Congressman David Hobson Papers

The Congressman David Hobson Papers consist entirely of the records of David Hobson during his 8 years serving in the Ohio Senate and his 18 years as a U. S. Congressman representing Ohio's Seventh District from 1982 to 2008. The collection contains few personal papers of Congressman Hobson, and there are no materials prior to his time in political office. The collection is divided into 12 series.

Series I: Congressional Legislation (102nd-110th Congress), is divided into four subseries including: IA, Legislative Issues and Debates; IB: Congressional Bills and Resolutions; IC: Signed Letters and Sponsored Legislation; and ID: Thank You and Congratulation Letters.

Subseries IA, Legislative Issues and Debates, contains all materials related to the House of Representatives dealing with legislative and political topics, special events, political party agendas, and Congressman Hobson's House floor activities. This series includes records and other various papers on key political debates for the 102nd-110th Congress, such as the President Clinton-era balanced budget proposal, the investigation into House speaker Newt Gingrich, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Brady Bill. The subseries also contains the Legislative Activity Guides and voting records for Congressman Hobson.

Subseries IB, Congressional Bills and Resolutions, contains numbered legislation-both proposed and passed-and miscellaneous House resolutions and proclamations. Researchers will find that files for some resolutions contain a great amount of material that also falls under the heading of other series and subseries within this collection, such as newspaper clippings, committee testimony, Congressional colleague letters, and general correspondence. However, most files contain nothing more than the basic bill and some general information used by Congressman Hobson and his office staff during the review of the material.

Subseries IC, Signed Letters and Sponsored Legislation, houses all political and Congressional letters either signed or co-signed by Congressman Hobson, as well as legislation which he either sponsored or co-sponsored.

Subseries ID, Thank You and Congratulation Letters, is a unique grouping within the collection. It contains thank you letters, occasionally with detailed political and personal information, from a variety of sources including constituents, executives and directors or organizations and associations, university leaders, local and city politicians, diplomats, the White House and the President's Cabinet, and the President of the United States. Also included is a small collection of letters sent from governments around the world to Congressman Hobson following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Finally, the subseries includes a small group of letters congratulating Congressmen Hobson for a number of reasons, including upon being appointed to a House subcommittee, winning re-election to Congress, and similar events.

Series II, Constituent Letters, is the largest series in the collection, composed of 54 record center boxes. It contains letters, faxes, emails, phone messages, cards, photographs, and newspaper clippings sent to Congressman Hobson from his constituents in the Ohio Seventh District on a variety of topics. This series contains letters from constituents asking Congressman Hobson for assistance with personal issues, such as obtaining travel Visas, resolving a social security or military medical benefits problem, and other such matters of a non-political nature. There are few responses to the requests from Congressman Hobson.

Series III, Administration, is a small series divided into three subseries including: IIIA, General Information; IIIB, Carolyn Hobson Material; and IIIC: David Hobson Material. The series holds various House floor manuals and Congressional guides, general information (such as a number of bound versions of the Congressional Quarterly), non-political papers of Congressman Hobson, and the papers of the Congressman's wife Carolyn Hobson. It includes such materials as Jefferson's Manual, Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States, and the Congressional Directories. Of particular interest to researchers are a variety of biographies (and related material) of David Hobson used by or collected by his Congressional office.

Series IV, House of Representatives Committee Material, contains all the records, research, correspondence, and other collected information used by Congressman Hobson while serving in a variety of House appropriations subcommittees and committees. Though he was a member of the National Security subcommittee, no records from this committee are included in the collection. It is divided into seven subseries including: IVA, Subcommittee on Military Construction; IVB, Base Realignment and Closure Commission; IVC, Subcommittee on Defense; IVD, Committee on the Budget; IVE, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development; IVF, Congressional Advisory Board for the Member's and Family Room; and IVG, VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations.

Subseries IVA, Subcommittee on Military Construction, contains the records of the committee during Congressman Hobson's tenure as the Chairman of the subcommittee. This subseries is of particular historical importance, containing information related to military construction during the time of the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan. The strength of this subseries is the records dealing with military family housing, military healthcare, conditions and construction at Army and Air Force bases, and new military technology. A particularly interesting group of records for researchers is the investigation reports and related documents into the testing and safety of the Italian-made Sekur-Pirelli H-53 helicopter fuel cell.

