A pamphlet from US Congressman Les AuCoin's first campaign for Oregon's 1st Congressional District in 1974. The pamphlet features numerous photographs of AuCoin, descriptions of his personal background and record as Oregon House Majority Leader, including his legislative efforts and accomplishments relating to the economy, the gasoline shortage, political reform, workers' benefits, health care, consumer protection, farming, and offshore fisheries.
A draft of a nuclear arms freeze resolution with notes likely written by US Congressman Les AuCoin. The draft is of H.J. Resolution 13 of the 98th Congress, officially titled "A joint resolution calling for a mutual and verifiable freeze on and reductions in nuclear weapons," a version of which passed in the House on May 4, 1983.
A two page document titled "Memo to self: Javelin Anti-Tank Missile" by former US Congressman Les AuCoin, describing the origins of and his connection to the Javelin infantry anti-tank weapon. The opening paragraph states: "I am the author of a legislative amendment requiring the U.S. Army to conduct a shoot-off between the three alternative technologies under consideration as replacements for the infamous Dragon infantry anti-tank weapon. My amendment specificed that operator survivability had to be an essential criterion for determining the winning technology. Out of this process came the Javelin infantry anti-tank weapon, which has had a transforming effect on the relationship between infantry and armor in the field of battle."
US Congressman Les AuCoin's typewritten journal from November and December 1982. The journal describes his everyday life as a member of Congress, such as giving an address to the Oregon Sierra Club, having a discussion with an anti-missile and nuclear freeze activist group, meeting with a political advisory committee regarding the Balanced Budget Constituional Amendment, talks surrounding an Oregon wilderness bill, meeting with the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, meeting with Senator Mark Hatfield, voting against "the vaunted 'Infrastructure/Jobs Bill,'" giving a house floor speech on the Defense Appropriations Bill on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, receiving a conference report for the Transportation Appropriations Bil, and his work on the "automobile 'domestic content' bill" that affected the Port of Portland and the electronics industry.
US Congressman Les AuCoin's typewritten journal from late June 1987. The journal notably describes his meeting with Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin in order to support the immigration cases of refuseniks, as well as the early brainstorming of his run for the Senate in the 1990s.
The journal of US Congressman Les AuCoin detailing his trip to Warsaw and Krakow, Poland; Dublin, Belfast, and Shannon, Ireland; Berlin, Germany; and Prague, Czechoslovakia roughly a year before the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in August 1990. In his journal, Congressman AuCoin details the devastation of Prague, meeting foreign leaders (including Polish President Lech Walesa, East German Prime Minister Lothar de Maiziere, and Czech Preisdent Vaclav Havel), the landscape of each country, and visiting the Reistag to find no Checkpoint Charlie or Berlin Wall. When describing the situation of Ireland admist the Northern Ireland Conflict (A.K.A. The Troubles), AuCoin stated "I never wanted to get out of a place so fast in my life -- as bad, really, as the Soviet Union. Taunting hatred, underlying evil everywhere; people/automotons walking in a daze." Reflecting on his trip overall, AuCoin stated "I leave with the feeling that 'minimalist' America is missing a bet here. Americans are idealized, not the Germans, not the Japanese, not even the Italiians, [sic] who are swarming through the place and trying to put together an economic block that would include Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, as a counter-weight to an united Germany and to leverage its on poistion. But with our popularity, a 'Marshall Plan' would give us a dominate position in a post-Cold War era that we've spent trillions of dollars of bombs and missiles one [sic]. Yet Geroge Bush talks of volunteers. They need infrastructure, they need massive chemical and toxic waste cleanup, they need coal scrubbing technoloogy, [sic] they need telecommunications, they need hotels, roads, hospitals, financial services -- and a plan to produce products."
