meetings with Senate Members, Jan. 1975 - Dec. 1976

8 Administrative Subject File

Presidential Schedule Proposals, Senate (1)-(3)

Presidential Schedule Proposals, House (1)-(4)

Presidential Trips (1)-(3)

Recommended Presidential Telephone Calls

Republican Leadership Meetings (1)-(5)

9 Administrative Subject File

Sequoia Trips, 1975

Social Invitations, House and Senate (1)-(12)

10 Administrative Subject File

State of the Union, 1975

State of the Union, 1975 ‑ Congressional Reaction Vetoes

Legislative Subject File

Abortion

Agriculture Research Policy

Angola

Antitrust

Arab Boycott

Auto Emissions

Big Pine Lake Project, Indiana

Block Grants

Budget ‑ FY 1976

Budget ‑ FY 1977

Busing

Child Care

CIA Investigations (1)-(5)

11 Legislative Subject File

Clean Air Act Amendments

Community Services Administration

Coastal Zone Management Act Amendments

Common Situs Picketing

Consumer Protection (1)-(3)

Crime/Gun Control

Defense Procurement

Diego Garcia Presidential Determination

Eagles Nest Wilderness Area (Colorado)

Education

Economy (1)-(2)

12 Legislative Subject File

Energy (1)-(9)

13 Legislative Subject File

Estate and Gift Tax

Farm Bill, 1975

Filibuster Rule

Finnish Icebreakers

Food Stamps

Federal Election Campaign Legislation, 1976 (1)-(2)

Federal Employees ‑ Political Activities

Federal Energy Administration Extension

GI Benefits

Hathaway (Stanley) Nomination for Secretary of the Interior

Indochina ‑ Refugees

Indochina ‑ U.S. Involvement (1)-(3)

14 Legislative Subject File

Indochina ‑ U.S. Involvement (4)

International Monetary Fund Reform

Land Use ‑ Federal Planning

Legislative Encroachment on Executive Power

Mariana Islands

Mayaguez Seizure

Micronesia

Middle East

Military Construction

Minimum Wage

National Health Insurance

Navratilova, Martina

No Fault Auto Insurance

Office of Science and Technology

Office of Telecommunications Policy

Open Government Meetings

Overseas Voting Rights Act

Pakistan

Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation

Postcard Voter Registration

Public Broadcasting

Public Works Employment

Railroads

Regulatory Reform (1)-(3)

Gerald R. Ford Library

1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114