15: Bankruptcy Legislation 1972-1978

Scope and content:

The Bankruptcy Materialsare 18 cu. ft. of papers documenting Butler's work in the drafting and passage of the legislation popularly known as the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Forms of materials present include: minutes of the Bankruptcy Commission, markup books on various versions of bankruptcy bills, memoranda, briefing materials, meetings transcripts, hearing transcripts, conference materials, Congressional Record Notebooks, audio tapes of markup sessions, and supplemental information on bankruptcy legislation with relevant testimony.

This material was arranged by Butler's office into three major components: 1)general materials in ring-binder notebooks to which Roman Numerals were assigned; 2)"Supplemental Materials: ... " filed in "books" numbered 1-45; and, 3) Ken Klee's research materials. The arrangement of these materials is not easily grasped, but the donor has provided a "road map." A Butler document from around 1980 entitled "The Narrative History of the Bankruptcy Act Revision" provides a concise, informal legislative history of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 from Mr. Butler's perspective. It also discusses the creation and arrangement of these records and includes references to the Roman numeral numbering scheme employed by Butler's staff. This narrative is found in the first folder of the first box of bankruptcy materials(box 57). A second helpful narrative entitled "The Establishment of the Commission" states the reasons that impelled Congress to establish the Commission on Bankruptcy in June of 1970. This can be found in box 71 in the folder titled "Mun. 5." Ken Klee's article on bankruptcy legislative (box 72) may also be of use in understanding events leading up to the 1978 act. The article is entitled, "Congress and the Bankruptcy Act of 1976," and appeared in volume 61 of the American Bar Association Journal(October, 1975).

The general materialshave been removed from the ring-binders, but the folders that now hold them are labeled with the Roman numeral corresponding to the binder in which they were formerly housed. Everything from 1971 research materials to the printed public law version of the 1978 Bankruptcy Reform Act can be found here. Books and pamphlets printed by the Government Office of Printing are found in Roman numeral sections I and III-IX. Included here are the Commission on Bankruptcy Laws Report, H.R. 10792, H.R. 16643, Hearings on H.R. 31 and H.R. 32, Hearings on S. 235, S. 236, H.R. 6, and oversized side-by-side comparisons of VI (H) and XIII of H.R. 31 and 32 and S. 2266 and H.R. 8200 (stored in box 75).

All of the "Supplemental Legislation and Testimony" is contained in 45 "books" and includes correspondence, notes and paste-ups of various sections of proposed versions of the bankruptcy bill. Section "F," of XLIII "Conference Materials" (Box 61, Folder 9 from the general materials described above) contains the index to the 45 books. Much of the contents are reiterations of information from the "Roman numeral" notebooks arranged for quick reference. Testimony is arranged by bill section.

The Ken Klee's bankruptcy files were created while Klee served as associate counsel for the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the House Committee on the Judiciary. They are 4 cu. ft. in extent and are divided into three sections: uniform bankruptcy file, municipal bankruptcy file (MUN), and bankruptcy act subject files. An index to Klee's files is contained in Section "E" of XLIII "Conference Materials" (Box 61, Folder 9). The Uniform Bankruptcy Files are arranged numerically beginning with the number 102 and contain statements, testimonies, correspondence, memoranda, drafts and other relevant materials regarding the proposed bankruptcy rules. The Municipal Bankruptcy File is arranged numerically. The files are designated MUN with a corresponding number. These files also contain drafts, testimonies, statements, memorandums and reports. Klee's Bankruptcy Subject Files are arranged alphabetically. Included here (under 'g') is general correspondence from 1973-1978.

Physical description:

18 cu. ft.

Access and use

Contents