US Congressman Les AuCoin's 37-page-long journal describing the immediate months following his win in the 1974 US House of Representatives election. Providing a picture of how Congress operates behind the scenes, AuCoin writes in detail about his transition from Oregon to Washington, D.C.; the process of hiring congressional staff; attending the Democratic mini-Convention in Kansas City; him, his wife Sue, and their children Stacy and Kelly moving into a condominium apartment in Washington, D.C. from their house in Forest Grove, Oregon; the attention he received from the media and fellow politicians; the four-day train trip through America's heartland; his swearing-in ceremony on the US House floor; attending President Gerald Ford's State of the Union address; his first markup session in the Banking, Currency, and Housing Committee; his first time successfully legislating with the Emergency Middle-Income Housing Act in the Housing Subcommittee; scheduling town meetings back home for his constituents, writing a letter to one of his campaign staff's sons to encourage him to finish high school; his first embassy party with his wife Sue at the West Germany embassy; and congressional discussions on the Vietnam Humanitarian Assistance and Evacuation Act of 1975. On the Democratic Party in 1975, AuCoin stated: "All of which means, in my judgement, that there must be a new dogma in the Democratic Party -- a new impetus for cost-consciousness and performance accountability in government programs. The old pork chop vote of the New Deal days is gone forever. You just can't spend a million dollars for this, or that -- or create a new federal office for this, or that -- and win the hearts and minds of the voters in either party today.... People just distrust government -- they distrust its morality and ethics and they distrust its ability to solve problems....Certainly, the party cannot thrive in the '70s and '80s if, intellectually, it's still serving warmed-over New Dealism."
A handwritten list of dates in 1980 of US Congressman Les AuCoin's important speechs, accomplishments, events, and statements. A year seemingly focused on environmental and economic concerns, some notable subjects listed include "MFN Status of China," "Community Energy Conservation Act HR 7136," "Tillamook YMCA bill," several bills relating to the Siletz Indians, "Maritime Education and Training Act HR 5451," tesimony on the housing and timber industries, and the "Northwest Electric Power Bill."
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague regarding the formation of the new, bi-partisan, Congressional Housing Caucus. Congressman AuCoin states that "The group will transcend political, partisan, and ideological lines to provide a cohesive block of support for pro-housing legislation....The Caucus will push for the development and swift enactment of a multi-faceted housing production program to stimulate housing production and sales. The Housing Caucus -- working with the Homebuilders, Realtors, labor and volunteer advocacy groups -- will play a major role in this." The letter was also signed by Congressman Joseph McDade.
A letter by US Congressman Les AuCoin addressed to a "friend" -- perhaps a congressional colleague -- describing his intent to fight against a $120 billion federal budget deficit proposed by the Reagan Administration. Ccongressman AuCoin shared his proposals to reduce the deficit, which included cutting the proposed increase in defense spending, getting rid of tax loopholes, and deferring the third year of the personal income tax cut.
A letter by US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague advocating for his bill, H.R. 4146 - A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to limit the application of the subsidized energy financing limitations on certain tax credit to Federal subsidies, and for other purposes. In his letter, dated October 8, 1981, Congressman AuCoin explains how the bill would fix issues under the Windfall Profits Tax Act and ensure support for "state and local governments in their efforts to stimulate energy conservation and the development of renewable energy sources and encourage other states and localities to do the same." The letter is signed by both Congressman AuCoin and Congressman Cecil Heftel.
The rough draft of a letter to Chairman Neal Smith of the Subcommittee on State, Justice, Commerce, and Judiciary, from several US representatives advocating for the Western States Information Network (WSIN) to be included in the fiscal year 1982 federal budget following the news that the Reagan Administration planned to eliminate monetary support for the organization. The letter was dated June 4, 1981, and states that WSIN was crucial in supporting "local law enforcement narcotic investigations in the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington by providing analytical, financial, and equipment services."
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague asking for their support for his bill, HR3595 - A bill to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to provide a uniform time for the closing of the polling places in all elections of the electors of the President and Vice President of the United States, to prevent the release of election results before polling places have closed, and for other purposes. The letter was signed June 11, 1981, and the legislation was notably introduced following the 1980 presidential election, when Jimmy Carter conceded the election before polls closed on the West Coast. AuCoin also attached an excerpt from the congressional record that contained his House floor speech regarding his bill on May 14, 1981.
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague stating his support for HR1864 - Research Revitalization Act of 1981 and HR1539 - A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide a credit against tax for certain research and experimental expenditures, and for other purposes. Sending the letter as Chairman of the House Task Force on Industrial Innovation and Productivity, Congressman AuCoin expressed that these bills would address the decline of innovation and US research and development (R&D) spending as a percent of GNP.
