Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, U.S. Senator and Representative, businessman, Texas county judge, and decorated World War Two veteran, was born in Mission, Texas, on February 11, 1921. He ran for Vice-President of the United States in 1988 on the Democratic ticket with then Massachusettes governor Michael Dukakis. He served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. Bentsen kept up a full schedule until 1998, when he retired after a decline in his health. He died on May 23, 2006.
Correspondence, printed material, creative works, legal documents, financial documents, minutes, photographic materials, sound recordings, and works of art make up the papers of Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. (1930-1994, bulk 1971-1993). Bentsen and his staff created the bulk of the material during his term as United States Senator from Texas (1971-1993), though the papers also contain records from Bentsen's term as United States Secretary of the Treasury (1993-1994). A limited amount of the material documents Bentsen's career in business and his private life. Few records exist from his term in the United States House of Representatives (1948-1955).
The material is organized in ten subgroups. The first seven subgroups consist of records from Bentsen's Senate offices.
Casework and personnel files are restricted for 75 years after creation, up to the year 2068.
Use of some audio and video materials is by appointment only; please contact sound archivist.
Use of digital material by appointment only; please contact digital archivist.
A portion of these papers is stored remotely. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.
Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr., Papers, 1921-1998, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin
Click on a subgroup link below to view the detailed inventory for that subgroup.
Projects and casework were the primary Constituent Service work of Senator Bentsen's staff. Typical projects, undertaken on behalf of groups, municipalities, or the state itself, included efforts to receive federal grants or designations, to gain inclusion in federal programs, and to affect the decisions of federal agencies. Cases involved specific individuals requiring assistance with Federal agencies and government departments, such as the Veterans and Social Security Administrations; the Internal Revenue Service; Immigration and Naturalization Service; Departments of Agriculture, Health, Education, Welfare, Justice and Labor; and branches of the armed forces.
Staff in Bentsen's Austin office performed most casework and project work. Dallas staff managed some local cases. The State Director, reporting to the Administrative Assistant, supervised the work. Bentsen's Administrative Assistant handled some special constituent problems personally.
Other routine constituent services included applications to the military service academies, coordinated by Houston staff, and routine congratulatory correspondence, managed by Dallas staff.
Project Files created by Bentsen's Constituent Services staff include correspondence, reference and research materials, and administrative documents. The files provide an overview of the sorts of projects Texas communities undertook during Bentsen's term, as well as the methods and relationships Bensten's staff drew on to assist them.
Because of their private nature, individual case files are closed for 75 years from date of creation. The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History did not retain service academy files.
For routine constituent correspondence, see Correspondence Subgroup.
Project Files created by Bentsen's Constituent Services staff include internal memos and correspondence with constituents and state and federal agencies, printed material such as reports and clippings, photographic materials, legal documents, and cartographic materials. Three series: Water resources projects, 1971-1979; Sequentially filed projects, 1971-1989; Project files arranged by county, 1982-1992.
The separate water resources project files may reflect Bentsen's membership in the Public Works Committee (renamed Environment and Public Works in 1977), which considered appropriations for such projects. The Sequentially filed projects series contains the bulk of the files. Staff assigned each case a descriptive title and a reference number, by which the files are organized in their particular year. In the reference number, the digits after the hyphen represent the year of the project (e.g., 1-77 for the first project in 1977).
Typically, the files include a coversheet, which lists actions taken by Bentsen's office on different dates. The later files often also include "snapshots" printed from the office computer system used to track case and project work. These documents state the status of the project, contacts made at federal agencies, actions taken, and the names and addresses of involved constituents. Some projects, such as the unsuccessful effort to prevent the closure of Ellington Air Force Base (1974-1981), involved many staff over a long period of time. In contrast, "one-shot" projects required only a single telephone call or letter to close.
The contents of the files vary. Generally, they include correspondence with constituents and administrators in federal agencies. Many of the files include the CMS work orders for Bentsen's correspondence. Occasionally, the constituent's original contact included printed material, such as reports and clippings. Some of the files include notes created by the staff member who worked on the project. Other materials in the files can include photographic materials, legal documents, and cartographic materials. In a few instances, legislative staff became involved in the project and their communication with the Senator is documented.
Lists and reports tracking project work can be found in the Austin office files, including several card files indexing projects 1971-1989.