3-Minute Interview: Robert Remini
By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
March 12, 2009
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| Robert Remini |
Robert Remini was appointed Historian of the House of Representatives in 2005 by then-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., after the position had gone dormant for many years. Hastert, a former high school history teacher, plucked Remini from his post as history professor at the University of Illinois to improve public knowledge and understanding of “The People’s House.” The official Web site is historian.house.gov.
What does the House Historian do?
We are mandated to explain and make available to the American people the history of the House of Representatives. ... We answer questions that come from the public, that come from scholars and that come from the media and from the members and staff in Congress.
How to you record House history?
One of the ways is by conducting oral interviews of the past and present members... We have the Library of Congress right at our front door, so to speak, and we use that to a great extent. Before I came here, I thought I knew about Congress. But if you really want to know something about the House you have to be on the floor. I told Speaker Hastert, ‘I’ve got to be on the floor and circulate with members and see how they behave and speak and relate to one another,’ so he gave me permission.
What’s the purpose of the oral histories?
In order to have a correct history about what happens in the House and why it happens. The full and true story of how important legislation has occurred is one of our important responsibilities. We are trying to educate the members about saving their papers and making then available to scholars.
What kind of requests do you get?
It can vary from members wanting to know who occupied their office, perhaps hoping it might be the more important figures or presidents like John Kennedy, for example, or who was the first Jewish member, who was the first doctor, did Abraham Lincoln recommend anybody for West Point.
