The Weekly Podcast: What Else Did Congress Say On March 19th, 1979, Day 1 of C-SPAN?

You’re a political junkie… You know your Congress history … and you watch and listen to C-SPAN.

So, you probably know when and where Congressman Al Gore said this.

Mr. Speaker, on this historic day the House of Representatives opens its proceedings for the first time to televised coverage. …Television will change this institution, Mr. Speaker, just as it has changed the executive branch, but the good will far outweigh the bad. From this day forward every Member of this body must ask himself or herself how many Americans are listening to the debates which are made.

That’s right – it was March 19, 1979 – the first day of live gavel to gavel coverage of the floor of the House … the first day of C-SPAN.

But other than Congressman Gore talking about House TV – do you know what else other members of congress talked about that day in 1979?

C-SPAN is marking its 45th anniversary... and in this week’s episode of C-SPAN’s podcast “The Weekly,” we return to Congress for that first day of TV ….not to hear more about Congress on TV – after all, you’ve probably have heard that Gore speech before – but to learn something new:

What else did they talk about?

So climb inside our podcast time machine … and transport back 45 years, to hear what else was on the minds of members of Congress that first day of live TV.

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