U.S. Senate: Constituent Service Records,
1979-1996, 1161 boxes.

Congress devotes substantial time and resources to the provision of constituent services. These services include answering requests for information, responding to inquiries regarding legislative issues, assisting groups in the home state with their efforts to secure federal grants, and helping individuals who are having specific difficulties involving the Federal government (casework).

Constituent service was a high priority in the Cohen office in Washington D.C. and in the six Maine offices in Augusta, Bangor, Biddeford, Lewiston, Presque Isle, and Portland. The bulk of the records in this series consist of correspondence that was handled by a Correspondence Management System (CMS). This system, used in Cohen's Washington D.C. office, was used to produce responses to constituents' individual letters. Records from the Biddeford and Presque Isle state offices are also found in this series, and they document various projects, such as a study on the erosion of Camp Ellis, a dredging project in Wells Harbor, and the closing of the Loring Air Force base in Limestone, Maine. Due to their confidential nature, casework files, which are individual requests for assistance, are not included in this series.