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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue,
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue,
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
Domestic Council
DEAN
L. OVERMAN
Associate
Director for Policy and Planning:
Files,
1975-77
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Materials
on
QUANTITY
2.6 linear feet
(ca. 5,200 pages)
DONOR
Gerald R. Ford
(accession number 77-37)
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 Ford has
donated to the
Prepared by Dennis A. Daellenbach, January 1982
[s:\bin\findaid\overman, dean -files.doc]
BIOGRAPHICAL
INFORMATION
Dean
L. Overman
1961‑65 Student,
1966 Student,
1966‑69 Student,
University of California School of Law,
1969‑70 Attorney, Legal
Assistance Foundation of Chicago,
1970‑76 Attorney, firm of D'Ancona, Pflaum, Wyatt, and Riskind,
July‑Oct.
1972 Attorney, Office
of Legal Services, Office of Economic
Sept. 1975‑Aug.
1976 White House Fellow serving as
an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller
Aug. 1976‑Jan.
1977 Associate Director for
Policy and Planning, Domestic Council
INTRODUCTION
The files of Dean L. Overman cover the period September 1975 ‑ January
1977. They reflect Overman's
activities as an assistant to the Vice President during his tenure as a White
House Fellow, and his subsequent service on the Domestic Council staff as an
associate director for policy and planning.
From September
1975 to late August 1976, Overman was a White House
Fellow assigned as an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and
reporting to Jack Veneman, counselor to the Vice
President. Initially he was involved
with the Public Forums on Domestic Policy, townhall
meetings that the Vice President chaired at various locations around the
country. In early 1976, partially as a
result of
Overman transferred to
the Domestic Council in late August 1976 when his year as a White House Fellow
expired. As associate director for
policy and planning, his position until the end of the Ford administration, he
inherited special projects and planning activities previously handled by Quern
and Allen Moore. Overman
served primarily as a policy coordinator rather than a formulator, working most
closely with Quern in the latter's new position as deputy presidential
assistant for domestic affairs. His
responsibilities included compiling both questions and answers (Q's and A's)
briefing books for President Ford and responses to article requests for the
President's stand on various issues.
Another duty involved coordination of some of the decision papers for
the President on bills passed by Congress.
In addition, Overman continued his study of
federal, state, and local government fiscal conditions, and contributed to the
initial drafts of Ford's valedictory state of the union message. As part of his background material for the
annual message, he received copies of agency and department reports describing
their major accomplishments during the Ford administration and suggesting
possible legislative initiatives for the new Congress.
During the last
two weeks of the Ford presidency, Overman also worked
on the administration's policy toward
In early 1976,
Richard Parsons of the Council staff assumed the responsibility for helping to
coordinate the executive branch's response to the report and a congressional
bill adapted from it. Then, in October
1976, Parsons drafted a decision memorandum to the President on various
alternatives for dealing with the island.
Rejecting the compact of permanent union format, Ford opted instead to
propose making
The subject file
is the largest series in the Overman files, combining
material from his service on both the Vice Presidential and Domestic Council
staffs. The bulk of his papers as
assistant to the Vice President relate to the study of federal, state, and
local government fiscal conditions. The
material from this early period does not document the White House Fellowship
program or the Public Forums on Domestic Policy, nor does it cover Overman's service on the regulatory reform task force. From the Domestic Council period, the file
reflects Overman's direct involvement with the state
of the union message; enrolled bills memoranda, especially the act to promote
research and development of electric vehicles; and his continuing study on
government fiscal conditions. Other sections
of the subject file, including article requests, agency memoranda, and weekly
status reports from the Domestic Council staff, are reproductions which he
accumulated in his capacity as a policy coordinator. A small quantity of these
reproductions appear to be Quern's copies.
The other three
series are considerably smaller than the subject file. The question and answer file contains short,
one or two page items drafted by the Domestic Council staff both on issues of
national concern, including gun control, abortion, and energy policy, and on
local topics, such as oil price inequities in California, that affected only a
limited area. Serving as campaign
briefing papers, the Q's and A's are loaded with ringing defense of Ford
administration programs and sharp attacks on Jimmy Carter's proposals. There is much duplication in the file, with
updated Q's and A's binders containing many of the earlier items that did not
need rewriting.
