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Jan. 21, 1921
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First unsuccessful attempt to transmit a radio from the Capitol occurs during the inaugural address of
an American President–Warren G. Harding–on the radio.
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Feb. 27, 1922
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Representative Vincent Brennan of Michigan introduced H.J. Res. 278, the first measure to allow radio
coverage of the House and Senate. Brennan stated that it was his purpose to “enable
all members of Congress as well as the country at large, to 'listen in' on the doings
of the floor of the House.” His legislation failed in committee.
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Dec. 8, 1922
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President Harding was the first person to use the newly installed public address
system in the House of Representatives for a radio broadcast when he delivered his Annual Address to a
Joint Session of Congress.
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Dec. 19, 1922
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House debate about a constitutional amendment to abolish tax-exempt securities became
the first ever congressional proceeding broadcasted on the radio.
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Dec. 6, 1923
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President Calvin Coolidge's Annual Address to Congress in the House Chamber reached radio
stations in many major American cities, including Washington, D.C., New York, Providence,
St. Louis, Kansas City, and Dallas. The radio broadcast, which covered proceedings
in the House one-half hour before the arrival of President Coolidge, was so clear
that representatives from a radio station in St. Louis called the Capitol to inquire
about a strange noise heard during the speech. Capitol employees identified the
noise as the rustling of paper by Coolidge.
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1924
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The public address system of the House of Representatives was abandoned due to Members'
complaints that microphones produced interference, making it difficult to hear.
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1924
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Senator Robert
Howell of Nebraska introduced legislation that would allow the War and Navy
departments to control the House and Senate radio coverage. The bill passed the
Senate but failed to become law when a study panel concluded the technology was
too expensive.
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March 4, 1925
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The first national radio broadcast of an inauguration occurred when President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office on the East
Front of the Capitol. More than 22,000,000 households reportedly tuned in for the broadcast.
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Feb. 22, 1927
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Congress passed the H.R. 9971, the Radio Act of 1927, providing government control over airwaves, licensing, and standards. The act also created the Federal Radio Commission (the precursor to the Federal Communications Commission). President Calvin Coolidge signed the Radio Act on February 23, 1927. A year later, Congress enhanced the Radio Act with passage of the Davis Amendment, S. 2317, which expanded radio technology to rural communities.
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1932
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Speaker of the House John Nance Garner of Texas denied requests from Columbia Broadcasting System
and National Broadcasting Company radio to broadcast congressional debates concerning
the possible repeal of the 18th Amendment (sanctioning Prohibition). Broadcasters
ignored the ban, secretly planting microphones near the House Chamber to eavesdrop
on the proceedings.
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Nov. 7, 1933
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A Standing Committee of Correspondents of the congressional press galleries rejected
the applications of three radio newsmen from CBS System for admission to the galleries.
Samuel Bell, chairman of the committee, explained that his decision was based on
existing rules governing the congressional press galleries. Newspaper reporters,
suspicious of the new medium, agreed with the decision, maintaining that Capitol
quarters were too cramped to accommodate additional media members. Radio reporters
were relegated to writing stories in Capitol broom closets or phone booths.
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March 4, 1939
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More than 400 radio stations from the United States and Canada, in addition to about
a dozen international broadcasters, used microphones in the House Chamber to cover
the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first session of Congress. The radio
coverage was touted as the most extensive for a single event to date.
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July 4, 1939
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Congress established radio galleries separate from the newspaper and periodical
galleries, in the House and Senate, becoming the only national legislature to divide
its galleries among different forms of media. House Speaker William B. Bankhead of Alabama awarded one of the newsmen involved in the
struggle for radio access to congressional procedures, Fulton Lewis, Jr., president
of the Radio Correspondents' Association, the key to the new radio gallery at a
ceremony in the House Chamber.
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July 24, 1939
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President
Franklin D. Roosevelt congratulated the four radio newsmen who pressured
Congress into opening radio galleries in the Senate and the House, exclaiming that
the event marked "a decided step forward in the dissemination of news concerning
the deliberations of our national legislature.”
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Sept. 15, 1944
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Representative John Coffee of Washington introduced H.J. Res. 311, which
called for live radio broadcasts of House proceedings. Coffee's measure followed
on the heels of a nearly identical bill introduced by Senator Claude Pepper of Florida.
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1945
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Charged with determining how new technologies could be adopted for congressional proceedings, the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress was the first committee to seriously discuss the use of radios in Congress congressional proceedings.
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Nov. 17, 1947
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“Congress Today,” a weekday radio series detailing the significant proceedings
of the House and Senate, first aired. WOL news chief and Washington correspondent
Albert Warner hosted the broadcast from the House Radio Gallery.
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1970
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The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 permitted House committees to broadcast
public hearings live via radio and television.
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1977
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The House authorized legislation allowing radio and television broadcasts of its proceedings, but disagreements about whether Congress or the
press should control the operating system caused delays in coverage.
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June 12, 1978
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Only 16 Members were present for the beginning of the first live radio broadcast
of the regular proceedings of the House. The afternoon session also broadcast live
debates about a resolution condemning the Ugandan government for alleged violations
of human rights, legislation to appropriate money for the Department of Transportation,
and a bill to increase funding for the Office of Toxic Substances. Freshman Representative Albert Gore of Tennessee gave the first one-minute speech and used the opportunity to comment on the historic occasion. The Associated Press was the only major radio broadcaster to carry the day’s proceedings.
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June 17, 1978
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Speaker Thomas (Tip) O’Neill permits audio coverage of House proceedings with the stipulation that all “accredited news media will be allowed to plug into the House microphone system and to distribute full audio coverage of House proceedings for an indefinite trial period.”
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/tiles/non-collection/e/ex_tech_radio_capitol_james_byrnes_fred_domininck_lc.xml
Image courtesy of Library of Congress
South Carolina Representatives James Byrnes and Fred Dominick listening to the Capitol radio
/tiles/non-collection/e/ex_tech_radio_sound_room_1922_lc.xml
Image courtesy of Library of Congress
The radio sound room at the U.S. Capitol