In the Topical Series, legislative files are arranged alphabetically according to topic. During his eight years in Congress, Campbell worked on a variety of legislation that included child support legislation, “one-stop delivery” of social services, and the Voting Rights Act. He was the ranking Republican on Harold Ford’s Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation Subcommittee. He generally opposed expanding government services. In a letter to Rev. Dr. Billy A. Wells of Easley, Campbell wrote, “Battling the bureaucracy is one of my favorite occupations in Washington.” (Dec. 3, 1979).

Campbell took an active hand in his correspondence. There are notes written directly on many letters by Campbell, directing his aides how to reply. These short notes were usually written in blue ink and are followed by a simple capital “C.”

Campbell took a great interest in issues and projects important to South Carolina and to his district, including the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, the Union County Carnegie Library, the Greenville Union League, and the Union County Water Line. He helped to increase federal appropriations for and expedite the widening of U.S. 176. Campbell also worked tirelessly to bring jobs to his district. Campbell was a member of the Congressional Textile Caucus Steering Committee and was the author of the textile freeze legislation in the 98th Congress, which was the forerunner of the Textile and Apparel Trade Enforcement Act of 1985. Campbell was an original cosponsor of that legislation.

During his four terms in Congress, Campbell served first on the House Banking and Housing Committee, then the Appropriations Committee, and finally on the Ways and Means Committee. In a Nov. 15, 1982 letter, Campbell wrote, “I have sought membership on the Ways and Means Committee since my election to Congress in 1978… My strong desire to move to Ways and Means is related to my expertise and my district.” The 1984 Almanac of American Politics commented, “Campbell won a seat on Appropriations in 1981 and gave it up in 1983 for Ways and Means. It is easy to see why: he is less interested in channeling money to his district than he is in protecting its textile industry against foreign competition; although he doesn’t sit on the Trade Subcommittee, he will undoubtedly devote much attention to such issues.” (1075).

While textiles and textile trade were important issues for Campbell, so was trade in general and all things relating to commerce. Campbell was a big supporter of small business and American manufacturing. His experience as a small businessman and farmer probably influenced his thinking on these issues. Thanking correspondent Larry Norton for the gift of a kudzu vine basket, Campbell used the moment as an opportunity to ruminate on the former federal policy of encouraging widespread kudzu planting. Intended to prevent soil erosion, kudzu turned out to be an invasive and time-consuming pest for small farmers. Campbell wrote, “As you may know, it was Congress that established the Soil Conservation Service in 1933, which soon began importing the plant. In the fifty-one years since that time, some of us in Congress have been crying out against foreign imports. The basket you gave me will serve as a reminder that Congress must be more successful now, than it was then.” (July 2, 1983)

The issues Campbell fought for always had importance to South Carolina and the Fourth District, such as disaster relief for peach farmers, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, and vocational rehabilitation. Campbell also was interested in what his constituents had to say. He sent out questionnaires on different issues, such as social security, defense, and the budget. One questionnaire asked for specific dollar amounts to cut from different programs to balance the budget. Most respondents attached letters expanding upon their answers to the questionnaires. Almost one foot of these questionnaires shows the importance Campbell placed on these communications with his constituents.

Again and again, Campbell worked to help the underdog while pushing for more limited federal government. In a letter to Arthur H. Spitz, Feb. 27, 1981, Campbell states, “Decision making, then, would return to the state governments, which I believe, are capable of addressing people’s needs more efficiently and more sensitively than the distant and increasingly bureaucratized federal government. More over, such consolidation is absolutely necessary if we are to balance the budget without threatening those ‘safety net’ income security programs essential to many people’s very survival.”

Vocational rehabilitation was an important issue for Campbell. He corresponded regularly with Joe S. Dusenbury of the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. One of his biggest accomplishments was to keep vocational rehabilitation block grants under the Department of Education. He thought moving them to the Department of Health and Human Services would be detrimental.

Campbell also was concerned with the problem of teenage pregnancy. As a member of the Subcommittee on Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation of the Ways and Means Committee, Campbell helped in searching for a “unified community approach” to addressing the issue. (letter to Lindsay Garraux, Program Chair of Greenville Council on Teenage Pregnancy, Sept. 15, 1985)

Campbell’s commitment to the Republican Party and his work within the House Republican Conference are reflected in files on committee assignments, conventions, and Republican organizations. There is almost a full run of Legislative Digest, a newsletter put out by the House Republican Conference, from 1981-1986. There are also folders devoted to people asking for recommendations to work in Reagan’s administration throughout Campbell’s time in Congress.