United States Domestic Policy Council


The Domestic Policy Council of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering domestic policy matters, excluding economic matters, which are the domain of the National Economic Council. The council forms part of the Office of White House Policy, which contains the DPC, the National Economic Council, and various subordinate offices, such as the Office of National AIDS Policy. The Director of the DPC is titled the Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

History and mission

The Domestic Policy Council was established on April 11, 1985, by President Ronald Reagan. The first Executive Director of the Council was Dr. Ralph Bledsoe. President George H.W. Bush re-established the Council on February 8, 1989, appointing Dr. Kenneth Yale as Executive Director of the Council. On August 16, 1993, the Council was expanded by. The Council oversees development and implementation of the President’s domestic policy agenda and ensures coordination and communication among the heads of relevant Federal offices and agencies.
Even before the formal creation of the DPC, some form of a domestic policy staff had 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 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 Bill Clinton again altered the structure by splitting the office, forming the current Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council which both exist today underneath the umbrella of the Office of White House Policy, which can also be known as the Office of Policy Development.

Membership

Assistants to the President for Domestic Policy