In addition to a
copy of the report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on
The
chronological file spans Overman's entire service,
with the bulk of it dating from his work as an assistant to Vice President
Rockefeller. The most prominent items,
in addition to the usual internal memoranda, are courtesy thank you letters,
drafted by Overman for Rockefeller's signature and
sent to participants in the domestic policy forums and attendees at meetings
Rockefeller held on the administration's proposed Energy Independence
Authority.
Related
Materials (January 1982):
Other files in the
Ford Library contain a variety of material related to subjects in the Overman files. The
Domestic Council files of Arthur Quern and, to a larger degree, James Cannon
reflect some of the same activities.
Within the administrative series of the Cannon files there are more
detailed presidential issues books for the campaign period, compiled by Pat
McKee who worked under Overman. The files of Ray Hanzlik
have extensive documentation on the Public Forums on Domestic Policy, and the
Records Office's Legislative Case Files cover the decision memoranda on
enrolled bills. Material on
Series
Descriptions
1‑4 Subject File, 1976-77. (1.4 linear feet)
Correspondence,
memoranda, briefing papers, reports, article digests, congressional bills,
articles and clippings, and printed material.
The major topic from Overman's service with
Vice President Rockefeller is the fiscal condition of state and local
governments; major subjects from his Domestic Council service include article
requests, enrolled bills memoranda, administration initiatives, and the 1977
state of the union address.
Arranged
alphabetically by subject, and chronologically thereunder.
4‑5 Questions and Answers (Q's and
A's) File, 1976. (0.6 linear feet)
Information in
question and answer format contributed by the Domestic Council staff for use in
the President's campaign briefing books.
National topics include gun control, abortion, busing, and energy
policy; local areas of emphasis include
Arranged
by briefing book, or by correspondence which is arranged chronologically thereunder.
6 Puerto Rico File,
1975-77. (0.4 linear feet)
Memoranda,
reports, press releases, and congressional bills relating to the congressional
bills and Presidential decision memoranda that developed from the report of the
Ad Hoc Advisory Group on
Arranged
chronologically.
7 Chronological File,
1975-77. (0.2 linear feet)
Copies
of Overman's outgoing letters and memoranda, briefing
papers and reports, primarily dating from his service as an assistant to Vice President
Rockefeller. Included are materials on
revenue sharing, and numerous courtesy thank you letters, under the signature
of Rockefeller, for meetings the Vice President held on the Energy Independence
Authority.
Arranged
chronologically.
Container List
Alaskan Highways
Alaskan Highways
‑ Study Outline
Anti ‑
Lobbying Laws
Article Requests
(1)-(5)
Article Requests
‑ Article Copies
Budget
Information
Cities in School
Earthquakes
Electric
Vehicles
Energy
Enrolled Bills
Memos (1)-(3)
Federal ‑
State ‑ Local Government Fiscal Condition (1)‑(5)
Federal ‑
State ‑ Local Government Fiscal Condition ‑ Article Digests (1)-(3)
Financial
Environmental Indicators for City Government (1)
Financial
Environmental Indicators for City Government (2)‑(3)
General
Goldwin Crime
Proposal
Health White
Paper
Housing,
Community Affairs, and Communications
Initiatives ‑
Domestic and Economic (1)-(2)
Initiatives ‑
Foreign Policy
Initiatives ‑
New Domestic Ideas
Issues
Legislative
Proposals (1)-(3)
Presidential
Advisory Committee Recommendations
Shafer
(Governor) Project
Social Programs
State of the
State of the
State of the
State of the
Union Materials (1)-(3)
Urban Policy
Weekly Status
Reports (1)-(2)
Questions and
Answers (Q's and A's) File
Briefing Book
(1)-(2)
Briefing Book ‑
Briefing Book ‑
Illinois/Iowa/Missouri
Correspondence
(1)-(4)
Magnetic Tape in
Gergen's Office (1)-(2)
Received from
Associate Directors, September‑November 1976 (1)-(4)
Received, up to
Background
Material
Chronological
(1)-(9)
Report of Ad Hoc
Advisory Group on
September
1975-January 1977 (1)-(6)
