Originally posted by midnight Target
c'mon.. it took you guys 12 years of rope to hang the country.
You might want to look at your stock portfolio...
(Assuming you have one...
)
Incidently, I don't consider too many of these programs as "rope":
The Fiscal Responsibility Act
An amendment to the Constitution that would require a balanced budget, unless sanctioned by a 3/5 vote in both houses of Congress (H.J.Res.1, passed by the US House Roll Call: 300-132, 1/26/95; rejected by the US Senate Roll Call: 64-35, 3/2/95, two-thirds required), and provide the president with a line-item veto (H.R.2, passed by the US House Roll Call: 294-134, 2/6/95; conferenced with S. 4 and enacted with substantial changes 4/9/96 [2]).
The Taking Back Our Streets Act
An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in-sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions (H.R.666 Exclusionary Rule Reform Act, passed US House Roll Call 289-142 2/8/95), death penalty provisions (H.R.729 Effective Death Penalty Act, passed US House Roll Call 297-132 2/8/95; similar provisions enacted under S. 735 [3], 4/24/96), funding prison construction (H.R.667 Violent Criminal Incarceration Act, passed US House Roll Call 265-156 2/10/95, rc#117) and additional law enforcement (H.R.728 Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Act, passed US House Roll Call 238-192 2/14/95).
The Personal Responsibility Act
An act to cut spending for welfare programs by means of discouraging illegitimacy and teen pregnancy. This would be achieved by prohibiting welfare to mothers under 18 years of age, denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, and enacting a two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility. H.R.4, the Family Self-Sufficiency Act, included provisions giving food vouchers to unwed mothers under 18 in lieu of cash AFDC benefits, denying cash AFDC benefits for additional children to people on AFDC, requiring recipients to participate in work programs after 2 years on AFDC, complete termination of AFDC payments after five years, and suspending driver and professional licenses of people who fail to pay child support. H.R.4, passed by the US House 234-199, 3/23/95, and passed by the US Senate 87-12, 9/19/95. The Act was vetoed by President Clinton, but the alternative Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act was enacted 8/22/96.
The American Dream Restoration Act
An act to create a $500-per-child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle-class tax relief. H.R.1215, passed 246-188, 4/5/95.
The National Security Restoration Act
An act to prevent U.S. troops from serving under United Nations command unless the president determines it is necessity for the purposes of national security, to cut US payments for UN peacekeeping operations, and to help establish guidelines for the voluntary integration of former Warsaw Pact nations into NATO. H.R.7, passed 241-181, 2/16/95.
The "Common Sense" Legal Reform Act
An act to institute "Loser pays" laws (H.R.988, passed 232-193, 3/7/95), limits on punitive damages and reform of product-liability laws to prevent what the bill considered frivolous litigation (H.R.956, passed 265-161, 3/10/95; passed Senate 61-37, 5/11/95, vetoed by President Clinton [4]). Another tort reform bill, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act was enacted in 1995 when Congress overrode a veto by Clinton.
The Job Creation and Wage Enhancement Act
A package of measures to act as small-business incentives; capital-gains cuts and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages. Although this was listed as a single bill in the Contract, its provisions ultimately made it to the House Floor as four bills:
H.R.5, requiring federal funding for state spending mandated by Congressional action, and estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost more than $50m per year, was passed 360-74, 2/1/95. This bill was conferenced with S. 1 and enacted, 3/22/95[5].
H.R.450 required a moratorium on the implementation of Federal regulations until June 30, 1995, and was passed 276-146, 2/24/95. Companion Senate bill S. 219 passed by voice vote, 5/17/05, but the two bills never emerged from conference[6].
H.R.925 required Federal compensation to be paid to property owners when Federal Government actions reduced the value of the property by 20% or more, and was passed 277-148, 3/3/95.
H.R.926, passed 415-14 on 3/1/95, required Federal agencies to provide a cost-benefit analysis on any regulation costing $50m or more annually, to be signed off on by the Office of Management and Budget, and permitted small businesses to sue that agency if they believed the aforementioned analysis was performed inadequately or incorrectly.
The Citizen Legislature Act
An amendment to the Constitution that would have imposed 12-year term limits on members of the US Congress (i.e. six terms for Representatives, two terms for Senators). H.J.Res.73[7] rejected by the US House 227-204 (a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, not a simple majority), 3/29/95; RC #277.
Other sections of the Contract include a proposed Family Reinforcement Act (tax incentives for adoption, strengthening the powers of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and elderly dependent care tax credit) and the Senior Citizens Fairness Act (raise the Social Security earnings limit, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance).
