(2016-0532-F) ACORN

41 folders, approximately 1,117 pages

This collection consists of records related to the community activist non-profit group known as ACORN. The collection contains invitations for the President to speak at ACORN functions, meeting notes between White House staff and ACORN members, emails between staffers concerning ACORN, and a report from the Corporation for National Service's Inspector-Generals office.

The materials in FOIA 2016-0532-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) was a group of community based organizations that campaigned for low to moderate income families by working for affordable health care, affordable housing, strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and other social issues. ACORN also conducted numerous voter registration drives and community outreach programs during its forty years of existence. ACORN was founded in Little Rock Arkansas in 1970 as an advocacy group for Arkansans who were receiving state welfare payments. It grew from those modest beginnings to become an umbrella organization. These separate nonprofit organizations both lobbied for legislation to assist low income citizens and provided services to local neighborhoods throughout the country. ACORN’s priorities included: better housing and wages for the poor; more community development investment from banks; increased spending on public schools; ending predatory lending practices; and increasing the minimum wage. Throughout its history, ACORN was accused by its detractors as illegally mixing its lobbying funds with its charitable funds and with facilitating voter fraud. These controversies, most famously a hidden camera “sting-operation” by conservative activists, caused ACORN to lose its federal funding. In 2010, ACORN’s Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis told the New York Times that “while the organization is still alive.” Its overall budget was down from its high of 350 million annually to “about 4 million,” and that its overall staff had dropped from “600 employees to 4 people.”1 This collection consists of invitations for the President to speak at ACORN functions, meeting notes between White House staff and ACORN members, and a report from the Corporation for National Service’s Inspector-General concerning the improper use of AmeriCorps personnel as recruiters for ACORN. This collection also consists of email correspondence concerning ACORN. Email consists of correspondence to and from Sara Rosen (Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy), Paul Weinstein (Chief of Staff of the Domestic Policy Council), Carol Rasco (Assistant to the President for the Domestic Policy Council), and Gene Sperling (Director of the National Economic Council). Email correspondence consists of meeting requests, talking points, and administrative policy concerning ACORN initiatives. Topics include Financial Services Modernization, the Community Reinvestment Act, Predatory Lending, Living Wage, and Housing.

Textual

Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas—Clinton Presidential Records: White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Alpha Files, Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Subject Files, Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Various Offices, and Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files. The White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) contains a variety of series created to organize and track documents and correspondence. The WHORM Alpha file was compiled by the White House Office of Records Management from 1993 – 1996 and is a series of documents arranged by name of persons, organizations, or events. The WHORM Subject file was compiled by the White House Office of Records Management and is a series of categories designated by a letter/number combination. In addition, there are WHORM (Various Offices) series. Staff and Office files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity. WHORM files are processed at the document level; whereas, Staff and Office files are processed at the folder level, that is, individual documents are not selected and removed from a folder for processing. While this method maintains folder integrity, it frequently results in the incidental processing of documents that are not wholly responsive to the subject area. The Automated Records Management System (ARMS) is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential email. The ARMS database is comprised of six sub-series of email records called "buckets." The buckets generally represent a specific White House office. The buckets are titled: NPR for National Performance Review, OPD for Office of Policy Development, POTUS for President of the United States, WHO for White House Office, CEA for Council of Economic Advisers, and Default for emails not associated with an office. The OPD bucket contains email created or received by an individual with an Office of Policy Development (OPD) White House user account. The WHO bucket contains email created or received by individual with an Executive Office of the President White House user account not identified as CEA, NPR, or OPD. The CEA bucket contains email created or received by an individual with a Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) White House user account. The Default bucket contains email created or received by unknown or un-recognized email accounts. Email found within the Default bucket often includes email created or received by offices or individuals outside the Executive Office of the President. ARMS emails are arranged by topic, there-under by bucket, and there-under chronologically by creation date. The Tape Restoration Project (TRP) is a database consisting of restored emails from the Automated Records Management System (ARMS) from July 1994 through June of 2000. The TRP is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential record email. The TRP database is comprised of the same six sub-series of email as in ARMS. TRP emails are arranged by topic, there-under by bucket, and there-under chronologically by creation date. FOIA 2016-0532-F includes WHORM records from these subject codes: BE Business-Economics CO112 Countries – Mexico FG001-7 Federal Government – President of the United States, Appointments Granted, Presidential FG006-01 Federal Government – Executive Office of the President, White House Office FG006-03 Federal Government – Executive Office of the President, Chief of Staff FG012 Federal Government – Department of the Treasury FI002 Finance – Banks, Banking IV094 Invitations for 1994 IV095 Invitations for 1995 IV096 Invitations for 1996 ME002 Messages (Sent to Groups/ Organizations) PR003 Public Relations – Administration Support (Incoming)

Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 22, as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions.

Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).

Staff Archivist, 2016. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2016-0532-F:
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM: Alpha Files
AF 254525 [ACORN]
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM: Subject File
Category Case Number
BE 101863
CO112 107326
FG001-07 285249SS
FG001-07 289321SS
Category Case Number
FG006-01 054682
FG006-01 132506
FG006-03 078361
FG012 104921
FI002 065577
FI002 149961
IV094 052017
IV094 053920
IV094 054322
IV095 110398
IV096 154763
ME002 060417
PR003 017997
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM: Various Offices
AF 188258 [ACORN]

Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Cabinet Affairs
Phil Caplan
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] Letter
[OA/ID 3703]
Jennifer O’Connor
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] [OA/ID 7308]
Chief of Staff
Bill Burton
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] [OA/ID 2778]
Harold Ickes
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] – General
[OA/ID 9186]
Mark Middleton
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] [OA/ID 4505]
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] [OA/ID 4509]
TFM [Thomas F. (Mack) McLarty]: ACORN [Association of Community Organizations
for Reform Now] Conference Speech 07/24/1994 [OA/ID 4505]
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Counsel’s Office
ACORN Women Voters et al vs. Staff of Illinois 96 [OA/ID CF 858]
Neuwirth, Steven
ACORN Housing [OA/ID CF 377]
Domestic Policy Council
Jose Cerda
Rasco – ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] Mtg
[Meeting] July 25, 1994 [OA/ID 5319]
Carol Rasco: Meetings, Trips, Events
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] (Z. Polett)
Roosevelt Rm. 25 July 1994 4:00 – 4:30 PM [OA/ID 102243]
Box 2
National Economic Council
Gene Sperling
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now]: ACORN
[OA/ID 19276]
Public Liaison
Alexis Herman
Community Reinvestment Act (ACORN) [OA/ID CF 218]
Doris Matsui
ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] 8-10 Meeting with
Homeless Housing [OA/ID 13026]
Scheduling Office
General Files – AF
420300 [ACORN] [OA/ID 14803]
Stephanie Street
AF 432412 [ACORN] [OA/ID 16087]
AF 433368 [ACORN] [OA/ID 16086]
Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System [Email]
OPD [OA/ID 250000]
[ACORN]
[06/09/1999 – 08/04/1999]
[09/20/1999 – 12/22/2000]
WHO [OA/ID 500000]
[ACORN]
[05/05/1993 – 12/13/2000]
CEA [OA/ID 950000]
[ACORN]
[05/27/1997 – 06/17/1999]
Default [OA/ID 1100000]
[ACORN]
[02/03/1994 – 01/14/1999]