The Senate Disbursing Office pays the salaries of senators and staff, and keeps the Senate's financial records. Bill Ridgely started as a clerk, became head bookkeeper, and rose to financial clerk. He recounts the dramatic growth in Senate staff, the impact of computers, and the Disbursing Office's dealings with the Appropriations and Rules Committees. Later, as assistant secretary of the Senate, he handled the Senate's participation in the International Parliamentary Union, including an eventful meeting in Havana, Cuba.
Scholarly citation: "William A. Ridgely, Senate Financial Clerk and Assistant Secretary of the Senate," Oral History Interviews, February 9 to October 28, 1982, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C.
Disclaimer: The Senate Historical Office has a strong commitment to oral history as an important part of its efforts to document institutional change over time. Oral histories are a natural component to historical research and enhance the archival holdings of the Senate and its members. Oral histories represent the personal recollections and opinions of the interviewees, however, and should not be considered as the official views or opinions of the U.S. Senate, of the Senate Historical Office, or of other senators and/or staff members. The transcripts of these oral histories are made available by the Senate Historical Office as a public service.