A letter from representatives Les AuCoin, Daniel Akaka, Vic Fazio, and Robert Matsui to the members of the Western states delegations advocating for the Western States Information Network following the news that the Reagan Administration planned to eliminate monetary support for the organization. The letter was dated June 9, 1981. The WSIN was designated by the letter's authors as crucial in supporting "local law enforcement narcotic investigations in the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington by providing analytical, financial, and equipment services."
A letter to Chairman Neal Smith of the Subcommittee on State, Justice, Commerce, and Judiciary, from several US representatives advocating for the Western States Information Network (WSIN) to be included in the fiscal year 1982 federal budget following the news that the Reagan Administration planned to eliminate monetary support for the organization. The letter was dated June 18, 1981, and was signed by Norman Mineta, Les AuCoin, Ronald V. Dellums, Augustus F. Hawkins, Jerry M. Patterson, Robert T. Matsui, Daniel K. Akaka, Bobbi Fiedler, Vic Fazio, Tom Lantos, Mervyn M. Dymally, Cec Heftel, Pete Starke, Julian C. Dixon, Robert J. Lagomarsino, Ron Wyden, Glenn M. Anderson, Pete McCloskey, Edward R. Roybal, Joel Pritchard, and Tony Coelho. The WSIN was designated by the letter's authors as crucial in supporting "local law enforcement narcotic investigations in the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington by providing analytical, financial, and equipment services."
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague advocating for HR3595, officially titled A bill to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to provide a uniform time for the closing of the polling places in all elections of the electors of the President and Vice President of the United States, to prevent the release of election results before polling places have closed, and for other purposes; on June 11, 1981. This legislation was notably introduced following the 1980 presidential election, when Jimmy Carter conceded the election before polls closed on the West Coast.
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague advocating for a proposed bill that encouraged gleaning. Gleaning is the process of collecting leftover crops from a field that has already been commercially harvested. The proposed amendment aimed to encourage more farmers to donate gleaned crops by offering them a 10% tax credit against their income taxes for contributions of crops to charitable groups, which in turn could be used to feed the hungry, particularly low income, elderly, and disabled Americans. Congressman AuCoin described how Oregon was a pioneer of modern gleaning programs.
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague titled "A Western Solution to a National Problem," dated April 1, 1981. In his letter, AuCoin advocated for legislation that would allow states to choose for themselves when to open polls, count ballots, and disclose local results, with all polls closing no later than 11 p.m. EST and prohibiting the release of election results of presidential elections until all polls were closed. As he noted, this legislation was notably written following the 1980 presidential election, when Jimmy Carter conceded the election before polls closed on the West Coast.
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy (D-MA) regarding the delay of the nomination of John B. Crowell, Jr. as Assistant Secretary to the Department of Agriculture. In his letter, AuCoin advocates for Crowell's nomination, describing Crowell as a "man of integrity, intelligence, and achievement."
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to a congressional colleague advocating for the proposed Continental Airlines purchase by employees in April 1981, describing it as solving "two of the most acute problems facing American business and industry today: declining productivity and capital formation." He wrote this letter as the Chairman of the House Task Force on Industrial Innovation.
A letter from US Congressman Les AuCoin to staff contacts on the House Task Force on Industrial Innovation and Productivity regarding a briefing on a Continental Airlines purchase by employees of the company, dated April 16, 1981. In what he describes as "the fight for airline deregulation," AuCoin points out "the unique plan of Continental Airline's employees to buy controlling interest in their company and the plan's implications for industrial productivity and capital formation."
A clipping of a Corvallis Gazette-Times op-ed article titled "Quit making tritium, redirect spending" by US Congressman Les AuCoin, published on December 30, 1991. In the article, Congressman AuCoin criticizes the Department of Energy's then recent decision to restart the Savannah River K reactor to produce tritium for nuclear weapons, and instead calls for arms control in the context of the fall of the Soviet Union four days earlier on December 26, 1991.
A clipping of an Oregonian newspaper article by staff writer Les AuCoin covering the defeat of Howard Morgan for the Democratic nomination in the 1968 US Senate primary election in Oregon. The article's title is cut off from the clipping, but it may perhaps be "The Annoucement of Defeat" or "The Statement of Defeat."
