Until now, a stretch of State Road 67 on the southern edge of Muncie was this area's only reminder of former second district Congressman Phil Sharp. Today, a living reminder will open at Bracken Library as Sharp returns to Muncie for the formal opening of his congressional papers.
Those papers will likely draw scholars from around the country and around the world interested in how the Hoosier congressman was able to effect a successful balance between energy needs and environmental preservation.
From his involvement in helping guide energy proposals by Presidents Ford and Carter through the House in the 1970s to his leadership as Chair of the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the 1980s and 1990s, Sharp played a key role in energy and environmental issues during his 20-year tenure in Congress. He was instrumental in obtaining decontrol of natural gas and was a leading proponent of energy efficiency and renewable fuels.
He helped stop a $1.75 billion bailout of the uranium industry and sponsored the law to provide better data on foreign investments. For the 1990 Clean Air Act, he co-authored a key provision that created an allowance trading system where utilities that exceeded standards for clean air could sell their extra "credits" to other utilities, a compromise that made passage of the law possible. Sharp effectively shepherded through the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which opened the wholesale electric market to competition. His congressional papers reflect the work Sharp did with energy legislation and provide a wealth of research documentation in this area.
Politics in America 1982 stated that Sharp "entered Congress in 1975 as a political veteran but a legislative novice, quietly determined to overhaul what seemed an unresponsive process." The publication went on to say that "he emerged six years later as chairman of the crucial Commerce subcommittee on oil and gas, close to the center on most energy issues and carrying a reputation for exceptional skill at negotiations and compromise."
On April 15, Phil returns to Ball State University where he taught political science as an assistant professor, and later associate professor, from 1969 to 1974 before assuming his Congressional duties. The papers of Philip R. Sharp consist primarily of records related to his tenure as U. S. Representative for Indiana from 1975 to 1995. Materials from his congressional campaigns in 1970 and 1972 are also included.
The collection is divided into the following series: Administrative Records; Political Campaign Records; House Subcommittee on Energy and Power Records; Audiotapes; Videotapes; Photographic Prints and Negatives; and Memorabilia.
Subjects covered in the papers are wide-ranging. They include airline safety, civil rights, crime, education, economics, foreign relations, government spending, health care, natural resources, social programs and terrorism. Evidence of Sharp's involvement in energy and environmental issues and legislation is located throughout the papers, but the most substantive documentation in this area is found in records of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power which he chaired for several years.
Please join the celebration as a host of dignitaries help celebrate Phil's contributions. Former Senator Birch Bayh will serve as master of ceremonies for the daylong affair that includes a roundtable discussion at 10 a.m. in the Arts and Journalism Building Room 175, on "Congressional Change" featuring former Indiana Congressmen Andy Jacobs, Phil Hayes and others.
At 4:15 in Bracken Library Room 225, Phil will hit a computer key to bring up the collection's Web page at a ceremony for the official opening of the papers. At 8 p.m., Phil will use his energy expertise to outline a policy perspective in a major speech at Emens Auditorium. These events are free and open to the public. Join us in thanking Phil for his continuing contributions to Ball State and the Muncie community.
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