Subseries IVB, Base Realignment and Closure Commission, contains records, reports, and related documents of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) and Congressman Hobson's testimony before the commission regarding Ohio Seventh District bases. This grouping also contains papers from the Commission's base closure decisions for 1995.

Subseries IVC, Subcommittee on Defense, holds a variety of records from the House's Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations subcommittee. The records include the FY 2001 appropriations bill.

Subseries IVD, Committee on the Budget, holds the records of Congressman Hobson's time as the senior member of the House Budget Committee. The bulk of this collection is from 1995 to 1998, during which time Congressman Hobson fought for the Balanced Budget Act to significantly lower the debt of the U.S. by 2002. This subseries includes yearly appropriations bills during Hobson's tenure, President Clinton's proposed yearly budgets, and papers on a variety of financial issues addressed by the Budget Committee.

Subseries IVE, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, contains the research and appropriations records for the House's Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, for which Congressman Hobson was the Ranking Member. The subseries includes three large groupings of records. The first group contains published Energy and Water Development appropriations committee hearings and bills for the years 1993, 1996, 2000, 2003, and 2006. The second group contains records, news articles, and research related to the funding of clean-up of nuclear waste sites, primarily the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada and the Hanford Site in Washington State. Also included in this second group are records regarding the building of bunker-busting nuclear weapons during the administration of President George W. Bush, a program which Congressman Hobson strongly opposed. The third group has records regarding a variety of water purity and clean-up projects, most significantly relating to the efforts of the Everglades Coalition to cleanup the Everglades in Florida.

Subseries IVF, Congressional Advisory Board for the Member's and Family Room, contains a small number of records from Congressman Hobson's service on the advisory board. The primary records in this subseries are the by-laws and policies for the Member's and Family Room.

Subseries IVG, VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, is a large subseries containing records related to appropriations for the departments of Veterans Administration (VA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Air and Space Administration (NASA). As its name suggests, this House subcommittee managed the appropriations requests and funding for federal independent agencies. Congressman Hobson served as a member of the committee, and he was particularly involved in VA funding, seeking appropriations for the large number of military veterans in the Ohio Seventh District (and the state of Ohio in general). Records covering all aspects of veterans' affairs are found in this subseries. The subseries also includes a large amount of material on environmental issues and EPA appropriations requests, specifically those that impacted Ohio. By the end of the 110th Congress (2007-2008), this appropriations subcommittee was eliminated, and its responsibilities were transferred to other House appropriations subcommittees.

Series V, Ohio Senate Material, contains the records of then state senator David Hobson from his first term in 1982 until his election to the U.S. Congress in 1990. This series is organized by record type, such as committee records, speeches, and legislation. Of particular interest to researchers are the records of the hearings of the Ohio Senate Subcommittee of Health, Human Services and Aging Committee, chaired by Hobson, during 1985. Also of interest are the records of Hobson's effort to introduce a progressive AIDS bill, meant "to establish programs and guidelines for the care and treatment of those with AIDS and to create a civil right of action for people afflicted with the disease." The records also include papers related to Hobson's time as Ohio Senate President Pro Tempore (1988-1990) and as Majority Whip for the Ohio Senate.

Series VI, Congressional Office Records, contains Congressman Hobson's office material and daily schedule, as well as the records of his office staff. The series is divided into five subseries. Subseries VIA, Staff Records, includes standard business records for Congressman Hobson's staff, such as vacation requests, travel reimbursements, staff resumes, and pay information. Subseries VIB, Interns Records, holds the internship applications and resume for those interning in Congressman Hobson's office. Subseries VIC, House Office Guest Books, contains the guest books for Congressman Hobson's Washington, D.C., office from 1999 to 2008. Subseries VID, Office Daily Schedules, holds Congressman Hobson's daily schedules for the years 1997 to 2008. Subseries VIE, Event Invitations and Schedules, contains numerous invitations from a variety of sources-including fellow Congressmen and local constituents-to attend celebrations, lunches and dinners, Congressional meetings, and other special events. The series also has a number of daily schedules of events Congressman Hobson and his staff were to attend.

