Billings, Leon oral history interview

Authors

Don Nicoll

Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

11-29-2001

Interview Number

MOH 321

Abstract

Leon Billings was born in Helena, Montana on November 19, 1937. His parents were Harry and Gretchen Billings. His father was an editor and publisher of a progressive newspaper; his mother was a crusading journalist. He graduated from high school in Helena, Montana in 1955, and then attended Reed College for one year in Portland, Oregon. He completed his undergraduate studies and took graduate courses toward an M.A. at the University of Montana at Missoula. Billings worked as a reporter and organizer for farm groups in Montana and California. He met his first wife, Pat, in California. They married in Montana and moved to Washington, D.C. on January 4, 1963. While in Washington, Billings worked for the American Public Power Association for three years as a lobbyist. In March 1966, he was offered and accepted a job on the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution on the Public Works Committee. He worked for Muskie helping to coordinate work on environmental policy. From 1966 to 1978, he served as staff director for the Subcommittee, and from 1978 to 1980 as chief of staff for Senator, and then Secretary of State, Muskie. He served on the Democratic Platform Committee staff in 1968 and in 1974, was co-chairman of a Democratic National Committee task force on Energy and the Environment. He later served as President of the Edmund S. Muskie Foundation; a tax-exempt foundation endowed with a $3 million appropriation from Congress to perpetuate the environmental legacy of Senator Muskie.

Scope and Content Note

Interview includes discussions of: family background; Lee Metcalf; The People’s Voice (progressive, co-op newspaper founded by Leon Billings’ father); Mike Mansfield in relation to Billings’ parents; Pat Billings; Regional Preference Bill; Dickey-Lincoln; first encounter with Ed Muskie in 1963; Ron Linton; Clean Water Restoration Act; Public Works Subcommittee; oil pollution legislation; Bill Hildenbrand; pollution legislation; Johnson’s clean rivers program; 1970 Water Quality Improvement Act; Clean River Restoration Act; and Joe Moore.

Use Restrictions

Copyright Bates College. This transcript is provided for individual Research Purposes Only; for all other uses, including publication, reproduction and quotation beyond fair use, permission must be obtained in writing from: The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College, 70 Campus Avenue, Lewiston, Maine 04240-6018.

Recommended Citation

Nicoll, Don, "Billings, Leon oral history interview" (2001). Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Collection. 37.
https://scarab.bates.edu/muskie_oh/37