The U.S. Senate Class of 1981; 11; Senator William Roth

The. United States Senate class of 1971. This year 11 freshman Republicans five Democrats and one conservative joined the ranks of the 100 and America's upper house of the legislative branch of government. Here for the national educational radio network with a profile of one of these new United States senators is your host Bill Moroney. The subject of this profile is the new senator from Delaware Republican William Roth. This program will be brief. Unfortunately neither Senator Roth nor any member of his staff would consent to an interview. The senator's office did make three separate appointments for interviews but all were counseled William V-Rod Jr. was born July

22nd 921 in Great Falls Montana. He now makes his home in Wilmington Delaware. He was educated at the University of Oregon receiving a bachelor's of art degree in 1942 following service with the Army during World War Two was a captain in the psychological warfare branch for which he received a Bronze Star. Rotha resumed his education. He went from Harvard Business School after receiving a master's degree in Business Administration to a Harvard Law School achieving his law degree in 1949. Moving to Delaware he became active in the state Republican politics in 1956 he was elected president of the Delaware Young Republicans. He was the Delaware Republican Party chairman from 1961 through 1964. Two years later he ran for Congress and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1968. And the House Congressman Roth was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Republican task force on western alliances. He sponsored legislation to reduce current mercial

airline rates for the elderly to create a joint committee on the environment and to share federal revenue with state and local governments. None became law. Congressman Ross House career was highlighted by an eight month study of federal assistance programs that resulted in their cataloguing under the Federal Program Information Act in 1970 incumbent Delaware Senator John Williams announced he was not seeking re-election. Since Delaware is a small state it has only one congressman who runs in a statewide election just as senators do. Having already won two House races RAW was the ideal selection to replace retiring Republican Williams. He did and was expected to be an easy winner in a strongly GOP state of Delaware. He won better than 58 percent of the vote. William Roth received an added seniority edge when in the waning days of the lame duck session of the ninety first Congress incumbent senator when John Williams resigned on January 1st 1971 to allow Senator elect Rod to be sworn in early the next day. He is now a member of the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in the Senate Government Operations

Committee. Senator Roth is basically an administration supporter. His House voting record shows him casting three votes for the White House proposals for everyone against the president on domestic issues the ratio was only slightly less pro-administration but in Foreign Affairs William Roth holds the distinction of having never once broken with the president. That means every time an issue was presented to the house by the administration pertaining to international affairs Roth a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee automatically voted yes on Iraq it was a duty as a voter to present and voting 97 percent of the time on two hundred sixty six roll call votes last year. Senator Roth shuns of the public eye. He is religiously present in Washington whenever the Senate is in session and casts his vote without fail. Critics call him a good little rubber stamp a soldier that can't be entirely due for a rubber stamp would always vote yet Senator Roth has voted no because nearly such as against the SS teat except for his executive secretary Senator office staff is entirely composed of his predecessor people administrative assistant Robert Devonport could not answer basic questions as to the senator's

pending legislative proposals subcommittee assignments personal background and habits. Senator Roth has introduced no legislation in the Senate and so far as his staff can report he has also co-sponsored not. When asked what Senator Roth has been doing since January the constant reply comes back from his office getting organized. If that's true he easily holds some kind of record for time needed to get adjusted to the Senate. No other new senator claims to be still in the organizational stage. All of the freshmen who like William Roth were congressmen elected senators have said they only needed the time to move across Capitol Hill before resuming their roles as legislators. It may be untrue or unfair to make the judgment that William Roth appears lost in the Senate but no one in his office can or has argued otherwise since personal contact was not possible all impressions and informations were taken from his staff. Possibly the staff should have retired with Senator Williams because the picture they paint of their boss is one of a shadowy man slow overly cautious preoccupied with self-interests and dis attached from daily

realities. It is inconceivable that any constituency would elect such a man let alone three times Senator Roth is not unfamiliar to the voters of Delaware. Lacking anything more substantive this profile will close by giving the benefit of the doubt to William Roth a freshman senator from Delaware. This is Bill Moroney. The United States Senate class of 1971 was produced in Washington D.C. for the national educational radio network provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.