Series VII, Congressional Travel Material, contains the records of Congressman Hobson's numerous CODELs (Congressional Delegation trips), Military Construction Subcommittee inspections and base visits, and individual official travels-both national and international. These records include itineraries, tourist brochures, travel briefings, and other relevant Congressional travel information. The majority of the records document his travels in Europe and the Middle East. The series is arranged first by continent being visited by Congressman Hobson, then by country. The bulk of these records are from 1999 to 2007.

Series VIII, Ohio Seventh District Issues, contains materials dealing with issues within Congressman Hobson's Ohio Seventh District and state issues of interest or impact to Seventh District constituents. The series is arranged in eight subseries. Subseries VIIIA, Appropriations, contains general budget information, information on the earmark process, and similar appropriations files. Subseries VIIIB, Regional Projects, contains information on a variety of projects in the Seventh District ranging from the Clark State Literary Project to the Rickenbacker Grand Opening and various art projects. Subseries VIIIC, Dayton Aviation Trail, primarily contains information on the establishment of the Dayton Aviation Heritage Area. Subseries VIIID, Wright-Patterson AFB, holds information on a variety of projects at Wright-Patterson AFB. Subseries VIIIE, State and Local Issues, is the largest of the eight subseries and deals with many projects that do not fit in the other subseries including agricultural issues, postal facilities, and similar issues. Subseries VIIIF, Health Care Issues, contains information on health care reform, Medicare, partial birth abortion, and similar health issues. Subseries VIIIG, Awards, contains information on a variety of awards from honorary degrees to awards from various organizations for service. Finally, Subseries VIIIH, Veterans Affairs, includes information on a variety of topics including the Normandy Veterans Ceremony to information on VA hospitals in Ohio.

Series IX, Audiovisual Material, is arranged in three subseries. The largest subseries is Subseries IXA, Photographs, which contains photographs of Congressman Hobson with the many visitors to his office, official photographs, campaign, photographs with other Congressmen and the President, and photographs taken during his travels, both in the United States and Overseas. Subseries IXB, Photograph Albums, contain a variety of photograph albums documenting a number of events such as Pointe Du Hoc Commemoration Ceremony on June 6, 1980, a variety of congressional trips, and similar events. Subseries IXC, Video Tapes, Cassette Tapes, and Audio Reels, is a small subseries containing mostly VHS tapes from 1986 to 2008 and a small number of cassette/audio reels.

Series X, Press and Newspaper Clippings, houses material Congressman Hobson and his staff released to the press or produced as part of the Congressman's outreach to his constituents in the Ohio Seventh District. The series is divided into five subseries. Most of these records span the entire period that Congressman Hobson was a member of the House of Representatives. Subseries XA, Weekly News Column, contains the final drafts of Congressman Hobson's weekly news column, which appeared in newspapers covering the area of the Ohio Seventh District. Subseries XB, Weekly Radio Show Transcripts and Documents, is composed of the transcripts, scripts, and other related documents used by Congressman Hobson to produce his weekly radio show. Subseries XC, Speeches, holds the speeches and talking points given by Congressman Hobson at a variety of events and meetings. Subseries XD, Press Releases, contains the official press releases sent by Congressman Hobson's office to various media outlets. Subseries XE, Newspaper Clippings, contains copied newspaper articles and news clippings collected by on a variety of Ohio Seventh District and national issues of relevance or interest to the Congressman. A number of the news clippings also show the Congressman at various events or contain statements he made on particular issues.

Series XI, Election Material, is organized by election year, and it covers all of David Hobson's political campaigns-for both the Ohio Senate and U.S. House of Representatives-from 1982 to 2006. This series also contains U.S. Presidential election information for the years 1992, 1996, and 2000. The series is divided by types of materials within each year, such as political mailings and election returns.

Series XII: Memorabilia contains a wide-variety of items including diplomas, awards, certificates, flags, and plaques given to or collected by Congressman Hobson throughout his tenure both in the Ohio Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives.