PROJECT FILES, 1982-2013

Summary: The project files were maintained to ensure that Lautenberg's office focused on, and took action on, issues important to constituents in the state of New Jersey. They were handled by his satellite offices in Newark, Camden, and Barrington. These files were compiled and maintained by various legislative assistants and project managers focused on a singular or multiple topics, and all of the materials retained reflect how an individual handled... the specific files.

Project Files are broken into three component categories: outreach, financials, and subject. The outreach project files represent either specific events that Lautenberg or a staffer attended or supported as part of official Senate duties. This would include letters of support in the form of citations, ribbon cutting ceremonies, press events, and response/follow up letters for issues of concern to name a few. The financials category of project files houses requests for money to be received through a grant or by adding an organization to an appropriations bill. The subject category includes research, trends within a topic, or other updates about a topic as collected by a legislative aide. The subject headings used for this series were created by the office and generally are the same as the subject headings used for constituent mail.

The way that Lautenberg's office handled project files changed over time as different staff members handled various projects. In the years 1983 and 1984, for example, the office grouped case files and project files together. Accordingly, there are different notes on folders and cover sheets for some of the materials, but not for others. The presence or absence of these notes or cover sheets had no bearing on how the office handled these files.