Free Environmental Film Festival Screenings at the National Archives March 27
Press Release · Wednesday, Mar 5, 2014

Washington, DC

Senator Ed Markey to Introduce Screening of HR 6161: An Act of Congress

Washington, DC…The National Archives, in partnership with the 2014 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, and the Charles Guggenheim Center for Documentary Film at the National Archives, presents two special screenings on Thursday, March 27. At noon, the Archives will screen The City and Men and Dust; and at 7 p.m. HR 6161: An Act of Congress.

The free screenings will take place in the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Use the Special Events Entrance, located at Constitution Ave. and 7th Street, NW. Metro accessible on Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station.

The City and Men and Dust, noon
Produced for the 1939 New York World’s Fair, The City (33 minutes) is a call to rebuild America’s cities in the form of planned communities. Featuring a music score by Aaron Copland, and based on an original story outline by American documentary pioneer Pare Lorentz, The City describes the changes from the American village of the early 1800s to the industrialized cities of 100 years later. Men and Dust (1940; 16 minutes) is an experimental film that dramatizes the living conditions in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas which contributed to a high rate of respiratory illness among lead and zinc miners of the area. The film was selected by the Library of Congress for the 2013 National Film Registry.

HR 6161: An Act of Congress, 7 p.m.
The film will be introduced by Senator Ed Markey, who was one of the co-sponsors of HR 6161. Following the screening, Robert Kaiser, senior correspondent of The Washington Post and author of Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t, and former nine term Congressman from New York Tom Downey will discuss the film and answer audience questions.

Charles Guggenheim’s 1979 documentary, H.R. 6161: An Act of Congress. Narrated by E. G. Marshall, the 58-minute film documents how a law is enacted by the United States Congress—in this instance, H.R. 6161, a bill to amend the Clean Air Act. The film follows the journey of one piece of legislation from conception through committee amendment and final passage.

Senator Ed Markey
Senator Ed Markey is a national leader on energy, climate change, and the environment. He currently serves as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee overseeing international environmental protection, and also serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee. While serving in the House of Representatives, Senator Markey was the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Senator Markey also served as the Chairman of the Select Committee on Global Warming & Energy Independence. He was the House co-author of the only comprehensive climate change bill to ever pass a chamber of Congress, and was the principal House author of the 2007 fuel economy law, the Appliance Efficiency Act of 1987, and the law that established the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.

Congressman Tom Downey
Tom Downey was elected to Congress at the age of 25 where he served as the Democratic representative of the 2nd District of New York for nine terms. He was assigned to a number of prestigious committees including Armed Services, Budget, and the Ways and Means Committee where he served for 14 years. He is currently Chairman of the Downey McGrath Group, an independent, bipartisan government affairs consulting firm in Washington, DC.

Robert Kaiser
Robert G. Kaiser is associate editor and senior correspondent of The Washington Post. He has worked at The Washington Post since 1963, when he worked as a summer intern while still a college student. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Act of Congress: How America's Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn't.

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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