[Rostenkowski raw #114]

Raw footage from the 1981 documentary "Rostenkowski," a portrait of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, a powerful figure in Chicago (and national) politics. Rostenkowski acts as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House in this footage that appears to have been taped off-air. Good footage of the very formal House voting protocol. Rostenkowski acts as an efficient ringleader over the strict rubrics. Throughout the video, you can hear another individual feeding Rostenkowski what to say to the Representatives as they address the House.

00:00Copy video clip URL Tape begins with two unidentified speakers debating in the House of Representatives.

00:22Copy video clip URL Cut to vote tally screen for amendment H R 8105.

02:50Copy video clip URL Cut to Rostenkowski acting as Speaker Pro Tempore. Joseph P. Addabbo of New York is proposing a few changes to a number a different amendments. This last for several minutes and is executed quite formally.

11:18Copy video clip URL Representative Thomas J. Downey, Democrat of New York, steps up to the podium and proposes a change to an amendment.

11:46Copy video clip URL The sound cuts out for a few seconds.

11:53Copy video clip URL Charles B. Rangel, a Representative from New York, steps up to the podium to speak to the House,  but almost immediately yields to G.V. Montgomery, Democrat and Representative from Mississippi. What follows is a bit of confusion about a certain bill Montgomery is trying to propose. It seems that the bill might not have been scheduled for consideration at that time. This seems to slightly perturb Rostenkowski, who gets a little snippy with Montgomery during the process. In the midst of Montgomery’s proposal, Representative Marjorie S. Holt, Republican from Maryland, asks Montgomery to describe the bill in a little bit more detail. By the time Montgomery is finished, Rostenkowski has already stepped down from the Speaker’s podium and is replaced by Representative Mike McCormack. Shortly after this, Representative Rangel steps back up to the podium and “moves to suspend the rules and pass the bill H R 8406.”

14:27Copy video clip URL Quick cut to wide shot of the House as McCormack is gathering votes for a certain bill.

16:03Copy video clip URL Cut to black screen and then back to a wide shot of the House shortly after. McCormack is asking for order in the House. This leads into a debate between Rep. George E. Danielson of California and an unidentified speaker from Michigan about bill H R 8379. At one point, McCormack scolds the other representatives who are holding conversations in the House.

19:08Copy video clip URL Tape ends.