Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 13 (XIII), 9/10/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 13 (XIII), 9/10/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

46

Description:

The Water Quality Act and Clean Air Act; the difference between passage of legislation and the administration of programs related to the legislation; the role of automobile makers toward improving air quality; whether clean air and water should be regulated at the state or federal level; the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act and its rent supplement provision; the role of Wright Patman and John Sparkman in HUD Act passage; a deleted HUD Act provision that proposed assistance in the development of new towns; the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development with Secretary Robert Weaver as the first African-American cabinet member; how the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was affected by the creation of HUD; a constitutional amendment dealing with transition of responsibility if the president is unable to perform his duties; concerns that electoral college delegates would not vote for the candidate who had received the majority of the votes; the 1965 defeat in repealing Section 14(B) of the Taft-Hartley Act; combining 14(b) with a farm bill so that urban and rural Democrats would support each other; Orville Freeman's involvement in lobbying for the farm bill; the Appalachian Regional Development Act and the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965; the Excise Tax Reduction Act of 1965; monetary issues such as eliminating the gold cover on bank deposits and the Silver Coinage Act; the appointments of John Connor, Nicholas Katzenbach, Henry Fowler and John Gardner; Arthur Goldberg's resignation from the Supreme Court and appointment as United Nations (UN) ambassador; Adlai Stevenson as UN ambassador; Abe Fortas' appointment to the Supreme Court; Lyndon Johnson's (LBJ) relationships with Abe Fortas and Clark Clifford; the missal used by LBJ when taking the oath of office on November 22, 1963; appointments of Thurgood Marshall and James Coleman; James Eastland as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Charles W. Halleck's appointment; Francis Morrissey's relationship with the Kennedys and qualification for a judicial appointment.

Contributor:

O'Brien, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Francis), 1917-1990

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Lawrence F. O'Brien

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details