Domestic Policy Council

The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) coordinated the domestic policy-making process in the White House and offered advice to the President. The DPC also supervised the execution of domestic policy and represented the President’s priorities to Congress. Carol Rasco from 1993-1996 and Bruce Reed from 1997-2001 served as head of the DPC.

Before the formal creation of the DPC, a form of a domestic policy staff has existed in the White House since the 1960s. President Lyndon B. Johnson assigned a senior-level aide to organize staff and develop domestic policy. In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon issued an executive order that created the Office of Policy Development, a large White House office with jurisdiction over economic and domestic policy. President William J. Clinton split the office, forming the current Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council.

The following collections are from the files of DPC staffers. The descriptions below are brieviated lists of the breadth contained within the collections.

Chris Jennings Health Securities Act – records concerning: legislative strategies, alternatives to and analysis of the Act. Subject Files – records concerning: healthcare, Patients Bill of Rights, Aids, Medicare, and Medicaid.	Stephen Warnath Civil Rights Series – records concerning: affirmative action, English only, age discrimination, religious freedom, and voting rights.	Cynthia Rice Subject Files – records concerning: federal budget, childcare, rights of the disabled, and fatherhood.
Bruce Reed Crime – records concerning: Brady Bill, Crime Act of 1994, 100k COPS Program, gun issues, and victims’ rights. Education – records concerning: national testing and standards, ESEA, teachers and class size, and charter schools. Subject Files – records concerning: federal budget, childcare, Earned Income Tax Credit, healthcare, immigration, NPR, and AIDS. Welfare – records concerning: legislative strategy, child support, speeches, and bill drafts.	Kendra Brooks Correspondence – records concerning: class size, School Construction Initiative, America Reads, and Educational Excellence for Hispanic Students. Printed Materials – records concerning: funding, class size, school safety, reading reform, after-school programs, teacher quality, and student assessments. Subject Files – records concerning: charter schools, national testing, SATs, class size, teacher quality, Limited English Proficiency, HBCUs, IDEA, and Title 1.	Carol Rasco Meetings/Events – records concerning: healthcare reform, disabilities, employment, education, and children and families. Subject Files – records concerning: healthcare, education, violence and crime preventions, civil rights, Americorps, housing and homelessness, Empowerment Zones, and the arts.

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