(2025-0092-F Segment 2) Middle Class Bill of Rights

25 folders, approximately 1,542 pages

This collection contains records related to the Middle Class Bill of Rights Tax Relief Act of 1995 proposed by President Clinton to ensure that all Americans shared the benefits from an expanding economy. This collection contains draft copies of the act, fact sheets and charts, and promotion strategy. The President’s Oval Office address regarding the Middle Class Bill of Rights and correspondence supporting the legislation can also be found in the collection.

The materials in FOIA 2025-0092-F (Segment 2) are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. Previously processed records relevant to this topic can be found in FOIA collections 2006-0466-F, 2013-0968-S, 014-0226-F, and Press Secretary's Press Release Subject Files. On December 15, 1994, President Clinton proposed a Middle Class Bill of Rights to ensure that all Americans shared the benefits from an expanding economy. The Middle Class Bill of Rights Tax Relief Act of 1995 had four components: an education tax deduction for higher education, a child tax credit for each child under age thirteen, expansion of IRA accounts, and a G.I. Bill for American workers. The plan was targeted at middle class families who needed help the most as eighty-five percent of the tax benefits went to families that earned less than one hundred thousand dollars a year. This collection contains records relating to the Middle Class Bill of Rights Tax Relief Act of 1995 including draft copies of the act, fact sheets and charts, and promotion strategy. The President’s Oval Office address regarding the Middle Class Bill of Rights and correspondence supporting the legislation can also be found in the collection.

Textual

Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas—Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Subject Files, 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, WHORM Counsel, WHORM (CL), WHORM (OP), WHORM (Too Late); WHORM (Various Offices); and WHORM (Alpha Project) 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. 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. FOIA 2025-0092-F (Segment 2) includes WHORM records from these subject codes: BE Business and Economics ED Education ME Messages PP010-03 Messages Received about Election, Nomination, and Primaries SP295-15 Middle-Class Bill of Rights Tax Relief Act of 1995 – Draft Legislation – 2/13/95 WE Welfare.

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, 2025. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2025-0092-F (Segment 2):
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM: Subject File
Category Case Number
BE 106789
ED 093281
ME 096608
PP010-03 194194
SP295-15 097270SS
WE 091519
WE 096161SS
WE 097086 [1]
WE 097086 [2]
WE 100699
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Cabinet Affairs
Silverman, Stephen
Middle Class Bill of Rights [OA/ID 4735]
Subject Files
Conferences: Middle Class Bill of Rights 1/95 [January 1995] [empty] [OA/ID 6946]
Chief of Staff
Stephanopoulos, George
Middle Class Bill of Rights [OA/ID 5848]
Communications
Gearan, Mark
Cabinet Strategy for Promotion of Middle Class Bill of Rights [OA/ID 6276]
Council of Economic Advisors
Stiglitz, Joseph
Budget – “Middle Class Bill of Rights” December 1994 [OA/ID 9551]
Box 2
Domestic Policy Council
Waldman, Michael
PPF II – draft [Middle Class Bill of Rights, Draft 12/23/94] [OA/ID 6631]
Intergovernmental Affairs
Hale, Marcia
Middle Class Bill of Rights [OA/ID 12116]
Legislative Affairs
Millsap, Elisa
Oval Office Address Regarding Middle Class Bill of Rights 12/15/94 [OA/ID 6522]
National Economic Council
Sperling, Gene
The Middle Class Bill of Rights [1/27/95] [binder] [OA/ID 9226]
The Middle Class Bill of Rights [1/27/95] [binder] [OA/ID 19168]
The Middle Class Bill of Rights – 3/13/95 [1] [binder] [OA/ID 24536]
The Middle Class Bill of Rights – 3/13/95 [2] [binder] [OA/ID 24536]
[The Middle Class Bill of Rights] [loose] [OA/ID 19175]
Political Affairs
Epstein, Tom
Middle Class Bill of Rights [OA/ID 5994]
Public Liaison
Yager, Marilyn
[Middle Class Bill of Rights – Fact Sheets and Charts] [loose] [OA/ID 8820]