Correspondence, printed material, creative works, maps, and legal documents, 1981–1986 (2 linear ft./1,068 items), created and maintained by J. French Hill, primarily document the activities of United States Senator John G. Tower (R-Texas) as a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs.

A relatively small body of materials (185 items) relate to other activities of Tower’s public service, such as his unexpected retirement, his chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee, his interest in Texas history, and weekly legislation activity reports. Approximately three-fourths of the Hill Papers consist of material gathered and produced from Tower’s membership on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee (329 items) and the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs (437 items).

Tower played an influential role on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, reflected by his efforts to pass legislation on mutual-to-stock conversion of thrift institutions, as well as his dealings with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (78 items). The documents also reflect Tower’s commitment (1982–1984) to constituents residing in South Texas, particularly their problems with unemployment and coping with the weak Mexican peso (144 items). Tower participated in the recommendation process to secure the nomination or reappointment of several important members of the government banking community to prominent positions (35 items). Under Tower’s leadership on the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs (1983–1984), landmark residential mortgage legislation was initiated and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act of 1984 (225 items) and the companion legislative initiative, Trust for Investment in Mortgages (TIMS) Act (61 items), enhanced the role of the private sector in mortgage finance and facilitated a lower cost of housing for American families.

The Hill Papers contain much of the working material behind these two pieces of legislation, including background information, the hearings, mark-up activities, and the opinions and reactions of the media. A new accession to the group (1-5-93) compliments the material relating to the Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act, namely Tower’s fight to curve Fannie Mae’s (Federal National Mortgage Association) growth in home mortgages (52 items). The material on the Condominium Cost Reduction Act (1981–1984), comprised of 31 items, pertains to legislation to amend the federal tax code by encouraging building owners to convert apartments to condominiums without involving third-party developers. The Hill Papers also include 65 items which relate to Tower’s role and activities as co-sponsor of the Arkansas Wilderness Bill (1982–1985).